Chapter 14 - THE PROPOSAL IN THE EMPTY BALLROOM
Lorenzo proposed at the Palmer House Hilton.
The same ballroom.
The same chandeliers.
The same marble floor where Beatrice Vane had humiliated Isabella.
But this time, there were no three hundred guests.
No reporters.
No politicians.
Just Lorenzo.
Me.
And Isabella, waiting near the grand staircase.
I stopped in the doorway.
“Lorenzo?”
He turned.
His expression was nervous.
I looked around.
“Why are we here?”
He approached.
“Because this is where everything changed.”
I stared at him.
He took my hand.
“A year and a half ago, you walked across this room and defended my mother.”
Tears filled my eyes.
He continued.
“You didn't know who she was.”
“You didn't know who I was.”
“You didn't care.”
He smiled softly.
“You saw someone being hurt, and you refused to look away.”
I swallowed.
“Lorenzo.”
He shook his head gently.
“Let me finish.”
He took a breath.
“I've spent most of my life surrounded by people who were afraid of me.”
“People who wanted my money.”
“My influence.”
“My name.”
His voice trembled.
“But you wanted none of those things.”
He looked into my eyes.
“You wanted me to be honest.”
“To be better.”
“To love my mother without treating her like she was fragile.”
“And to help people without expecting them to owe me.”
I began crying.
Lorenzo smiled.
“You changed my life, Sophie Clark.”
Then he knelt.
My breath caught.
He opened a velvet box.
Inside was a simple diamond ring.
“I love you.”
His voice shook.
“Will you marry me?”
I covered my mouth.
For a moment, I couldn't speak.
Then I nodded.
“Yes.”
Lorenzo laughed softly.
“Really?”
I nodded again.
“Yes, Lorenzo.”
He slipped the ring onto my finger.
Then stood and kissed me.
From the staircase, Isabella began applauding.
We turned.
She was crying.
“Oh, my babies,” she whispered.
I laughed through tears.
Lorenzo held out his hand.
His mother came toward us.
May you like
We embraced.
And in the ballroom where three hundred people had once remained silent, three people stood together and cried happy tears.
