Chapter 15 - The Woman Who Refused to Abandon Him
Dante found the Boston letter accidentally.
He said nothing at first.
That was worse.
At dinner, Anna noticed his distance.
“What happened?”
“Nothing.”
“Dante.”
He looked at her.
“When were you going to tell me?”
She knew immediately.
“The offer.”
“Yes.”
“I haven’t decided.”
“You didn’t think I should know?”
“I was going to tell you.”
“When?”
“I don’t know.”
Dante laughed bitterly.
Anna felt anger rise.
“What?”
“Everyone decides what I can handle.”
“That isn’t what I did.”
“Isn’t it?”
She stopped.
He was right enough to hurt.
Anna had hidden the offer because she feared he would think she was leaving.
She had tried to protect him from uncertainty.
Exactly what everyone else had done.
“I’m sorry.”
Dante looked away.
“No excuses?”
“No.”
That surprised him.
“I should have told you.”
“Yes.”
“I was afraid.”
“Of what?”
“That if I said Boston out loud, you’d hear goodbye.”
His expression softened.
“Is it?”
Anna’s eyes filled.
“I don’t know.”
Dante nodded.
“Then decide.”
“You’re not going to ask me to stay?”
“I want you to stay.”
Her breath caught.
“But I won’t make your choice for you.”
That was love.
Not possession.
Not sacrifice demanded in advance.
Freedom with consequences.
Anna visited Boston.
Dante did not follow.
He did not call every hour.
He waited.
Three days later, she returned.
Dante met her at the airport.
She walked toward him.
He searched her face.
“Well?”
Anna placed the Boston offer in his hand.
Torn in half.
“I turned it down.”
Dante’s eyes widened.
“Because of me?”
“No.”
His face changed.
Anna smiled.
“Not only because of you.”
She explained.
She wanted the rehabilitation center.
She wanted to build something new.
She wanted Seattle.
And yes—
she wanted him.
Dante exhaled.
Then reached into his pocket.
Anna stared.
“Finally?”
“Finally.”
He opened the box.
The diamond was elegant, not enormous.
Perfect.
“Anna Foster.”
She covered her mouth.
“You were the first person who looked at me after the accident and waited for me to tell you what I needed.”
Tears filled her eyes.
“You gave me something I thought I’d lost.”
“What?”
“Myself.”
Anna knelt so they were eye level.
Dante smiled.
“Will you marry me?”
“Yes.”
No hesitation.
“Yes.”
He slipped the ring onto her finger.
Then Anna kissed him before he could say anything else.
Passengers applauded.
Dante groaned.
“I had hoped for privacy.”
“You proposed in an airport.”
“I miscalculated.”
She laughed against his mouth.
For once, their future looked uncomplicated.
Then Dante’s phone rang.
Marco.
Dante answered.
His expression changed.
May you like
Alessandro’s trial had been moved forward.
And he had requested one final meeting with his son.
