Page 167 of Filthy Promises

“None of it matters without you.” His voice cracks on the last word, and something inside me cracks open right along with it. “I was so focused on what I might lose that I couldn’t see what I was gaining.”

My chest tightens. “And what’s that?”

“You.” He rises slowly, still holding my hand. “You and our child. A real family. Not the twisted version my father tried to conjure up, but something better.”

Hope flutters in my chest, a fragile bird testing damaged wings.

It’s been down for so long. It thought flying was a thing of the past. Something that other people got to do.

Not it.

Not me.

But…

“How do I know this is real?” I whisper. “How do I know this isn’t just another game?”

Vince inches closer, his free hand cradling my cheek with a gentleness that makes my eyes sting. “Because I’m fucking terrified,” he says. “I’ve never been afraid of anything in my life, Rowan. But the thought of losing you—” He stops, swallows hard. “It breaks me.”

A rogue tear slips down my cheek before I can stop it.

“I did this all wrong,” he continues. “I came at you with demands and ultimatums because that’s all I’ve ever known. It’s how I was raised. How I was taught to get what I want.”

“And what do you want, Vince? Really want?”

“You,” he says simply. “Just you. However you’ll have me.”

I search his face for any sign of deception. But all I see is raw vulnerability—something I never thought Vincent Akopov was capable of.

“The baby?—”

“—is a miracle I never thought I’d have,” he finishes. “But even if there was no baby, I’d still be here. On my knees, if necessary.”

He guides my hand to the marks on my throat where his father’s fingers dug in. “I will never let anyone hurt you again. That’s not a threat or a promise of protection. It’s a vow.”

I close my eyes. I need a moment to process.

When I open them again, Vince is still there, still looking at me like I’m the center of his universe. Like nothing else matters.

And suddenly, against all odds and all reason…

… I believe him.

“Yes,” I whisper.

His brow furrows. “Yes what?”

“Yes, I’ll marry you.”

For a moment, he just stares at me, as if he can’t quite believe what he’s hearing. Then his face transforms with a smile I’ve never seen before—open, unguarded, radiant with joy.

“Say it again,” he urges, drawing me closer.

“Yes,” I laugh through my tears. “Yes, I’ll marry you, Vincent Akopov.”

His arms wrap around me as he hauls me off my feet in a fierce embrace that steals my breath away. When he sets me down, his hands frame my face.

“I’m sorry,” he says, pressing his forehead to mine. “For not showing you what was in my heart.”

---