Chapter 594:
His brain short-circuited. Logic evaporated. All he saw was another man proposing to his woman.
Crack.
The crystal stem snapped in Elias’s hand. Champagne and blood dripped onto the white tablecloth.
“William,” Elias said. His voice was very quiet. It was the sound of a tectonic plate shifting before an earthquake.
William looked up, smiling nervously. “Elias? You said… you said ‘give her something that shines like the sun.’ This is the Solar Diamond.”
“I was talking about jewelry,” Elias said, his voice rising. “I didn’t think you were suicidal.”
“Aurora?” William looked at me hopefully. “Do you accept the gesture?”
I looked at Elias, who looked like he was about to laser-eye William into ash. Then I looked at the kneeling Duke.
“William,” I said gently. “Stand up. You look like you’re proposing.”
“It’s a knightly gesture!” William protested.
Elias stepped forward. He kicked the ring box out of William’s hand. It skittered across the floor and slid under a table.
“Hey!” William shouted. “That’s five million dollars! It’s a ceremonial gift!”
“Send me the bill,” Elias snarled. “You touch her, you lose a hand. You kneel in front of her with a ring, you lose your life.”
“But it’s not a marriage proposal!” William argued, standing up. “It’s a token of alliance! Like a key to the city!”
“It’s a ring! In a box! While you are kneeling!” Elias roared. “That is a proposal in every language on Earth! She is mine!”
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The declaration hung in the air. Mine. It wasn’t possessive in a creepy way; it was a statement of fact, like gravity or the speed of light.
Elias turned to me. The anger in his eyes vanished, replaced by a desperate, burning intensity.
“He’s right,” Elias said, breathing hard. “Technically, I haven’t locked this down properly. I left an opening for idiots with yellow diamonds.”
He reached into his inner jacket pocket. He didn’t pull out a perfectly wrapped box. He pulled out a loose ring.
It was massive. A blue diamond, flanked by two rare pink argyle diamonds. It was a galaxy on a band.
“I’ve been carrying this for two weeks,” Elias said, his voice rough. “I was waiting for the perfect moment. A sunset. A violin. A speech.”
He looked at William, who was currently crawling under a table looking for his yellow diamond.
“But screw it,” Elias said. He dropped to his knees, right there in the puddle of spilled champagne and broken glass. He didn’t care about his suit pants.
“Aurora,” Elias said, looking up at me. “I don’t want to be your boyfriend. I don’t want to be your partner. I want to be your husband. I want to be the person who holds your purse, fights your battles, and peels your shrimp until the day I die.”
I looked down at him. Tears pricked my eyes. This man—the titan of industry, the terrifying wolf—was kneeling in broken glass for me.
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