Chapter 215

Chapter 215

Half a month later.

Spring came late to Emberfall City, but the sunshine was warm, and even the breeze didn't feel cold anymore.

Octavia had just gotten back from the office. She parked her car and walked through the front door of the Seymour Family estate.

The living room was empty—not even the housekeeper was around. Strange. She changed her shoes, walked down the hallway, and pushed open the door to the garden.

Then she froze.

The garden was packed with people. Monica, Patrick, John, Sierra—even Paloma was there, smiling at her.

Chloe had come too, sitting in her wheelchair with Clinton standing beside her. She looked so much healthier than before.

Everyone was smiling, all eyes on her.

Octavia stood there, her mind struggling to catch up. She felt confused.

"What's going on today? Are you guys having a party?"

Monica gave her an exasperated look and pointed toward the center of the garden. Octavia followed her finger.

Leopold was standing beneath the wisteria arbor.

He was already ridiculously handsome on his most casual days, but right now, he'd clearly put in effort. His hair was slicked back, and he wore a custom suit she'd never seen before—more formal than anything he'd worn to galas or charity events. He looked so devastatingly handsome it almost didn't seem real.

Yet at the same time, he looked like every ordinary man in the world: holding flowers in one hand and a small box in the other.

Octavia's heart started racing. She suddenly understood what was happening, but her feet felt nailed to the ground. She couldn't move forward. Couldn't run away.

Leopold looked at her, his gaze sweeping over her face—from her eyes to the bridge of her nose, from her nose to her lips, inch by inch, like he was taking in the most beautiful view in the world.

"Want to come over?" he asked. His voice sounded calm, but Octavia still caught a thread of nervousness beneath it.

Octavia walked toward him. Every step felt like a dream. The stone path beneath her feet was solid, yet her steps felt weightless, unreal.

She stopped in front of him and looked up.

His eyes were bright, like they held all the sunshine of spring.

Octavia could barely hear her own voice. "Leopold, what are you doing?"

"Proposing." Leopold said it so casually, but the tips of his ears turned faintly red, betraying that he wasn't nearly as composed as he seemed. "You said you weren't smart, right? So I figured some things need to be said in the most straightforward way possible."

He handed the flowers to Octavia, and as she reached out to take them, he stepped closer. They were standing so close now that when he lowered his head, his chin lightly brushed against her hair.

"Octavia."

Octavia held the bouquet and looked up at him.

Leopold opened the box in his hand. The sunlight was so brilliant that the diamond inside made Octavia blink.

Before she could say anything, Leopold spoke, his voice solemn.

"Our beginning wasn't exactly ideal. But even so, I'm grateful for it—because it brought you into my life."

"You've never said it out loud, but I don't think anyone would want a marriage that carries someone else's name. So the truth is, I've owed you a wedding. A proposal."

"I want us to become husband and wife for real. I want you to know that there's no one else in this marriage. You're Octavia. From the day I regained my sight to every day after, the only person I want to see when I think of love—is Octavia."

"Octavia, if you think I'm good enough, would you consider becoming my wife?"

Leopold paused. Octavia sucked in a sharp breath. Before he could finish, everyone heard her clear voice ring out.

"Yes!"

The garden went silent for a beat.

"That fast?" Monica blurted out. Then everyone started laughing and clapping.

Octavia smiled at the rare look of shock on Leopold's face. "I said yes."

Clinton, standing behind the wheelchair, hollered, "She said yes!"

Leopold finally seemed to snap out of it. He reached for Octavia's already outstretched hand.

Octavia felt her nose sting and her eyes heat up.

"When did you learn to say things like that?"

Her voice trembled slightly.

The corner of Leopold's mouth curved. "From you."

Octavia laughed through her tears. The same person who'd just blurted out her answer was now crying and laughing at the same time, unable to get a word out.

Leopold's smile deepened. He slowly slid the ring onto her finger. It fit perfectly—sized from all the times he'd quietly held her hand and memorized the measurements.

The diamond refracted sunlight onto their hands, sparkling brilliantly.

"Yay!" Sierra was the first to shout. She ran over and threw her arms around Octavia. "Even though you answered way too fast—which annoys me a little—I'm still so happy for you. Everything's going to be okay now, Octavia. Everything's going to be okay!"

Only she knew how hard these years had been for Octavia. All the sadness Octavia had never voiced, all the tears she'd never cried in front of Sierra—Sierra was crying them for her now.

