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“Remind me. In a lunar eclipse, it’s the earth’s shadow hitting the moon, right?” I ask as I snuggle back into Ade’s embrace, my head tucked beneath his chin.
“Correct.”
“When will it start?” I ask, gazing up at the sky.
“Pretty soon, I believe,” he replies, nuzzling my beanie clad head. He seems pensive tonight. Must be because he’s just as taken as me with this magical night.
My gaze rises back to the moon. This lunar eclipse is set to last a little over an hour.
“Oh wow. Look, Ade. The earth’s shadow is starting to show on the moon.” I point at the sky as a corner of the moon darkens. “It has begun,” I say in awe. “It’s such a beautiful spectacle. It’s a shame people feared these events for centuries. How could this possibly be a bad omen?
“If anything, isn’t it just a symbolism for life? There are the good and light days. Then something bad happens and a shadow is cast. But it will move on eventually and when the light returns it seems brighter than before. If only we would remember when we’re under a shadow that the darkness never lasts.”
Goose bumps run over my skin at my own words. Yes, if only I had remembered that when my parents passed, or when I was full of despair when I left Tiero. Both eclipses seem eons ago now.
“That was beautifully said,” Ade replies, his voice so low, it awakens the slumbering butterflies in my tummy. “I read that a lunar eclipse is the perfect opportunity to release deep-seated wounds and move beyond old fears. It’s the perfect time to let go, bring something to completion, or let something fall away.”
Ade pulls out a little bottle of champagne from the hamper, and opening it, pours it into our glasses. He looks up at the sky where the moon is more than half in shadow.
“It said eclipses are cosmic catalysts that trigger endings and push you to take a step toward new beginnings… the perfect time to dream big and imagine what your most radiant life would be like…”
While he seemed tense before, the more he talks the calmer he seems to become, his solid timbre replacing the slight tremor in his voice.
“I want something to come to an end and fall away… I want something new to begin. If I dream of my most radiant life, you, Ella, are always the star of it.”
The goose bumps are more pronounced now, and I’m tingling all over. I stare at Ade wide-eyed. Is he…? No. No way.
“What do you want to come to an end?” I whisper, my heartbeat drumming more forcefully in my chest.
“I want my bachelorhood to come to an end, Ella.”
My heart literally stops and my breath with it.
“I want a new beginning with you as my wife and me as your husband.”
After missing a few beats, my heart is now racing so fast, it’s breaking speed records. Spots appear in my vision.
No, no, no. Please don’t faint now!
Aiden kneels up and pulls out a little navy-blue box from his jacket.
Oh my god! He reallyisproposing!
Popping the lid open, I stare at the diamond ring, the dancing flames beside us making it sparkle and glitter. When my eyes rise to meet his, all I see is love.
“Ella Rose O’Neil, I knew I was home the moment you crashed into me. I still can’t believe how you completely shifted my perception of what I wanted from life in a millisecond. I know this is fast, and yet it is not. The calendar says we haven’t known each other that long, but my heart and soul disagree.
“You’re my light… my sunshine during the day, my moonlight during the night, and always and forever my lucida… the brightest star in my constellation.
“Say yes to a lifetime together. Yes to me forever yours, and you forever mine.” Ade’s voice is choked with emotions now, his eyes glistening. He takes one last deep breath as the tears have already begun rolling down my cheeks.
“Ella Rose O’Neil, I love you with all that I am and all that I have… this lifetime and any other. Will you marry me?”
Chapter Thirty-Three
Ella
Myheartratespikes,the air pregnant in my lungs.
