I feel like I’m embracing my namesake with this ensemble, putting my own spin on it because this isn’t just a fairy tale, but my real life.
I can’t help but jump as a knock sounds at the door, but my worry is quickly calmed when Asher and Dean walk in, their hands covering their eyes.
“We’re not peeking. We just wanted to bring you something,” Asher announces, a gift box in his hand.
Oh my God. They’re so goddamn cute.
“You guys don’t have to hide. You can look.” I chuckle.
Tentatively, they lower their hands, their eyes adjusting for a second before landing on me. Their faces instantly light up, their lips parting simultaneously, as they take me in head to toe, making me burn from the inside out.
Soft smiles grow on their faces as they walk over, stopping a few feet in front of me.
Asher offers me the large gift box, and I take it from him as he beams, “We thought you could use a couple of things for tonight.”
Flutters start in my stomach, rising up into my throat. “You know you guys didn’t have to do anything?—”
“Open the box, Princess,” Dean mutters impatiently with a smirk on his lips.
Tucking my tongue up into my lip, I grin at his impatience. “Fine.”
Lifting the lid, I pull back the tissue on top, and my smile falls.
Whoa.
It’s a pair of shoes, sparkly and clear; they almost look like they’re made of glass.
“For our very ownCinderella.” Asher beams proudly. “I might be biased, but if it were up to us, there’d be a story namedCirellato inspire others to take control of their life the way you have. You’re a warrior, Ciri. You’re more than a namesake or a fairy tale. You’re our real-life princess, who survived hell to get here.”
I fight back tears—something that seems to have become a pattern as of late.
How did I get so lucky to be loved by these two? We may not have shared those words with each other, but we don’t need to. I can feel it.
“You’re so strong, so resilient, and so brave. We’re in awe of you, baby.” Dean rubs the back of his neck as I take one of the shoes from the box, studying it closely. “Obviously, if you don’t like them, there’s no pressure to wear them.”
“I love them.” I scoff, struggling to get any words past the lump in my throat.
Dean questions breathily, “Yeah? Oh good.”
I nod rapidly, blinking any wetness away so as not to ruin Jules’s hard work on my makeup. I take both shoes from the box and set them on the ground to put on.
But something else in the gift box catches my eye … a jewelry box. The shoes are more than enough. I don’t need anything else.
My boys stay dead silent as I take the jewelry box out and remove the lid.
Oh my gosh.My chest aches, my heart overflowing with love for them both.
I may not know exactly what it means to love or to be loved and the challenges it will bring, but I know without a shadow of a doubt that I want to figure it out with Dean and Asher.
My fingers carefully take the silver necklace from the box, and I drop the containers to the floor without thought. I separate the two sides of the silver pendant with my nail, opening the locket I never thought I’d see again. I sniffle, and my heart explodes as I brush the image of my mom with my thumb, doing the same with my dad on the other side.
I haven’t seen this locket in years. Adrianna kept it hidden from me once she learned how important it was to me.
Barely audible, I whisper, “H-how did you get this?”
Stepping closer, Dean reaches out and blots the tears under my eyes, pulling my attention. “We might have made a visit to your parents’ house. But don’t worry; Adrianna has no idea.”
He opens his hand, offering to take it from me, and I hand it over before spinning around and lifting my hair.
