Chapter 230

Anton’s POV

I held Queenie longer than necessary after the judge has delivered his verdict. I didn’t give a damn who saw or what they will say.

I guess we just made the first page of the evening news and if we are lucky, the morning news also.

The tension that sat like an anchor in my chest for weeks has been lifted a bit. It wasn’t gone. We have been given a reprieve.

I saw the look on Michael Fisher’s face when the judge ruled in our.

That was a delightful but unexpected bonus. He couldn’t even hide it.

I almost felt pity for the dweeb.

I had to stop myself from running over to him and rubbing it in his face.

As we walked out of the courtroom, my mind kept replaying Michael scowl in my head. I had to use all my wit to prevent myself from bursting into laughter.

We drove home. Junie was  asleep in the backseat oblivious to the chaos surrounding her care. I watched her breath rise and fall as her tiny frame curled under a pink blanket from the rearview mirror.

Queenie kept glancing back at her, as if afraid she might vanish.

I didn’t say anything. I understood her perfectly.

We got home. I stopped the car and we both exhaled at the same time.

We looked at each other and smiled. I reached for her hand and clasped it.  No word was said. None was needed.

Junie sneezed and the moment was broken.

I gave Queenie a kiss on her forehead and took off my seatbelt.

Queenie scooped Junie up and carried her inside and showered her with soft kisses and whispered into her sleeping ears in a cooing voice.  “You’re staying, baby. You’re staying with me.”

I stood in the doorway as I watched  them. It was a scene that would have looked and felt very strange to me a year ago.

You have come a long way, boy. Give yourself some credit.

Now, it felt like the only version of peace that made any damn sense.

This feels good. A man can certainly get used to this.

Dinner for the first time in a long while was easy.

We ate in the dining room like a real family. Junie who was awake had was in her baby chair and was playing with her toy.

I watched Queenie. She seemed like she had forgotten all about court inside. Her attention was on Junie. We talked and teased each other. Queenie laughed more than he’d heard in weeks. It wasn’t forced. It wasn’t polite. It was real.

I poured her a glass of wine after she tucked in Junie for the night. We sat by the kitchen window, the house quiet for the first time that day.

Ah finally. Some peace and quiet.

“The clinic,” I finally said as I broke  the silence. “What are your plans?”

She paused. I felt her trying to calculate her words. She set the glass down. “I... got the letter from Logan. Full approval. It’s everything I wanted. Well, almost.” She started to play with her fingers tentatively.

I nodded slowly.

The bomb I was waiting for, finally dropped.

I had known it was coming, but hearing it aloud still tougher to accept than I had expected. I swallowed and barely managed to ask, “You planning to take it?”

Queenie met my eyes. “I know you had reservations.”

“I did,” I admitted. “Still do, if I’m being honest.

I took a large swig of my drink and set down my glass on the counter.

“However I think I understand it now. You needed something to hold onto. Something that you can call your own. Something entirely yours.”

“I still do.” She said quietly and waited for my response.

“I want to see you win, Queenie,” I said. “Really win. Clear your name. Get your suspension revoked. I want to open the clinic you always dreamed of. I don’t care if Logan helped make the dream of your come true. The only thing I don’t want is you to be beholden to him or anyone. As long as you walk through it on your own terms I am good.”

She stared at me with incredulous eyes.  I guess she has trouble believing me.

“You’re serious?” she quietly asked me.

“Completely.” I reached across the table covered  her hand with mine. “Whatever you need, whenever you need. You’ve got it.”

I felt a familiar warmth flow in me as her fingers tighten their grip around mine. “Thank you.”

I gave a half-smile. “And while we are on  the subject of things we haven’t dealt with yet… My grandmother.”

Queenie groaned softly. “You’re going to make me do it, aren’t you?” she asked with the best puppy eyes she could muster.

“She is of the opinion that I’m still a cold bastard with no beating heart who just cares about his empire and making money. I would like her to meet the woman who made me human.”

“That’s a lot of pressure.” I heard her coo with a smile.

“You handle pressure well.” I said with a smile.

Queenie chuckled. “ That’s a lot of praise.” I stared at her and without missing a beat, “ It’s not when it’s merited.”

Queenie leaned back in her seat. She grinned from ear to ear. “You sure it’s the right time? With everything going on?”

I shrugged. “ Might as well be the now. If want to wait for the perfect time, we might as well wait forever. Besides, we now have the momentum of a win behind us. Let’s use that.”

She studied me for a moment. “Okay. But I’m not wearing pearls.”

“God, no. She will throw a hysterical fit and probably faint.”

We shared a laugh.

We fell into a comfortable quiet again. She swirled her wine.

I watched her.

God! She was absolutely stunning. Look at the delicate curve of her jaw. Everything was beautiful even the faint circles under her eyes were siren- like . The way her fingers played with the stem of the glass was simply mesmerizing.

She looked tired. But on the bright side she also looked like herself again.

“Speaking of momentum,” I said as I cleared my throat, “how about we actually start planning this wedding?”

Queenie blinked at me, a grin tugging at her lips. “Already?”

“ I mean I thought that was what people did after announcing an engagement.” I said with a smirk and shrug

“ And here I was thinking the engagement was done for the benefit of the hearing.” she teased me with a soft almost vulnerable voice.

I leaned forward, elbows on the table. “That was part of the reason. Sure. But did you really think that’s all it was?”

She didn’t answer right away. Instead, she looked at the ring, probably just realizing it was still there.

“I told you I wanted you in my life. I still do, Queenie. That hasn’t changed” I said, voice low. “This isn’t just about strategy anymore. It’s the real deal. And I want it all. I want you in my life. ”

She looked back up, and I noticed something shifted in her eyes. Not surprise. Not doubt. There was belief, a quiet certainty in her eyes as she stared at me.

“I want it too,” I heard her whispered.

I got up, walked around the table, and pulled her to her feet. I heard her wine glass clinked lightly as she set it down. I took both her hands and brought one of them to my lips.

I planted kisses on them and inhaled her scent.

I don’t think I’ll ever get enough of her scent! I’m hopeless.

“I intend to make you my wife,” continued. “ It’s not for appearances or for even the court documents. You are the one person I can’t imagine doing this life without.

I stared at her with the solemnity of a priest.  “I vow to make sure you are  happy. Every single day. Even on the days I make mistakes. Especially on those days.”

Her eyes misted, but she didn’t look away.

“Anton…” Her voice broke.

I closed the gap between us. “Tell me it’s not too soon.”

“It’s not,” she said quietly. “I’m just surprised.”

“Good.”

We stood there for a while. The hum of the refrigerator was the only sound in the kitchen. I could feel her heartbeat through her fingers. I took them to my lips and planted kisses on them.

Finally, she smiled.  It wasn’t a  guarded or tired one but the real one. The one that drove my heartbeat over the edge and sent passion down my spine.

“You’re actually kind of romantic when you want to be.”

I gave her a smirk. “Don’t spread that around. I’ve got a reputation to maintain.”

She laughed into my chest, and I held  her.

Later that night, with Junie asleep and the house dark, I found myself awake.

Queenie was cuddled up on my chest and my arms around her. I smiled as I watched her chest rise and fall.

I stared at the ceiling, my mind  moving.

There were still things that needed to be sorted out. Michael wouldn’t give up easily, and Logan was still an undesirable variable. But for the first time in a long while, the path forward was visible and real.

I pressed a kiss to Queenie’s shoulder and pulled her closer.

The whole world better watch out.

Whatever storms still waited, we will face them together.

This was more than survival now. This was the beginning of a life.