Page 60 of Final Vendetta

I swallowed hard, a tear sliding down my cheek at how terrifying that must have been. Yet, he somehow managed to find the strength to survive. To not give up.

“When I finally escaped, I almost ruined it all over again. I let revenge consume me. In my mind, it was the only way to settle the score. But I don’t want to live like that anymore. Not when I have a chance at something better. At something real.”

He opened a small velvet box and revealed a sparkling, round-cut solitaire diamond. It was simple, but elegant. Just like him.

“I don’t want to be defined by what happened to me, by the mistakes I’ve made.” His voice softened, his eyes piercing into mine. “I want to be defined byyou, Imogene. By us. By this love Ididn’t think I’d ever find again. All that time I was locked away, I thought my need for revenge kept me alive. Now that I’m able to think clearly again, I’ve realized I was wrong.Youkept me alive. Your love. Your refusal to give up on me. It brought me back from hell.Youbrought me back from hell.”

My heart swelled with gratitude that our love had been strong enough to see him through his darkest days. It helped me through mine, too, even if I didn’t realize it at the time.

“I’ve been looking back for too long. I’m not going to do that anymore. Orpheus lost Eurydice because he looked back. I won’t lose you because of it.”

He paused for a beat, taking a deep breath to settle his emotions.

“I may not know what the future holds. But I do know I want to spend it with you. Every second. Every moment.”

“Gideon…” I exhaled, struggling to blink away the tears spilling from my eyelids.

“I know it’s not an extravagant ring,” he continued before I could attempt to make sense of everything I was feeling.

He gave me a heartwarming smile that was a mixture of Samuel, Gideon, and every other part of this man I couldn’t imagine not having in my life.

“When the gaming platform took off and I started making real money, the first thing I did was go to a jewelry store and buy this ring. I knew we were nowhere near that stage of our relationship. I figured since the wine bottle worked for my professional life, buying a ring might work for us. Luckily Henry thought to keep it so I can do what I’ve wanted for too long now.”

He licked his lips, his eyes locked on mine with love and determination. “I know there’s a lot left unresolved, but I also know just how fleeting life can be. I don’t want to waste another second of my life without you by my side.”

His voice cracked slightly as he brought the ring up to my finger and whispered, “Imogene, will you marry me?”

I shook my head, tears blurring my vision as I stared down at this beautiful, imperfect man.

I once imagined what it would be like if he proposed. Truthfully, I wasn’t sure if it would ever happen, not when we were trying to keep our relationship hidden from Liam. Or, more accurately,Iwas trying to keep it from Liam.

When I got that phone call and learned Samuel was presumed dead after his car was found with a bullet hole in the blood-soaked driver’s seat, my biggest regret was loving him in the shadows. Like he just said… We had a second chance. I wasn’t going to ruin this, regardless of the uncertainties that loomed ahead.

“Please say something,” he begged after several long moments, the silence between us heavy. Then a smile lit up my face.

“How does yes sound?” I choked out.

Relief covered his expression as he slid the ring onto my finger and jumped to his feet, pulling my body against his. “Yes sounds fucking perfect.”

His lips found mine, warm and urgent, and I melted into him. With each touch of his hands against my skin, a soft sigh escaped my lips.

In this moment, I didn’t allow myself to worry about all the uncertainties hovering like a foreboding cloud in the distance. Instead, I let myself believe we could have this. That we could be happy. That we could live the life we once dreamed of.

“Hold on,” he warned after bringing the kiss to an end.

“What do you mean?”

He swooped me into his arms and carried me inside. The warmth of his body radiated through me as he held me close, making my heart race in anticipation.

He reached the bedroom in just a handful of strides, carefully setting me down. But he didn’t let go. His hands caressed me as he walked me backwards toward the bed, his lips moving sensually against mine in a kiss that felt like it could mend all the cracks and fissures inside me.

He moved from my mouth, peppering kisses along my jawline and down the column of my neck before spinning me around. He tugged the tie of my dress loose and it fell to the floor, my bra and panties soon joining it.

Facing him, I pushed his jacket off his shoulders, my eyes locking with his as I slowly unbuttoned his shirt. I couldn’t help but marvel at how far we’d come since the first time I tried to do this same thing and he stopped me. It seemed so long ago. Like we were different people back then, despite it only being a few short months ago.

Then again, weweredifferent people back then. Gideon was still clinging to the past. In a way, so was I, still in love with a ghost.

But now, as I ran my hands over the same scars I did that day, I found myself appreciating them even more. Every mark, every line, every bump made him into who he was today. But it didn’t define him. Even better, he wasn’tlettingthem define him anymore.

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