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“I’m so lucky to have you,” she murmurs. “I always saw you as a man impossible to touch, impossible to have,” she says between kisses. “I never dared to dream of something with you, Ethan.”

“Kitten,” I say, closing my hand around the little cat at her throat, “you’re a woman who could have anyone she wants.”

I stop, cupping her face in my palms, making sure she looks at me—really looks at me.

“And the only lucky one here is me. That you wanted me. That you accepted me and waited for me. That you fell in love with me.”

Each sentence draws a tear from her, which I gently wipe away with my thumb.

“I didn’t come prepared for this,” I admit softly. “Even though I think about it every single day. But I don’t believe there’s a more perfect moment than this.”

I don’t move. I just look at her for a few seconds. I already know there’s no woman more beautiful than her, but with each passing day, she becomes stronger, more radiant, even more mine.

“You captivated me from the start, and I fought hard against the desire and attraction I feel for you,” I continue, holding her like the most fragile thing in existence. “I realized it was a lost battle when I understood I see no one else, and that I can’t stand the thought of you even being near another man.”

She watches me so intently, so stunned, that it feels like the outside world no longer exists. She sees only me. Feels only me.

“I’ve always known when I wanted something. I’ve always trusted my instincts.”

Leaning closer to her ear, I finish in a whisper, “But this time, I know what I want because I’m listening to my heart.”

I don’t give her time to process my words. I step back slightly and drop to one knee.

“Thalia, will you be my wife?”

That’s it. Simple. Clear. Direct.

Completely shocked, Thalia drops to her knees in front of me, crying uncontrollably, her body trembling with every sob.

All I do is hold her, offering the support she needs—the strength to steady her, the comfort I promised her.

“I love you,” I whisper, stroking her back.

She manages to lift her head from my chest, and her gaze both shatters me and rebuilds me all over again.

She looks at me with admiration, pain, happiness, ecstasy, hope—but above all, love. So much love that for a few moments, I can barely breathe.

“I love you with all my heart, Ethan Hardy,” she whispers through her sobs. “And nothing would make me happier than being your wife.”

Every time I walk into a boardroom, I know exactly what to say, what I want, what I won’t accept, and how I’ll walk out in the end.

And I’ve never—ever—been wrong.

When I stay in front of Thalia, I know exactly what I feel, what I want, but never what to expect.

I never once thought she wouldn’t accept. I know she loves me as deeply as I love her. And yet, her answer still knocks the ground from beneath me, shakes my entire world, then builds it back up again—with me inside it, hand in hand with her.

Exactly the way I want it.

Exactly the way she wants it too.

Because this powerful, breathtaking woman walked into my life to show me that she can, with a single look, tear everything down and rebuild it infinitely better.

And for the first time in my life, I’m ready to share control with someone, with my woman.

The love of my life.

EPILOGUE ONE