Page 13 of Owned
When we finally pull away from each other, Adrian rests his forehead against mine, “I love you too. I don’t give a damn whose daughter you are, or how you came into my life. All I know is that I want to keep you there.”
Before I can respond, he’s on his knees, a black velvet box in his hands. My heart nearly stops when he opens it, revealing a huge solitaire diamond on a simple white gold band. A world's difference from the gaudy thing I’d been given by Charles Beaumont.
"Elena Moreau, I will spend the rest of my life making up for the way this thing started between us. I’m not a good man, and some of the things I’ve done would probably send you running and screaming. But I am a man who will do anything to make you happy, keep you safe, and give you the life you deserve. Will you marry me?”
Tears are streaming down my face, hot and unstoppable. This is insane. A week ago, this man kidnapped me. Hours ago, I thought he was a murderer. Hell, he might still be one. Probably, actually. And now he's on his knees on a cold stone patio, asking me to spend the rest of my life with him.
And the craziest part is, there's only one answer I can give.
"Yes," I whisper, “Yes, I will marry you.”
Adrian laughs, a rare sound of pure joy from the serious man I’ve fallen for, as he slides the ring onto my finger. Then he’s kissing me again, and while I know our world will become chaos once our engagement is public, I can’t find it in me to care.
Not when I’m in Adrian’s arms. My future husband’s arms.
EPILOGUE
ADRIAN
One Year Later
It’s been over a year since we left the United States, but it’s time to return . Elena’s father, Lauent Moreau, has finally reached out and expressed the desire to see not just his daughter, but his first grandchild.
If I had my way, he’d never lay eyes on either of them, but no matter how terrible he was to Elena, I know she still holds out hope that there is some path towards reconciliation. Maybe having our sweet Dina has softened her, but I’m still not thrilled with my wife facing the man who tried to marry her off for his own gain.
Elena tightens her grip on the blanketed wrapped bundle that is Dina, and while I can tell she’s nervous of both the flight and the upcoming confrontation, just the sight of the two of them still makes my heart squeeze in my chest. After spending my entire adult life fixated on revenge, I never believed I would ever be able to love or be loved, but Elena changed everything.
And if I had been possessive of Elena on her own, that’s only intensified tenfold now that we’ve had our daughter. We wasted no time getting married after I proposed, and to say the media was shocked when Elena reemerged as Mrs. Elena Marchetti is an understatement.
Not long after, Elena became pregnant, and we retreated back into privacy once more. No one even knew she was with child until after Dina was born, and the media firestorm started all over again.
It also prompted Laurent Moreau to finally put his pride aside and call.
“Nervous?” I ask, laying a hand on her knee.
Elena looks up, and gives me a small smile. “Terrified.”
Leaning over, I press a kiss to her cheek. “Don’t be. You’re stronger than you think.”
She nods, laying her free hand over mine and linking our fingers together. “I know. It’s just so complicated. I thought I was fine never seeing him again, but then I read his letter…and part of me missed him. Despite everything, he’s still my father.”
And he’s about to sign Moreau Dynamics over to you, which means my father’s company will finally be under the Marchetti umbrella once more.
I don’t tell her that, though. This is more than business for my wife. Her father was the center of her world at one time, and while that won’t ever be the case again, I know it will give her some peace to at least mend fences.
Surely I can avoid strangling Laurent Moreau for a few days…maybe. My biggest enemy is now my father-in-law. The universe has a strange sense of humor.
In Elena’s arms, Dina gurgles, and we both turn our attention towards our daughter as the plane comes in for a landing. The sweet blue-eyed baby takes my finger in her fist, and the thoughts of violence I have towards her grandfather fade into the background.
“You can do this,” I tell Elena, “I’ll be with you the entire time.”
“I know you will,” she sighs, and when she smiles at me again, the nerves are gone. “Just behave yourself.”
I laugh, “No promises, princess. No promises.”
EXTENDED EPILOGUE
ELENA
