CHAPTER 200 - FINAL CHAPTER
CHAPTER 200 - FINAL CHAPTER
Three months later.
Amelia stood by the window of her hotel room, the city spread out beneath her like a constellation of restless lights. It was well past six in the evening. Tonight’s concert pulsed in her veins already, the familiar mix of nerves and anticipation humming under her skin.
There was a soft knock at the door.
Amy stepped in, holding Amelia’s phone. “Your favorite person has been calling,” she said with a small smile. “I figured you’d want to take this one.”
Amelia’s heart lifted instantly. She took the phone, her lips curving into a smile before she even spoke. “Hey.”
“Hey,” Matteo said, his voice warm and familiar despite the distance.
She leaned against the window, letting herself breathe him in through sound alone. “What time is it there?”
“Just past three in the morning,” he answered.
Her brows knit together. “You haven’t slept?”
“I wanted to talk to you before your concert,” he said simply. “I wanted to wish you luck.”
She closed her eyes for a moment. “You always do that.”
There was a pause, then she spoke more softly. “I’m sorry I haven’t been around much. I know things have been… heavy. With your family. With Viviana.”
“It’s okay,” Matteo said gently. “I’m proud of you. Your career is back on track. You and Vincent are finally in a good place. You deserve this.”
“And home?” Amelia asked. “How are things at home?”
He exhaled slowly. “Some days are better than others. I don’t know if my parents will fully recover from the truth. I don’t know if my father will ever completely understand why my mother kept it all from him. But I’m hoping… I’m hoping they’ll find a way to forgive each other.”
“And Viviana?”
Matteo was quiet for a moment. “She hasn’t spoken to my mother since that day. She left the mansion. Went abroad. Mom has been giving her space. She’s praying one day Viviana will come back.”
Amelia’s voice softened. “What do you think about her?”
“I’ve been thinking about that a lot,” Matteo admitted. “She did terrible things. But when I found out she was my sister… something in me shifted. I think she was acting out of fear. The fear of being replaced. I don’t want that cycle to repeat itself. Not in my family.”
Amelia smiled faintly. “That’s who you are.”
“And you?” Matteo asked. “How’s the tour?”
She laughed quietly. “Amazing. Exhausting. Every show is sold out. I feel grateful… but tired. I miss home. I miss you.”
“I miss you too,” he said. “When this is over, take time. For your family. For us.”
“I promise,” she said. “I’m coming back to you.”
They lingered on the line a moment longer, trading quiet words, soft reassurances, until Matteo finally said, “Break a leg tonight.”
She laughed. “Always.”
After the call ended, Amy watched her fondly. “You’re lucky,” she said. “He checks on you the way someone who truly loves you does.”
Amelia nodded. “I know.”
“You should rest,” Amy added. “After this tour, you owe him some time.”
“I plan to,” Amelia said.
That night, the stadium was alive.
Thousands of lights shimmered in the darkness, glowing wristbands raised high, moving like a sea of stars. Amelia stood at the center of the stage, her voice carrying over the crowd as they sang every word back to her.
It felt like coming home.
As the final song ended, the host stepped forward, grinning. “What a tour,” he said. “Every song number one. Every stadium sold out. But before we end tonight, we have something special for Amelia.”
A cake was wheeled onto the stage.
Amelia blinked in confusion. “My birthday isn’t for another two months.”
The host chuckled. “Then I guess you’ll still have to cut it.”
She looked closer.
The icing didn’t read Happy Birthday.
It read: Will you marry me?
The crowd erupted.
Amelia’s breath caught. “That’s not my cake,” she said into the microphone, half-laughing, half-stunned.
“Isn’t it?” the host teased.
The screens lit up, the words flashing everywhere, hearts and cheers flooding the stadium.
Then movement caught her eye.
Someone stepped out from backstage.
Her breath stopped.
“Mateo…?” she whispered, the microphone still in her hand.
He walked toward her slowly, flowers clasped in his hands.
She lowered the mic, her voice barely audible now. “What are you doing here?” she asked, stunned. “You told me you were at home.”
He smiled.
“I lied.”
Her eyes filled instantly.
Before she could say anything else, he dropped to one knee.
The host rushed forward, slipping a microphone toward him as the stadium erupted.
“Amelia,” Matteo said, his voice steady despite the noise, “I’ve lied exactly once in my life in a way that mattered. And it was because I wanted to be here.”
He opened the small box, the ring catching the stage lights.
“You’ve been the best thing that ever happened to me. Every storm we walked through only pulled me closer to you. I don’t want a life where you’re a voice on the phone or a city away.”
He looked up at her, eyes full and certain.
“So in front of everyone who loves you… will you marry me?”
The stadium held its breath.
Amelia covered her mouth, tears spilling freely. She pulled him up instead of answering, wrapping her arms around him, laughing and crying all at once.
“Yes,” she said into his shoulder. “Yes.”
He slipped the ring onto her finger.
He kissed her slowly, reverently, as if the noise of the stadium had fallen away and there was only the two of them left in the world. Amelia melted into him, her hands clutching his jacket, the weight of every loss and every waiting moment finally easing from her chest.
It wasn’t a kiss of spectacle - it was a promise, sealed in front of thousands, but meant only for them.
The crowd exploded.
The host laughed into the mic. “Ladies and gentlemen, looks like you all just got a bonus show tonight.”
Matteo lifted Amelia into his arms, spinning her once as the lights blazed and the music swelled.
And under a sky full of stars and voices, Amelia finally understood something simple and true.
The spotlight had never been the point.
Love was.
PS: This one is for you NF user 2504126005 – Thank you for pushing me to the finish line!
And every other reader who has walked Amelia's journey with me. Love you all.
Check out THE LOST LYCAN PRINCESS AND HER BEWITCHED ALPHA next.
HAPPY HOLIDAYS!