Chapter 15 - The Gift|
That evening, as the sun dipped below the horizon of Lake Michigan, painting the sky in deep shades of violet and crimson, I guided Alina down to the private dock behind our Evanston estate.
A sleek, ninety-foot yacht sat idling quietly in the clear blue water, its white hull glowing under the sunset.
Emblazoned across the stern in elegant gold lettering was a single name:
THE ALINA.
Alina stopped on the wooden dock, her hands covering her mouth, tears pricking her dark eyes as she looked at the magnificent vessel.
"Dante..." she gasped, turning to look at me. "Is this...?"
"Three years ago, I gave you twenty-seven pages of legal papers because I thought money could buy your freedom," I said, taking both her hands in mine, looking deep into her eyes. "Tonight, I’m giving you this because I want to show you the world."
"Dante, it's too much," she whispered, smiling through her tears.
"Nothing is too much for you, my love," I replied, pulling a small velvet box from my jacket pocket.
I opened it.
Inside sat a stunning, unheated six-carat sapphire ring, surrounded by a halo of brilliant diamonds—a ring designed not by corporate lawyers or family trusts, but crafted personally by me to replace the simple band she had worn for three years.
May you like
I slipped it onto her left ring finger. It fit perfectly.
Alina looked down at the glowing blue gemstone, then threw her arms around my neck, kissing me with a deep, passionate warmth that made the rest of the world melt away into the quiet evening air.
