Chapter 13 - The True Foundation
Two weeks later, the Moretti estate was peaceful once again. The scorched wing of the mansion was already undergoing careful architectural restoration, but the gardens and the main living quarters were bathed in the soft, golden light of a summer morning.
Claire sat at the mahogany desk in the master study. The heavy leather-bound journal of Elena Moretti sat closed before her, alongside the genetic report that had revealed the truth about her bloodline.
The door opened softly, and Dante walked in. He wore a crisp dark shirt, his injured shoulder healing cleanly under the watchful eye of a private physician, though he still moved with a slight stiffness.
He walked up behind her, placing his hands gently on her shoulders, leaning down to press a soft kiss into her hair.
"How are you holding up?" Dante asked quietly.
Claire reached up, covering his hand with hers. "I was just thinking about everything that led us here, Dante. For a long time, I thought my life was defined by the people who abandoned me—Derek walking away in the hospital, the secret adoption, the lies about my bloodline."
"You were never defined by them," Dante said firmly. "You defined yourself the moment you stood in that hospital corridor and chose to protect your daughter."
"I know," Claire turned around in his seat, looking up into his dark, unwavering eyes. "And I know Julian Vance’s journal proved I’m not a Moretti by blood. But blood doesn't make a family, Dante. We do."
Dante smiled—a warm, genuine smile that reached his eyes, chasing away the last lingering shadows of his thirty-year ghost. "Then let's make it official."
Claire blinked, tilting her head. "What do you mean?"
Dante knelt down on one knee right beside her chair, reaching into his pocket to pull out a small, black velvet box. He flipped it open, revealing a breathtaking, flawless diamond ring that caught the morning light like captured fire. It wasn't a marriage of convenience this time. It wasn't a legal fortress built in a chapel under duress.
"When we married six months ago, I gave you a shackle wrapped in gold," Dante said, his voice thick with emotion. "I wanted to trap you inside my fortress to keep you safe from the wolves. But you didn't just survive in this house, Claire. You brought light into it. You brought my niece—our daughter—into the light. Marry me again. Not as an alliance. Not as a shield. Marry me because you love me, as I love you."
May you like
Claire felt a tear slip down her cheek, but a radiant, blinding smile broke across her face. She threw her arms around his neck, nearly knocking him over as she buried her face in his shoulder.
"Yes," she whispered fiercely against his ear. "Yes, a thousand times yes."
