Page 152 of The Prize

As my hair tumbled beneath me I felt safer than I ever had. “I want you.” I whispered it, feeling like a beloved damsel in his strong arms.

“Tell me I make you happy.”

“You make me happy.”

“Tell me you are mine forever.”

“Yours forever.”

“I love you, Zara.” He let out a long sigh and nuzzled into my neck and lifted me up before him. “Let’s go have our happy-ever-after.”

“I love you, Tobias.” I followed him toward the scent of roses.

He beamed back as he reached the shade of the trellis.

My heart fluttered as I walked beneath the arch of flowers and I turned toward him—my love, my future, the man who made me giddy with happiness.

In the depths of my soul I had discovered within me an invisible strength, and as I spoke my first sacred vow to him, my heart soared as this truth became my reality—love is the greatest art of all.

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