He’s proposing.
The realization hits hard and fast, ricocheting through every nerve ending in my body. My heart pounds so violently I swear he can hear it, feel it, matching his rhythm to mine.
Chase stays there, kneeling, his chest rising with uneven breaths, as if the words are stuck somewhere between his lungs and his tongue. His fingers tremble—not from fear, but from the sheer enormity of this moment, and then he reaches into his pocket and pulls out a small velvet box.
He doesn’t open it.
He doesn’t need to.
Emotion surges up, hot and overwhelming. My toes barely stay on the ground as I bounce in place, trembling and wide-eyed.
“Yes,” I whisper, the word bursting out before he can even speak. Then louder, firmer. “Yes, Chase. God, yes.”
Everyone laughs, but Chase doesn’t join in. His shoulders tense as he lifts a hand. “No. Wait!” he says, voice rough. “I need to say something first.” His tone slices through the air, and every part of me locks in on him.
I freeze, my bouncing stops.
My pulse stutters.
That voice, low and serious.
This isn’t part of the joke anymore. Something’s shifted. I feel it crackle in the space between us.
He drags in a breath, steadying himself, then looks me dead in the eyes. “Lyric Griffin, from the second I saw you outside Love and Lavender, I knew I was screwed. You hit me hard and fast, and I’ve never recovered.”
My breath catches. That day, it rushes back to me in full Technicolor. The curb, the heat of the sun, the moment our worlds collided for the first time. He was arrogant, intense. I was already spiralling. And yet even then, my soul recognized him.
My hands tighten on his, like they can hold the weight of this moment still.
A murmur ripples through the crowd, but Chase doesn’t flinch.
“You shake me, Lyri. You flip my world upside down just by breathing in my space. I’ve faced down arenas full of strangers, handled business deals worth millions, but nothing makes my pulse jackhammer like being around you.”
He’s really doing this.
In front of everyone.
In front of me.
My heart pounds against my ribs, frantic, wild, as if it’s trying to leap into his hands.
The vulnerability in his voice is raw and beautiful, and so very him. The edge in his voice softens for a moment, just enough to let the weight of his following words sink in. “And yeah, you make me feel weak sometimes. Not because I’m less, but because you matter that damn much. You hold that kind of power over me.”
Tears sting the corners of my eyes. I never imagined being told I made someone weak could feel so strong. So powerful. But this isn’t about fragility, it’s about surrender and trust.
I’ve seen him battle demons. I’ve seen him stand tall in a room full of people who underestimate him. But right now? He’s baring his heart, and it’s beating for me.
He squeezes my hands like he’s anchoring us both. “But you? You’re a storm. Fierce. Unshakable. You push back when life hits hard, and you never let go of the people you love. You don’t just make me feel, you make memore. A better man. A stronger one. You raise the bar, Lyri. And I want to meet it. Foryou. Forus.”
A sob catches in my throat, but I swallow it down, overwhelmed by the tidal wave of love crashing through me. I’ve fought so hard to be seen, to be known beneath all the sparkles and the chaos of rock star life.
And here he is, spelling it out in front of everyone, that I’m not just seen.
I’m cherished.
My heart’s thudding so loud I can barely hear anything else, as he stands pressing his forehead against mine for half a breath before pulling back just enough to meet my gaze. “You once told me your world doesn’t spin when I’m not in it. Well, mine fucking stops without you. It flatlines.”
My tears fall, and I don’t care who sees. I’m a mess of love, gratitude, and awe. He remembers everything. Every whispered truth. Every moment, I thought he might forget. He never did.
