THE WAITRESS WROTE A WARNING UNDER HIS DINNER PLATE—THEN THE BILLIONAIRE LOOKED AT HIS FIANCÉE

Six months later.

The air in Central Park was crisp and golden, the autumn leaves burning in vibrant shades of red and orange.

Nora sat on a wooden park bench, a steaming cup of coffee warming her hands. She wore a thick wool coat, her dark hair blowing gently in the morning breeze.

She watched the path in front of her.

A young man jogged by, wearing a college sweatshirt and carrying a thick portfolio case.

Leo.

He jogged over to the bench, grinning, his cheeks flushed from the cold. He looked healthier. Taller, somehow. The heavy burden of fear he used to carry was completely gone.

“Professor Davis loved my drafted blueprints,” Leo beamed, dropping onto the bench beside her and stealing a sip of her coffee. “He said I have a real shot at the summer internship in Chicago.”

Nora smiled, her heart swelling with pride. “I told you he would. You’re brilliant, Leo.”

“I had a good tutor,” he winked.

A lot had changed in six months.

Arthur Laurent was currently sitting in a federal penitentiary awaiting trial for racketeering, corporate espionage, and murder. The evidence on the hidden drive—which Nora and Adrian had finally unlocked together at the bank—was completely damning.

Vivienne was in a separate facility, facing decades behind bars. Her socialite friends had abandoned her the moment her bank accounts were frozen. The Laurent empire had crumbled into dust in a matter of weeks.

Nora’s father’s name had been quietly cleared. Adrian had hired the best private investigators in the world to find Thomas Hayes’s remains. They had brought him home, and Nora and Leo had finally given him a proper, peaceful burial.

And Nora?

She didn't work at the Vesper Crown anymore.

“Are you still meeting him for lunch?” Leo asked, nudging her shoulder.

Nora felt a warm blush creep up her neck. “Yes. We’re going to that little Italian place in the Village.”

Leo grinned knowingly. “Billionaires eating at mom-and-pop pasta shops. Love changes people.”

“Shut up,” Nora laughed, shoving him playfully.

Leo stood up, adjusting his backpack. “I gotta get to class. I’ll see you at home tonight. Love you, Nora.”

“Love you too, Leo.”

She watched him walk away, blending into the crowd of students and tourists. He was safe. He was happy. He belonged to a future that looked bright and open.

Nora sighed, leaning back against the bench. She looked down at her wrist.

She still wore the tarnished silver bracelet. It was a reminder of where she came from, and what she had survived.

“Is this seat taken?”

Nora looked up.

Adrian stood a few feet away. He wore a tailored charcoal overcoat, his dark hair neatly styled. The bruises from that horrific night were long gone, replaced by a relaxed, peaceful expression she had rarely seen on him.

“I suppose I can make room,” Nora smiled.

Adrian sat down beside her. He didn't bring security guards. He didn't bring an entourage. He was just a man, sitting in a park with the woman he loved.

He reached over and took her hand, his fingers intertwining with hers.

“How was the board meeting?” Nora asked.

“Boring,” Adrian sighed, though he was smiling. “We officially restructured the security protocols. And I stepped down as CEO.”

Nora blinked in surprise. “You stepped down? Why?”

“Because I realized I spent my entire life building a fortress to keep the world out,” Adrian said softly, looking out at the trees. “And it almost got me killed. I want to build something else now. Something better.”

He looked back at her, his dark eyes intense and deeply sincere.

“I want to build a life, Nora. With you. If you’ll let me.”

Nora looked at him. The man who had pulled her out of the darkness. The man who had protected her brother. The man she had saved, who had ended up saving her right back.

She wasn't invisible anymore. She was seen. Completely and entirely.

Nora smiled, her eyes shining with happy tears, and squeezed his hand.

“I’d like that, Adrian,” she whispered. “I’d like that very much.”