She opened her mouth to speak—maybe to run. Maybe to scream. But I was already inside her head. Already wrapped around her pulse. And I didn’t need a yes. I needed her still standing here. Because the second she stayed, I’d already won.
She shook her head, fast and sharp. “I’m not ready for this. I need time.”
Time?
That word made something snap in my chest.
I narrowed my eyes, heat curling in my gut like a lit fuse.
Time?
What the fuck did she think this was—some romance novel where she got to flip pages at her leisure while I waited in the wings?
No.
This wasn’t a fairytale.
It was war.
And I’d already won the first battle by getting her here.
I reached into my pocket and pulled the ring free in one smooth motion. Held it out between us. Let the light catch it just right—let her see exactly what was on the line. It glinted like a loaded gun.
A promise. A threat. A choice.
“You don’t need time,” I said, voice low, clipped. “You need to stop pretending you weren’t waiting for someone to choose you.”
She sucked in a breath, sharp and shaky.
That fire behind her eyes flickered again. Defiance. Pride. Fear. Didn’t matter. They all tasted the same once you broke through.
I didn’t give her room to breathe.
“So I am.” I stepped closer. “Right fucking now.”
The air between us snapped tight. Thick with tension. Want. The threat of collapse.
She opened her mouth. I didn’t let her speak.
“I know you’re scared,” I said, gripping the ring tighter. “But this? This isn’t about fear. It’s about freedom.”
She scoffed—sharp and bitter. “Freedom?” Her voice rose, testing me. “You think marrying you is freedom?”
I didn’t flinch.
“Hell yeah. Freedom from pretending you’re happy with a man who cages you. Freedom from playing the good girl for a family that’s already written your ending.”
Her jaw clenched.
I stepped in until we were chest to chest, heat radiating off both of us like a live wire ready to snap.
“You get one real choice in this life, princess. Stay his puppet… or become something fucking real with me.”
Her eyes dropped to the ring.
That glint of hesitation? That pause?
That was her body betraying her mouth.
