Page 82 of Born Free

We worked so hard for it. Overcame so much. Lost too much.

But it was worth it. Every sacrifice, every loss. Because this is what I fought for, longed for, my entire reckless, savage, chaotic, wicked, free life.

CHAPTERTWENTY-ONE

SEVEN MONTHS LATER

My heart is beating so fast, eventhough logically, I feel absolutely calm.

But the day is finally here. The one we’ve both been anticipating for the last three months since I popped the question.

“We both know what’s going to happen, but considering everything, I don’t really like states of limbo,” I’d said one stormy afternoon when Roman and I were holed up in his bed at the club. “Will you marry me?”

Roman looked over at me with an arched eyebrow and a smirk on his lips. “Isn’t that supposed to be my line?”

“Well, you’re taking way too damn long, and it’s a modern age. Who says women can’t be the ones to propose?”

He grinned, sitting up in bed and cupping a hand to the side of my neck. “You couldn’t have waited two more days? The ring is nearly finished.” He leaned in close, his lips hovering a fraction of a breath away.

“Really?” I asked, a girlish smile trying to take my face over.

Roman nodded, his own smile growing on his lips.

But the question still hung in the air. “I still beat you to it, and I still need an answer. Will you marry me or not?” I demanded, feeling all kinds of elated, anxious, and unsettled.

A single chuckle escaped Roman’s lips. He blinked once, slow, heavy. “Yes, Juliet. I’ll marry the hell out of you.”

And now here we are.

“Okay, it’s time!” Elena says with giddy excitement when she walks back into the bedroom I’m currently using as a bridal room. “Everyone is in place. You ready?”

I roll my shoulders back, smoothing my hands down over the white dress. I nod just once. “I’m ready.”

Elena opens the door, and we step out into the hall. Together, we walk down to the main living area, and there, I find my father, Jon Bonny, waiting for me.

The moment our eyes meet, his redden and well. I smile as I walk to him, watching as his lower lip trembles just slightly. My father is a centuries-old former pirate with a rap sheet a mile long, but seeing his long-lost daughter in a wedding dress brings him to tears.

“You look beautiful,” he says as I lean forward and wrap him in an embrace. “And even better, you look so damn happy.”

“I am,” I acknowledge. I hold him tight and revel that this is real life. “I never ever would have dreamed that I’d get this. To have you here.”

“Sebastian might have been a bastard, but I’ll forever be grateful for him,” Jon says as he holds me tightly. “If I hadn’t seen your engagement announcement, who knows how much longer it would have taken me to find you.”

I nod, and I can only be grateful, too.

I’ve had a hard life. Some truly terrible things have happened to me.

But now, I’m just grateful for them all because they’ve led me right here to this moment.

“How about you walk me down that aisle now?” I say quietly.

He nods and releases me, wiping at his face. Elena just watches with a smile, love shining in her eyes.

She heads up the stairs, and looping my arm through Jon’s, we follow a few steps behind her.

I moved out of my apartment last week. Roman is all about the grand reveal, so I’ve been living on the second floor of the Nocturne until today. I’ll get one night in our new home, and then Roman and I will take off for two weeks to Argentina for a honeymoon. I’d have loved to go to Europe, but we’ll forever have to stay far, far away from the House of Badillo.

I take a deep breath when we stop on the landing for the third floor.

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