Page 470 of Reign

Slowly, Elena turns her head toward me.

“Why does that say Elena Castillo?”

“Open the door.”

“You haven’t asked me anything.”

“I’m about to.”

Her eyes widen.

I nod toward the door again. “Open it, princesa.”

She looks at me for another second before turning the handle.

The door swings inward.

Late-afternoon light pours through windows spanning nearly the entire far wall. Flowers transform the office into a garden—orchids along the windows, white roses across the shelves, and purple lisianthus surrounding the seating area.

Her desk sits near the center of the room, large enough to accommodate every sketch, scrap of fabric, and unnecessary number of pencils she insists she needs.

She barely notices it.

Her attention catches on the three mannequins positioned near the windows.

The first dresses she made at my house.

Elena walks toward them slowly.

“Oh my God.”

Her fingers hover over the first dress before touching the fabric.

“You brought them.”

“Of course I brought them.”

She moves to the second, then the third.

I remember every one.

The hours she spent bent over her worktable. Fabric overtaking half my house. Pins appearing in places pins had no business being. The first time she looked at something she created and realized how good she was.

Elena turns toward me.

“This is beautiful.”

I’m already on one knee.

Her entire expression stills.

Her gaze drops to the navy velvet box in my hand.

“Oh my God.”

For once, Elena has nothing else to say.

I open the box.