Page 107 of Unravelling: Aria & Crispin
"Just do it, Aria."
She narrowed her eyes at him but complied. Her fingers closed around a small box-warm, solid, and carved from rosewood, with delicate enamel inlays that caught the last of the evening light.
"Open it," he nudged.
Inside, nestled on ivory velvet, was a yellow sapphire ring-antique, oval, ringed with tiny diamonds in a halo of gold filigree. It shimmered like honey in the sunlight.
She looked up at him, startled.
But Crispin didn't rush the moment.
Instead, he took a breath, his hands still resting on her belly, and said quietly, "I want to tell you a story. About a couple of idiotic teenage boys."
Aria blinked.
"Dorian and I went to this all-boys private school. Proper posh. Ties, prefects, cold showers in winter, the works." He gave a short, crooked smile. "Every year, they sponsored one scholarship student, and he was usually from a very different world. That year, it was Allister."
He sat back slightly, but his eyes remained locked on hers. "Now, you'd think he'd be the target, being the poor kid in a rich boy's school. But not him. He was massive, charismatic. Insanely good at rugby. And just...confident. Like, if you thought less of him, that was your problem kind of confidence."
Aria listened, rapt to this window into Crispin's childhood. She was still unsure where he was going with this.
"He was brilliant at maths. Sharp as hell. And somehow, we ended up becoming friends. I think... I think it was the first time I really knew what it meant to be someone's friend. We used to hang out in his mum's kitchen after school. His dad was a plumber; his mum worked as a teaching assistant. They had three younger kids. That house was chaos-loud, messy, full of life-but the second you walked in..."
He paused as if remembering and fondness flickered in his expression. "She had tea ready-with scones, cakes, homemade jam-like clockwork. She'd smile and scold us for not doing our homework, but then feed us, anyway. I think... I think that was the first time I felt what a home could be. Not a museum, but a place where you could just be boys."
Aria's hand twitched in his.
"Years later, when Allister wanted to open a stud farm in the Highlands-it was he his dream-I backed him, no questions asked. I am his silent partner. I didn't have to think twice. I knew if anyone could make it work, it was him. But more importantly, I wanted to do that for him and his family because it would keep them in my life."
He looked down at her belly again, gently brushing the fabric of her cardigan. "And then, many years later, my eyes met yours across the hallway in Du Valares. And I was hooked. I'm not going to lie, Aria. At first? I just wanted to get you into bed. You were beautiful and closed-off and sharp-eyed and interesting. A challenge. But then I started to notice the little things, the cracks you didn't think I saw behind that ten-foot wall around you. Meeting you was like meeting Allister in many ways. Both of you important to me in ways I cannot define."
A faint smile lifted the corner of his mouth. "I don't know anyone more like a hedgehog than you-all bristles. But then we became friends, then lovers. And that first time..."
He stopped, his voice going soft with wonder. "How do you describe bliss? When I knew that you were mine and mine alone. I wish I could give you the same gift."
Her throat bobbed, but she said nothing.
"Now, I know what happened to you when you were a child. You were so strong to survive and bring Lule up like you did. It didn't take long before I knew I wanted you by my side. But I got greedy; I thought I could sort out my inheritance-clean up the board, win my father's approval-then bring you out into the light. But I made you wait. I tried to keep you in deep freeze while I played prince to the empire."
He shook his head. "But you found out, and you walked. And it was like being plunged into darkness. I didn't know how much of myself was tethered to you until you were no longer there. You removed yourself from me and I just couldn't bear it."
He exhaled, ragged. "For me, being with you was like...holding my breath all day and then finally being able to exhale the second I stepped into your flat. That relief...you were that for me. And then it was gone." His voice broke slightly.
"I spiralled-of course I did. And when you disappeared, when I couldn't find you, I realised...no, I knew...that I'd been an idiot. I could've walked away from the company. I had enough. I could've just had you. Why did I risk you?"
He slid from the bench to his knees in front of her. "Why did I risk you when you were what I wanted the most?"
There was silence.
And then, softer, he said, "So here I am, on my knees. It’s not because I think it'll fix what I broke, but because I adore you. And I want you to know that, if you give me a second chance, I won't just build a life around you; I'll guard it with everything I have."
Crispin exhaled, dragging a hand through his hair, pointing to the ring. "This has been burning a hole in my pocket for weeks. And don't say no yet. Just...think about it. I knew you would've said no a month ago, and I deserved it. But I'm hoping you'll at least give it more thought now."
He paused, his smile rueful. "I wish you'd say yes. Because then I could order you to use my credit card without all the dramatics."
She gave a surprised snort-more of a breath than a sound-but she didn't say no.
Crispin took Aria to see an obstetrician on Harley Street a few days after they'd settled in.
