My heart kicks harder, his confession plummeting deep, and the words rise out of me like they’ve been waiting for this moment.
“I love you too.”
Because I do, and even though I’ve been afraid to say it out loud, afraid of what it will mean for us and our future, I can’t keep it in anymore.
He freezes, like he needs to make sure he heard me right. Then his mouth crashes into mine, fingers sliding through my hair, pulling me closer until I’m pressed completely against him,every inch of me molded to every inch of him. When he finally pitches back, he leans in until our foreheads touch, neither of us willing to break the moment.
Moments pass before he reaches into his pocket and pulls out his phone. “I have something for you. The surprise.”
I tilt my head. “Another one? Because the last one involved a blindfold, and I’m still traumatized.”
“This is the one I wanted to give you.” He grins, but it fades quickly as he scrolls on his screen, then turns it so I can see.
The text means nothing at first, just blocks of legal language, until the pieces click into place.
“Does this mean…”
My hand lands on my chest, finding this hard to believe. But the more of the contract I read, the more I see his signature on the bottom, the harder it is to deny what’s in front of me.
“You’re free,” he says simply. “I signed the vineyard over to you. It’s yours, Fiona, whether we are married or divorced. You have what you wanted now.”
The words land slow. Did he really do this?
He picks up my hand and kisses the center of my palm. “You can leave. You can divorce me if that’s what you want. I’m giving you your freedom.”
A laugh bubbles up, filled with disbelief. “You’re serious?”
He nods once.
I stare at this man who’s terrified me, infuriated me, consumed me…and now, somehow, undone me. This is something I never expected.
“I can’t believe I’m saying this,” I whisper. “But what if I don’t want to go? What if with you is where I was meant to be?”
He inhales sharply. “What are you saying?”
“That between all the hate and the insanity, somewhere in the middle of it all…” My throat thickens. “I fell in love with you completely, and I don’t want to let you go.”
He doesn’t move at first, just watches me like he’s afraid one wrong shift will shatter the moment. Then his hands rise to cradle the back of my neck.
“Thank God. Because I wasn’t planning on letting you go anyway.”
“I kind of figured that would be the case.”
I rest my forehead against his chest, my mouth stretching into a grin as I listen to the steady beat beneath my ear.
For the first time since everything began, I don’t feel trapped. I feel like I've ended up where I was always meant to be.
ALEKSEI
She sits on top of me, arms over my shoulders, legs curled around my waist, and I can’t stop staring, like if I blink too long, I’ll miss it. This moment. This feeling. This woman who was never supposed to be mine and somehow is.
My hands settle on her hips, thumbs tracing slow circles over the fabric of her dress. She tilts her head, a smile teasing the corners of her mouth, and those eyes… I could gaze into them for the rest of my life and never get tired of the view.
“I can’t imagine my life without you,” I tell her.
Her fingers toy with the hair at the nape of my neck. “You won’t have to.”
But I don’t know how true that is. In my world, death is a bullet away. What if I’m not enough to protect her?
