Chapter 190

Chapter 190
Nora's POV

We rounded a corner, and the path opened into a wide clearing. In the center stood an enormous white oak tree, its branches stretching toward the sky like something out of a fairytale. Beneath it, I could make out a wool blanket spread across the grass, surrounded by small solar lanterns that glowed a warm amber. A vintage glass bottle held a handful of wild roses.

My breath caught.

This wasn't a casual walk through the garden. This was planned. Meticulously planned.

I turned to Julian, my heart hammering so loudly I was certain he could hear it. "What is this?"

He didn't answer immediately. Instead, he led me closer to the tree, his thumb brushing over my knuckles in a way that both soothed and terrified me. When we reached the blanket, he stopped and turned to face me fully.

"Julian—"

"Sit with me," he said quietly.

I sank onto the blanket. He settled beside me, and for a moment, we just sat there in silence. The night air was cool against my skin, carrying the faint scent of jasmine from somewhere deeper in the garden.

"You know," I said, my voice barely above a whisper, "when your mom gave me this watch, I thought that was the most overwhelming thing that would happen tonight."

Julian let out a low laugh, but there was something nervous in it. "Nora."

I turned to look at him and found him watching me with an intensity that made my chest tighten. His hand moved to his jacket pocket, and I saw him take a slow, deliberate breath.

Oh God.

"I need to tell you something," he said.

My mouth went dry. "Okay."

He pulled out a small velvet box.

Time seemed to stop.

I stared at the box in his hand, my mind going completely blank.

Julian opened the box.

Inside was a ring.

Not just any ring. A platinum band with an oval sapphire at its center, the color so close to my own eyes that it took my breath away. Tiny diamonds surrounded the stone, and when I leaned closer, I could see an engraving on the inner band: N.G. & J.S.

"Julian," I whispered, my voice breaking. "What—"

He shifted, and before I could process what was happening, he dropped to one knee on the grass.

"Nora Grey," he said, his voice low and steady despite the emotion I could see flickering across his face. "From the moment I met you, I knew you were different. From the moment I realized who you were, I knew you were meant to be mine."

My eyes burned with unshed tears.

"I know you've been hurt," he continued. "I know you have doubts about marriage, about what it means to be part of a family like mine. I know that becoming a Sterling means you'll face scrutiny and pressure that you never asked for." His grip tightened on the ring box. "But I promise you, Nora—as the Federal Inspector General, and more importantly, as Julian Sterling, the man who loves you more than anything in this world—I will protect you. I will support you. I will never ask you to give up any part of yourself for me or for anyone else."

A tear slipped down my cheek.

"So I'm asking you," he said, his voice rougher now. "Will you marry me? Will you let me be your husband, your partner, the person who stands beside you for the rest of your life?"

I couldn't breathe. I couldn't think. All I could do was stare at him kneeling there in the grass, his silver eyes bright with hope and fear and love.

My heart was screaming at me to say yes. To throw myself into his arms and never let go.

But my mind—my stupid, scarred, self-protective mind—conjured up images of Kyle's mother sneering at me.

"I—" My voice cracked. "Julian, are you sure? I'm not... I'm not the kind of person who's supposed to stand beside someone like you. I don't have the right family, the right connections, the right—"

"Stop."

His voice was sharp enough to cut through my spiraling thoughts.

"I don't want the 'right' person, Nora." He reached up and caught the tear on my cheek with his thumb. "I want you. The woman who drives into disaster zones when everyone else is running away. The woman who fights for people no one else cares about."

My chest felt like it was caving in.

I took a shaky breath, my eyes dropping to the ring still waiting in its box. The sapphire caught the lamplight and seemed to glow from within.

"You know," I said quietly, "I used to think I'd never trust the word 'marriage' again. After everything with Kyle, after watching how his mother weaponized it, I thought it was just another word for 'cage.'"

Julian's jaw tightened, but he stayed silent.

"But you..." I looked back up at him, and the fear in my chest began to loosen its grip. "You showed me it doesn't have to be that way. That it can mean partnership. Equality. Home."

"So yes," I said, my voice stronger now. "Yes, Julian Sterling. I'll marry you."

For a heartbeat, he just stared at me, as if he couldn't quite believe what he'd heard. Then his entire face lit up with a joy so pure it nearly broke me.

He pulled the ring from its box with hands that were actually trembling—Julian, who never trembled—and reached for my left hand. I held it out, my own fingers shaking, and watched as he slid the platinum band onto my ring finger.

It fit perfectly.

Of course it did.

"When did you measure my finger?" I asked, laughing through my tears.

He grinned at me. "Every night I slept beside you."

I gasped. "You sneak."

"Guilty." He stood and pulled me to my feet, then immediately wrapped his arms around me and kissed me so thoroughly that I forgot where we were, forgot everything except the feeling of his mouth on mine and his hands in my hair.

When we finally broke apart, I was dizzy and breathless and happier than I'd ever been in my life.