And all I can do is fall in love with him all over again.
“Come,” Evelina says, breaking my reverie. “Let’s go inside. There’s much to catch up on.”
We follow her, the sound of our footsteps on the marble floor echoing through the halls. My fingers brush against the cool, worn walls as we tread the familiar passages. I’m rememberingItalian curses and masquerade balls and indiscrete kisses in every crooked corner.
When we reach the sunroom, the light of the late afternoon filters through the glass, casting golden beams across the room, but something pulls me magnetically toward the open veranda beyond. It’s like an invisible thread tethering me to this place.
The doors open wider with a soft creak as I step through, drawn immediately to the sprawling castle gardens before me.
I stand there, rooted to the spot, letting my gaze sweep across the landscape—the same flowers, the same stone paths, the half-crumbled walls. Time feels both endless and fleeting here. It feels as though I’ve never truly left.
My breath catches in my throat as I press my palm against my beating heart, the reality of it all sinking in.
I’m home.
Everything that happened—everything I’ve fought for—has brought me back here. It’s a fantasy turned to reality.
I never thought I could have anything more than what my father expected from me. Now, my choices have led me to the only place I ever truly felt I could belong.
I can hear Evelina’s voice in the sunroom, a soft murmur as she speaks to the baby, her words laced with affection. Her joy is palpable, and for a moment, I let the sound of it wash over me, the peace of it settling in my chest.
It feels like all the pain, all the grief, has melted away. I’ve returned to a dream, one I’m not sure I ever wanted to wake from.
How far I’ve come, how much has changed, how much I’velost,and how much I’ve gained, all swirl around my mind in joyous equilibrium.
Peace. Complete and utterpeace.
Finally.
I don’t hear him at first, but then Ifeelhis presence behind me. The air shifts just slightly, and I turn to find him standing there, a tender, almost uncertain expression on his face.
“Are you happy?” Dante asks softly as if trying to hold the moment in his precious tone.
It’s a simple question, but one that catches me off guard.
I blink, trying to process his words, trying to find the answer I know is true. I open my mouth to speak, but the words are slow to come, as though the gravity of it is too much to put into a single sentence.
But then I realize that it doesn’t need to be complicated. I am happy. I am more than happy. I’m complete.I have everything.
“I am,” My eyes never leaving his.“More than I ever thought I could be.”
Dante smiles, his eyes lighting up as his fingers brush against my arm gently…before he lowers himself to the floor in one smooth motion.
My heart skips a beat, my breath catching in my throat as I try to understand what he’s doing.
When he opens his palm, I see the glint of a diamond, and my brain just short-circuits.
Peace? What peace.
My heart races at a thousand miles a second. The shock is too much, and my chest tightens with the unfathomable realization of what is about to happen.
“Dante…what the fuck?” My voice comes out higher than I thought it was capable of.
“I was going to wait,” he starts, giving me a meaningful look that obviously reads “shut up and let me do this”. “I thought we’d at least get the unpacking done, settle in first, but I couldn’t help myself.”
“Oh, youbastard,” I say, but the heat is taken away by the tears that are already dripping from my eyes.
“Carmen, I love you. I always have. I want you to curse my name in Italian for the rest of our lives, scream at me,love me, just...be with me. Always.”
