Chapter 9 - THE MAN WHO FINALLY ASKED
Snow fell over Manhattan.
Clara stood beside the window of Dominic's townhouse.
Elias was upstairs wrapping presents.
Dominic entered holding a small wooden box.
Clara smiled.
“Another coin?”
“Yes.”
She opened it.
Inside was a silver coin.
But this one was different.
On one side was the familiar crescent.
On the other were two words.
STAY HOME.
Clara laughed through sudden tears.
“What does that mean?”
Dominic looked nervous.
For once, the most feared man in New York looked like an ordinary man who had no idea what to say.
“It means I'm tired of saying goodbye.”
Clara looked at him.
“You don't have to.”
“I know.”
He reached into his pocket.
There was no giant diamond.
No crowd.
No orchestra.
Just a simple ring.
“My life was built around control,” he said.
“I controlled people because I was afraid of losing them.”
Clara's eyes softened.
“But you?”
“You were the first person I couldn't control.”
She laughed.
“That sounds romantic in your head.”
“It sounded better yesterday.”
She laughed harder.
Dominic smiled.
Then he became serious.
“I don't want to rescue you.”
Clara stopped.
“I don't want you to owe me anything.”
He took her hand.
“I want you beside me because you choose me.”
Clara looked at the ring.
Then at him.
“Dominic.”
“I know I can't erase the night I found you.”
“You don't need to.”
“I can't give you back the nine years Nathaniel stole.”
“No.”
“But I can give you every year I have left.”
Clara cried.
Not from sadness.
From relief.
She touched his face.
“You already did.”
He froze.
“Is that a yes?”
“Yes.”
Upstairs, Elias shouted:
“DID MOM SAY YES?”
Clara laughed.
Dominic looked toward the ceiling.
“I told you to stay upstairs.”
“I CAN HEAR EVERYTHING!”
Clara laughed again.
Elias ran down the stairs.
“Does this mean we're a real family?”
Dominic looked at him.
“We've been a family for nine years.”
Elias hugged him.
Dominic closed his eyes.
For a man who had once believed affection was weakness, the moment felt almost unbearable.
Later that night, after Elias went to sleep, Clara and Dominic stood outside beneath falling snow.
She held the silver coin.
“Why did you start this tradition?”
Dominic looked at the city.
“Because the first night I met you, I thought survival was the only thing that mattered.”
“And now?”
He looked at her.
“Living does.”
Clara leaned against him.
For the first time in years, snow didn't remind her of death.
It reminded her of the night her life changed.
May you like
Not because someone saved her.
But because she survived long enough to save herself.