Octavia was getting squeezed so hard she could barely breathe. She patted Sierra's back. "Easy, you're gonna kill me before I even get married."

Sierra let go, wiping her eyes, and turned to Leopold.

"Leopold, listen up. Octavia is my best friend. If you ever treat her badly, I don't care how powerful you are in Emberfall City—I won't let you get away with it."

It was touching and funny at the same time.

But Leopold nodded seriously. "I know. Don't worry."

Sierra started crying again, tears streaming down her face. "Marrying Octavia isn't going to be that easy. You need to give her the most spectacular wedding, the most expensive wedding dress, the most one-of-a-kind jewels. You got all that?"

Leopold glanced at Octavia, his lips curving, his gaze impossibly tender.

"Okay," he said. "The most spectacular wedding, the most expensive dress, the most one-of-a-kind jewels. She'll have them all."

Sierra blinked, caught off guard by how readily he agreed.

She looked at Leopold, then at Octavia. Her mouth trembled, and she started crying even harder.

"Fine! I approve of this marriage!"

Everyone burst out laughing.

Monica stood nearby and couldn't help rolling her eyes. "What does your approval matter? You're not the one getting married."

Sierra raised her chin proudly. "Do you have any idea how important I am to Octavia? Watch it, or I'll badmouth Leopold and she'll change her mind about marrying him."

Monica was momentarily stumped. She wanted to fire back, but when she saw the gleaming ring on Octavia's finger, she shut her mouth.

Patrick stood off to the side, a faint smile on his lips.

Everyone was happy.

Chloe sat in her wheelchair and waved Octavia over with a smile.

Octavia walked over, crouched down, and took her hand. Chloe's hand was still thin, her knuckles prominent, but it was warmer than before.

"Octavia, congratulations." Chloe's voice was soft and sincere. "You finally got the happiness you've been waiting for."

Octavia looked at her, eyes reddening again. "Chloe, you're not fully recovered yet. You shouldn't have come all this way."

"I insisted." Chloe smiled. "I couldn't miss your big moment."

Clinton stood behind Chloe, his hand resting on the armrest of the wheelchair. He nodded at Octavia.

"Congrats. You found yourself a great husband."

Octavia looked up at him and smiled. "When are you going to follow his example?"

Clinton glanced at Chloe, his mouth quirking slightly. He didn't answer.

Chloe's face flushed faintly. She looked down, pretending she hadn't heard.

Leopold walked over and stood beside Octavia.

"It's not that I'm good." He bent down, gently took Octavia's arm, and helped her to her feet. But his words were directed at Clinton. "It's that I'm lucky. Lucky enough to find such a wonderful wife. The most spectacular wedding, the most expensive dress, the most one-of-a-kind jewels—all of that combined still wouldn't come close to touching her light."

Everyone froze. No one had expected Leopold to say something even more moving than his proposal speech.

Sierra whistled. Monica yelled, "John! Get a doctor over here—something's wrong with Leopold! Why's he saying such cheesy things?!"

Her joke was so ridiculous even Paloma laughed.

Octavia still hadn't processed it. "Where'd you learn to say stuff like that?"

Monica chimed in sarcastically from the side. "Probably binge-watched a bunch of rom-coms last night."

Leopold gave her a flat look. She immediately fell silent.

Octavia laughed out loud.

Leopold looked down at her. Octavia thought his eyes seemed to hold all the warmth of today's sunlight.

"From you."

Octavia blinked. "I never taught you any of that."

"You did," Leopold said. "Octavia, you taught me how to love."

Octavia froze. Before she could react, Leopold lowered his head and kissed her.

The friends and family around them erupted into cheers again.

Octavia thought: everything about this afternoon came so suddenly. But everything felt so perfect.

She held flowers in her arms, wore a ring on her finger, and was surrounded by Sierra—her best friend of many years—by Patrick and Monica, who had welcomed her into their family, and by Paloma, who had become a friend along her stumbling journey.

Most importantly, Leopold was right in front of her.

For so long, Octavia had felt like she was walking a long road alone. Or maybe she was like a small boat adrift on a dark sea at night, unable to find her way to shore.

But now, it was as if a lighthouse had appeared on that pitch-black water.

Octavia closed her eyes. She smelled flowers and sunshine.

She thought, 'I'm finally home.'