The aftermath came in waves.
Arrests. Cleanups. Disclosures.
Adrian's death was ruled as self-defense. The footage backed it. The board voted unanimously to reinstate James as CEO, and Miles was offered a formal position as Head of Global Security.
But none of that mattered to me.
Because in the quiet that followed the chaos, James and I finally had something we hadn't tasted in months:
> Peace.
---
It was a crisp, clear night when he brought me to the rooftop again.
Not the penthouse this time.
The manor.
The place where it all began — where I once stood as the invisible adopted girl who hid behind stairwells, books, and piano notes.
Now, I stood beside him.
Not hidden.
But chosen.
---
The stars glimmered above us like they were waiting.
James reached into his coat and pulled out a small black box.
I blinked. "Again?"
He smiled. "This time, it's not a question."
He opened the box.
Inside was the same sapphire ring he once gave me in the garden.
Only now, it was engraved.
> Yours, always. No more secrets.
He slid it onto my finger.
And then, he knelt.
Not on one knee.
But both.
And I gasped as he looked up at me — a man stripped of power, pride, and pain — and finally free.
"Not because I have to," he said. "But because I want to. Because after everything we've lost… you're the one thing I refuse to ever lose again."
I dropped to my knees with him, our foreheads touching.
"I never wanted the empire," I whispered. "I just wanted you."
His hands cupped my face.
"And now," he said, "you have both."
---
We didn't sign papers that night.
We didn't throw confetti or call the press.
Instead, we lit a candle.
Just one.
Set it beside the rose bush in the garden we rebuilt together.
We made our vow in whispers, in laughter, in silence — beneath the stars that had watched us both rise, fall, break, and rebuild.
---
Later, he held me in bed, his arms curled tightly around me.
"Are you scared it's too quiet?" he asked.
"No," I said. "Because I finally believe the quiet is real."
He kissed my shoulder.
And then he said something he'd never said before.
Three words.
Not I love you.
> "You saved me."