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Artemis stares at it with teary eyes and then at me.

Her lips part, but no words come out.

My little glacier is speechless.

I smile up at her, my own eyes burning.

“Artemis Volpe, you once found a freezing little boy in the middle of winter and gave him a reason to survive.”

Her eyes fill with more tears.

“You probably thought you were just helping some poor boy that was down on his luck. But you gave me something that night, princess. You gave me hope when I had absolutely nothing left to believe in.”

I swallow hard.

“And years later, you walked back into my life and gave me something I never thought I’d get.”

I look at the woman who taught me that even the coldest winters could hold something beautiful.

“You gave me a home.”

A tear slips down her cheek.

I reach for her left hand.

“I don’t want to be the man who simply gets to love you when it’s convenient. I want to be the man who stands beside you when the world is kind and when it isn’t. When you’re smiling and when you can’t find a reason to. When you want to conquer the world and when you just want to hide from it.”

My voice cracks.

“I want the ordinary days, Artemis. The quiet mornings in the library. The arguments over stupid shit. Your cold feet stealing all the warmth in our bed. Your terrible attitude before coffee. Every version of you that the world gets to see, and every version you think you have to hide.”

She laughs through her tears.

“And if you’ll let me, I want every winter. Every spring. Every lifetime.”

I open the box.

“Because I don’t want a world without you in it. I want to grow old annoying you. I want to watch you skate when we’re eighty and pretend I’m not terrified every time you jump in the air. I want to keep making you laugh.”

I squeeze her trembling fingers.

“I want to spend the rest of my life reminding you that you never have to earn my love. You never have to be perfect for me. You never have to be anything other than my Artemis.”

My eyes burn.

“So, my sweet little nightmare…”

I smile up at her.

“Will you marry me?”

For a second, she doesn’t move and then she covers her mouth, tears streaming down her face.

The woman who has faced Olympic arenas, championship finals, and millions of watching eyes without flinching is standing in front of me, crying because I asked her to spend forever with me.

And I’ve never seen a sight more beautiful.

She looks at the ring and then at me.