Chapter 10 - A PROMISE IN THE SNOW
It was Christmas Eve, exactly one year after the gala that changed our lives.
We were at my cabin in Aspen. The boys were asleep upstairs, exhausted from a day of skiing. The fire crackled in the hearth, casting a warm, golden glow over the rustic room.
Cole poured two glasses of wine and handed me one. He looked nervous—a rare sight for a man who commanded boardrooms with a single glance.
“Seven years ago,” Cole started, his voice thick with emotion, “I bought a ring. I was going to ask you to marry me under the clock tower in Chicago. When you didn't show up, I threw it into the river.”
He reached into his pocket and pulled out a small velvet box. He dropped to one knee on the bear-skin rug.
“I can't give you the last seven years back, Norah. But I can give you every single second of the rest of my life. You are my equal. My heart. My absolute everything. Will you marry me?”
He opened the box. Inside was a flawless, radiant-cut diamond, entirely different from the one he had bought when we were young. This one wasn't a promise of potential; it was a testament to survival.
May you like
Tears blurred my vision. “Yes,” I choked out. “Yes, Cole.”
He slipped the ring onto my finger and pulled me into a kiss that tasted of wine, tears, and a lifetime of pent-up love.
