Page 124 of Vendetta Vows

I reach into my pocket, feeling the weight of my mother's ring. I hadn't planned this moment, but suddenly I know it's right.

"My mother gave me something before she left."

I pull the gold ring from my pocket and watch the sunlight catch along its edges, warming the metal until it almost glows. My mother's ring. The one that adorned her finger for over forty years.

"She wanted you to have this."

Aurora's eyes widen as she stares at the gleaming circle nestled in my palm. "But... why would she give this to me after telling me I don't belong here?"

"Because despite her fears, she sees what I see." My voice drops lower. "She knows I've made my choice."

Aurora's lips part slightly as she processes this contradiction. The sun catches in her hair, and for a moment I forget to breathe.

"My mother believes the world is made of monsters who devour everything good that enters it," I explain. "She's not entirely wrong. But what she fails to see is that some monsters can protect what matters to them."

I take Aurora's hand and slowly slip the ring onto her finger.

The ring fits perfectly, as though it was always meant to be there. Against her pale skin, the diamond shines brighter, as if lit by an inner fire that matches the woman wearing it.

"This is the final piece of our costume." My throat tightens. "Yet somehow, this feels more real than anything else."

Aurora looks down at our joined hands, then back up at me. A tear slips down her cheek.

"I don't know if I can."

"You can," I interrupt, wiping away the tear with my thumb. "And you will. Because whatever comes for us, whether it's Semyon, Gregor, Tamara, or the monster chasing you from your past. We face them together."

She studies my face, searching for deception, for weakness. Finding none, she nods once, decisively.

"Together," she whispers.

I pull Aurora in for a kiss, drawing her body against mine like she's already mine, already my wife in every way that matters.

Her lips part against mine. Soft, yielding, and somehow demanding in their gentleness. I cup her face with one hand, feeling how delicate she is beneath my tattooed fingers.

The contradiction between us should be jarring. My calloused hands against her silk-soft skin, a man built for violence holding something so precious.

"Mine," I murmur against her mouth.

Not a question. A declaration.

She relaxes against me, melting into my chest as though she belongs there. And she does. She fucking does.

I deepen the kiss, my tongue tracing the seam of her lips until she opens for me. A soft whimper escapes her throat and I want to devour her right here in the garden, but I hold myself back.

"Your mother's right about one thing," Aurora whispers when we break apart, her forehead resting against my chest. "I don't know this world."

"You know me." I tilt her chin up, making sure she sees the truth in my eyes. "That's enough."

She glances down at the diamond on her finger before turning her gaze back to me.

"Suddenly this doesn't feel like it's just for show anymore, does it?"

"No," I answer honestly as I trace my thumb over cheeks. "But maybe it never was."

I kiss her again, harder this time. Possessive. Claiming. Her fingers tangle in my hair, pulling me closer as though she can't get enough either, before they start moving down.

I don't break the kiss as her fingers unzip my pants in the afternoon air.

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