"And this morning I kept my promise. Made breakfast. Stayed." He turned to face me fully. "But that's just one morning, Isla. And I've put you through hell these past few days. I know that."
"Where is this going?"
He took a shaky breath. "It's going somewhere I didn't plan. Somewhere I probably should have thought through better. But watchingyou this morning, playing with Leo, seeing you smile at me again like maybe I hadn't completely destroyed everything—" He shook his head. "I can't wait. I can't do this the slow, careful way."
"Cassian—"
"I love you." He said it fiercely, like a vow. "I love you, and I'm terrified, and I don't have a ring or a speech prepared. But I'm asking anyway, because waiting feels like wasting time I don't want to waste anymore."
My heart stopped. "What are you asking?"
He slid off the bench, kneeling on the grass in front of me. Right there, in the middle of the park, with families walking past and Leo playing nearby.
"Marry me." His voice shook slightly. "I know it's fast. I know I just spent three days pushing you away. I know I'm a mess, and I'll probably get scared again. But marry me anyway. Not for Leo, not for convenience. Marry me because I love you. Because you're brave enough to call me on my bullshit. Because somewhere between hating me and being terrified of me, you fell for me anyway."
Tears blurred my vision. "You're serious."
"I've never been more serious about anything." His hands found mine, gripping tight. "I don't deserve you. Probably don't deserve this second chance you're giving me. But I'm asking anyway, because losing you hurts worse than being afraid ever could."
"Cass?" Leo's voice cut through the moment. He'd noticed us and was running over with concern on his little face. "Why on da ground? You hurt?"
Cassian glanced at Leo, then back at me. "Not hurt, buddy. I'm asking your mama something very important."
"Like princess movie?" Leo's eyes went wide.
"Exactly like that." Cassian's gaze never left mine. "What do you say, Isla? Will you marry me?"
Leo grabbed my hand, bouncing with excitement. "Say yes, Mama! Please? Say yes!"
I looked at my son's hopeful face, then at the man kneeling before me. The man who'd killed for us, pushed me away to protect us, and was now offering me everything despite his terror of losing it.
"You promise you won't run again?" I asked.
"I promise to fight to stay instead of fighting to leave." His voice was steady despite the emotion in his eyes. "I promise to choose us every day. To be the man you see when you look at me."
"And I promise to keep calling you on your bullshit when you forget," I said, smiling through my tears.
"So is that a yes?"
I pulled my hands free and cupped his face, feeling the roughness of stubble, the warmth of his skin, the slight tremble that showed his vulnerability. "Yes. Yes, I'll marry you."
The words had barely left my mouth before he surged up, pulling me into his arms and kissing me like I was air and he'd been drowning. Leo shrieked with delight and threw himself at us. Suddenly, we were all tangled together—laughing and crying and holding on.
"We're family now!" Leo announced to the entire park. "Officially!"
"We were always family," Cassian said, one arm around me, the other holding Leo. "But now everyone knows it."
People were staring—some smiling, some curious, all witnesses to this moment. I didn't care. Let them see. Let them know that Cassian Barone, feared businessman and dangerous man, was also just a father who loved his son. A man who loved me.
We stayed at the park for hours after that. Leo played on every piece of equipment while Cassian and I sat close together, fingersintertwined, occasionally stealing kisses when Leo wasn't looking. We bought overpriced ice cream and chased Leo through piles of leaves and took silly photos that would probably never make it to social media but would live in my heart forever.
Normal family things. Things I'd never imagined doing with someone like Cassian.
But he wasn't just Cassian Barone anymore. He was Cass—the man who made terrible pancakes and got down on his knees in a public park to propose. The man who was learning, slowly and imperfectly, how to stay.
As the sun began setting, painting the sky in brilliant orange and pink, we walked home. Leo between us, holding both our hands, swinging himself up with giggles every few steps.
"I can't believe you proposed," I said quietly as we rode the elevator up.
