Page 192 of Antonio

"I'll get you a ring, though," I murmur against her lips. "Something perfect for you."

"I don't need a ring, Antonio," she says, her voice soft.

"I know," I say. "You think I don't know my woman? You think I don't know that you'd be just as happy with a twist tie or a goddamn rubber band? But you're getting a ring. A big one. A huge one. So big you can't even lift your hand."

She laughs, and the sound is like music.

"I definitely don't need a ring that big," she says.

"No?" I say. I shift so I can reach over the side of the bed to my pants on the floor. I dig in the pocket and pull out a small blackbox.

Her eyes go wide.

"How about this one?"

I open the box, and inside is a beautiful, antique ring with a deep blue sapphire surrounded by diamonds that glitter in the dim light of the bedroom.

"Oh, Antonio," she says, her voice a breathy whisper.

"I've been carrying this around for weeks," I admit, my voice low. "I was waiting for the right moment. But I realized there's no such thing as the right moment. Every moment with you is right."

I take the ring out of the box and slide it onto her finger.

It fits perfectly.

"I love you," I say, my voice thick with emotion. "I love you so much it scares me. You've changed everything, Elsa. You've made me want things I never thought I'd have. A family. A future. A life with you."

Tears stream down her face.

"Don't cry," I say, my thumb brushing them away. "I can't stand to see you cry."

"They're happy tears," she says, her lips trembling into a smile. "I love you, Antonio."

I kiss her, a deep, slow kiss that tastes of salt and tears and a future full of promise.

We lie in bed for a long time, her head on my chest, my fingers moving slowly through her hair. The ring on her finger is the only thing she’s wearing.

I’m a man with a past.

A dark, violent one.

And a future that will likely demand the same of me.

But I wouldn’t change a single thing.Because every choice, every mistake, every drop of blood… led me here.

To her.

To this.

I look down at the woman who owns what’s left of my soul, and I know—with a certainty carved into bone—that I will burn the world before I ever let it touch her.

Or our children.

Because she isn’t just my future.

She’s mine.

And anyone who forgets that…

Won’t live long enough to matter.

THE END