Chapter 5 - An Unholy Proposal
Emily looked up into Alexander’s intense, unyielding gaze, her pulse racing. "What document?"
"A marriage certificate," Alexander replied, his voice steady, deep, and completely serious.
Emily froze, wondering if she had misheard him over the sound of the rain lashing against the floor-to-ceiling windows. "A... a marriage? Alexander, I'm literally fighting to finalize my divorce from Derek! Legally, I can't just—"
"Derek signed the expedited annulment this morning," Alexander stated, pulling a blue-bound document from his inner suit pocket and laying it flat on the mahogany table. "Marco paid a visit to his attorney at dawn with evidence of Derek's embezzlements and extramarital escapades. In exchange for not being delivered in a trunk to Lake Michigan, his lawyer executed the complete annulment on the grounds of fraud. You are a completely free woman, Emily. As of eight o’clock this morning."
Emily stared at the stamped, notarized seal. Just like that, the legal chains that had choked her soul for three years were severed with the flick of a pen. She collapsed slightly against the edge of the desk, weeping from sheer relief.
Alexander knelt before her, looking up into her face. "Marry me, Emily. In the eyes of the public, you didn't get kidnapped; you left an abusive weakling to claim your rightful place beside the head of the Moretti syndicate. Under Chicago law and my family’s code, no prosecutor, no judge, and certainly no coward like Derek Vance can ever touch a Don’s wife."
"Alexander... you don't have to marry me to protect me," she said, her heart hammering wildly against her ribs. "This is your name. Your empire. I'm just a woman who hid under your desk with bruised wrists."
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"You are the woman who survived hell and walked into my life without flinching," Alexander said softly, his voice laced with an undeniable, raw passion he had kept buried for days. "I don't offer my ring out of pity, Emily. I offer it because since the moment you looked up at me from beneath that wood, I knew I would burn the city to the ground before I ever let another soul harm you."
Emily looked into his dark eyes, finding no lies, only strength and unwavering devotion. She nodded. "Yes."
