Chapter 200

Chapter 200

Olivia's POV

Damien just stared at me like he hadn't quite registered it yet.

I grabbed his hand and dragged him toward the ambulance. "Let's pick a date and get married. But before we do, you you need to recover properly first."

Damien whipped his head around, something like excitement lighting up his face. Then he pulled me into a one-armed hug, his voice carrying an edge of urgency. "I'm fine. I don't need to recover."

The way he smiled at me sent a flutter through my chest.

Embarrassed, I pushed him back and gestured toward the doctor waiting by the ambulance. "I already told you, I'm not marrying someone who can't even lift his arm. Let the doctor check you out."

Damien tried to refuse again, but one look from me silenced him. Finally, yielding under my gaze, he stepped into the ambulance.

He was covered in blood— though thankfully, none of it was life-threatening. Even so, his fractured arm would take time to heal.

After we got back, Damien seized it as a reason to stay away from the office.

Every day, he stayed at the hospital with the kids and me.

I looked at him, caught between exasperation and bewilderment. "Are you sure this is okay? It sounds like a lot of people at the company are counting on you."

Damien glanced at me like it didn't matter. "If a company that size can't function without me, then it doesn't deserve to exist."

He brushed his fingers along the side of my neck and pressed a kiss to my cheek. "Don't worry — after the wedding, I'll go back. And you'll come with me. I'll see if I can hand you some of the easier work, because once you're my wife, your skills can't stay where they are forever."

That was exactly what I'd been thinking. If we were truly going to be married, I couldn't go on depending on him the way I always had.

I squeezed his hand and gave a small nod. "I'll do whatever you arrange."

Damien looked surprised. "So obedient all of a sudden?"

I turned away, flustered, and tucked a loose strand of hair behind my ears. "Don't get the wrong idea. I just want to help you."

It was the most ordinary thing to say, and yet somehow it seemed to please him. His gaze softened, and the corner of his mouth curved upward. "I know. My Olivia is always the most thoughtful."

I didn't know what happened, but ever since we got back from the docks, Damien had become someone who could say sweet things as easily and naturally as breathing.

Half the time, I had no idea what to do with that.

I looked at him and, Without thinking, I reached over and gave his shoulder a light smack. "So when are you actually planning to marry me?"

We had only spoken of it once, back at the docks — and Damien had never raised it again since.

I thought maybe he'd forgotten, but he'd only grown closer to me, our feelings deepening day by day.

But they were still just feelings, unspoken — our relationship never advancing in any tangible direction.

After enough time had passed, I couldn't hold it in any longer, and I lowered my voice. "Damien, I took what you said to heart. If you're having second thoughts…"

"How could I back out?" He cut in immediately. "I want the wedding as soon as possible. I just have something I need to resolve on my end first. Once it's over, we'll have the wedding immediately, okay?"

His eyes held hope, and beneath it, a quiet, helpless ache.

I knew the decision wasn't entirely his to make — and besides, agreeing was the only real option I had.

I held his hand and softened my tone. "I didn't mean anything by it — just don't forget what you promised."

I'd rather Damien call the wedding off than have him raise my hopes only to crush them.

I'd already lived through one marriage that fell apart. I couldn't survive another.

This relationship with Damien had taken so much out of me. I was gambling again — and if it fell apart, I would take the kids and go, leaving all of this, and Damien, behind.

Damien was perceptive enough to read every thought I hadn't spoken.

After that, the subject stayed buried between us.

As the kids grew, the bond between Damien and me only grew stronger.

But the wedding kept getting pushed back, lingering unresolved like an open question.

I was unhappy, but after a while, I stopped holding onto the idea so desperately.

All I wanted was for Damien to stay by my side, and for the kids to be healthy.

In the blink of an eye, a few months had gone by. Then Flynn was executed.

I couldn't bring myself to go. Damien attended the execution alone.

I made dinner and waited at home for him to come back.

For Damien, it carried real weight, and I wanted to mark it properly.

Four hours later, Damien got out of the car looking utterly drained.

After everything we'd been through together, it was the first time I'd ever seen him look so exhausted — so fragile.

I walked up to him, and before I could say a word, he pulled me into a tight hug.

He rested his head on my shoulder, his eyes clouded with guilt.

After a long silence, his voice came low against my ear, "I'm sorry I made you wait so long."

Then Damien suddenly let go, dropped to one knee, and looked up at me with quiet resolve. "I know you've been waiting for our wedding. I have too. But Flynn was a shadow I couldn't shake. I couldn't think about anything else until it was truly over."

He looked up at me, his expression grave and sincere. "I promised we'd get married, and I still haven't given you a proper proposal. Today feels like the right day to fix that. Will you marry me?"

Every word rang with sincerity.

Saying no would have made me the greatest fool alive.

I held out my hand toward him, nodding before I had even found the words. "Yes — I will. I'll marry you."

Three weeks later, the wedding was held in a church.

Neither Damien nor I liked too much attention, so we chose a church that was full of quiet reverence — beautiful, but tucked away from the world.

It was so still that the pastor's voice seemed to fill the entire space.

And yet, in that stillness, I felt more purely happy than I had in years.

I turned to Damien and spoke my vows. We promised that in sickness and in health, in youth and in old age, we would never abandon each other. We promised to love each other, always and without condition.

We promised we'd grow old together.

After we finished, the pastor invited us to exchange rings.

I looked at Damien, overwhelmed, my eyes stinging with tears I hadn't expected. "Damien, thank you for everything you've done for me these past months. You never say much, but I've seen it. I have come to love you more than I know how to say. I truly want to build a family with you."

My voice broke, but I kept going. "I'm grateful you proposed to me. And I want to tell you… somewhere along the way, I fell in love with you. So I want to be with you forever."

I looked at Damien, and found his eyes already on me.

In that moment, everything was quiet and whole, as if time had paused, choosing this moment as its most beautiful.