Chapter 9 - THE PROPOSAL AT THE CORNER
"Ethan..." Clara gasped, bringing her hands to her mouth.
"A year ago, I was a man who owned everything and had nothing," Ethan said, looking up at Clara with raw, unfiltered devotion. "I thought success was measured in towers, stocks, and balance sheets. But the moment I found you and Lily, I realized my life hadn't even started yet."
He opened the box, revealing a simple, elegant ring set with a brilliant, clear diamond flanked by two small silver-gray sapphires.
"You gave me a daughter who saved my soul," Ethan continued, his voice steady despite the emotion shining in his eyes. "And you gave me a second chance at the only love that ever mattered to me. Clara Vance, will you marry me and let me spend the rest of my life making up for every day we lost?"
Lily gasped, clapping her hands together. "Say yes, Mom! Say yes!"
Clara laughed through her tears, stepping forward and dropping to her knees beside him on the sidewalk, uncaring of the cold concrete, just as Ethan had been a year ago. She wrapped her arms around his neck, pressing her forehead against his.
"Yes," Clara whispered fiercely. "Yes, Ethan. A thousand times yes."
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Ethan slipped the ring onto her finger and pulled her into a deep, tender kiss as Lily cheered and danced around them in circles, her laughter ringing out across the quiet street.
Marcus, watching from the Mercedes, quietly smiled and wiped a tear from his own eye, turning off the hazard lights as the night settled over the city.
