Chapter 9
But I can promise you this.
You will never have to wonder whether I choose you again.
Not because you're easy to love.
Not because you make my life comfortable.
But because loving you has taught me how to be brave.
And because every ordinary day beside you has become the life I once thought I didn't deserve.
If you want to spend the rest of your life with me, you don't have to explain anything.
Just say one word.
Stay.
Lucas
Laurel's tears fell onto the page.
When she looked up, Lucas was on one knee.
In his hand was a simple gold ring.
No enormous diamond.
No audience.
No photographers.
Just the man she had loved at twenty-nine.
And the man she had learned to trust again at thirty-five.
“Laurel Benton,” he whispered, “will you marry me?”
She covered her mouth.
For a moment, she couldn't speak.
Then she knelt in front of him.
Lucas blinked.
“What are you doing?”
She laughed through her tears.
“I'm not letting you do this alone.”
She cupped his face.
“I waited for you once because I thought you were the only person who could make me happy.”
Lucas's eyes filled.
“But I'm here now because I know I can be happy on my own.”
She kissed his forehead.
“And I still choose you.”
Lucas let out a broken laugh.
“Is that a yes?”
Laurel smiled.
“Yes.”
He slipped the ring onto her finger.
Then she leaned close and whispered the word that had waited six and a half years to be spoken.
“Stay.”
Lucas pulled her into his arms.
“Always.”
They married the following spring in a small garden overlooking the Atlantic.
There were forty guests.
Becca was maid of honor.
Mr. Finley, the tailor who had discovered the letter, sat in the front row, wiping his eyes with a handkerchief.
Matthew Dawson received an invitation.
He declined kindly, sending a handwritten note instead.
I'm glad you both found the truth. I hope the life you build is a happy one.
Laurel cried when she read it.
Not from regret.
From gratitude.
Matt had moved on, and she hoped he would find someone who chose him as completely as he deserved.
Diana Prescott was not invited.
She had sent a letter of apology months earlier, admitting her lies without asking Lucas to excuse them.
Lucas had acknowledged it, but reconciliation would require time and genuine change.