Chapter 7 - A New Empire, A New BeginningThe ballroom erupted back into polite murmurs and soft string music within moments, as if a storm had passed and left the air cleaner and sharper than before.
I didn't watch Nathan leave. My eyes were fixed entirely on Dominic as he finished walking up the stairs, stopping right in front of me.
The city lights outside the massive glass windows of the Grand Sterling Hotel cast a golden glow across his silver-streaked hair and sharp features.
"Well," Dominic said, a faint, rare smile touching the corners of his mouth. "That’s one way to clear a dance floor."
I let out a soft laugh, the last remaining tension leaving my shoulders. I stepped closer, resting my hands against the lapels of his immaculate tuxedo jacket—the exact same jacket whose sleeve I had grabbed a month ago in blind desperation.
"You know," I murmured, looking up into his dark, steady eyes, "when I asked that stranger in the black suit to kiss me... I honestly thought my life was over."
Dominic’s arms slid around my waist, pulling me flush against his chest, strong and protective and utterly real.
"Your old life was over, Victoria," he whispered, leaning down so his lips brushed mine—not a fake kiss for show, but a slow, deep, deliberate promise. "Your real life is just beginning."
He reached into his pocket and pulled out a small velvet box. When he flipped it open, a magnificent, flawless emerald-cut diamond ring caught the crystal light of the chandeliers, blazing with brilliant, uncompromised fire.
"No stolen funds," Dominic murmured softly, his eyes searching mine with a tenderness that only I was privileged to see. "No hidden agendas. Just an empire built together, from the foundation up."
I smiled, my heart full, whole, and entirely free.
"Ask me again," I whispered.
May you like
Dominic kissed me—deeply, passionately, and with the full weight of a man who had conquered a city just to win the only prize he ever truly wanted.
And as the applause of the ballroom washed over us, I knew I would never need to look back again.
