Chapter 27 - The Vow on the Water
That evening, the celebration moved onto the calm waters of Lake Michigan aboard the Isadora—a sleek, modern, all-electric passenger yacht designed and built by Vance Shipping’s revitalized maritime shipyards.
There were no armed security teams patrolling the deck. No bulletproof vests under our evening wear. The only sound was the gentle hum of the electric engines, the clinking of champagne flutes, and the sweet melodies of a live jazz quartet playing on the aft deck.
The sun was sinking below the western skyline, casting long, fiery ribbons of orange, violet, and rose across the calm water. Chicago’s skyline glowed in the twilight like a crown of diamonds.
I stood at the bow railing, wearing a simple, elegant emerald-green silk slip dress, the wind catching my hair. In my hands, I held a small crystal glass of sparkling cider.
Footsteps sounded softly against the teak deck. Rhys appeared beside me, wearing a sharp black tuxedo without a tie, the top two buttons of his crisp white shirt casually undone. He carried a small velvet box in his hand.
"Are you cold?" he asked softly, slipping an arm around my waist and pulling me into his side.
"Never when you're near me," I murmured, leaning into his warmth. "Look at the city, Rhys. It looks peaceful."
"It is peaceful," he agreed, gazing out at the glowing metropolis that he had once ruled through fear, and now served through light. "Because the monsters are gone."
He set his drink on the flat rail and turned toward me, taking both of my hands in his. His expression was so tender, so full of unreserved adoration, that my breath hitched in my throat.
"Isadora," he spoke, his deep voice carrying over the gentle lapping of the waves against the hull. "Four years ago, I gave you my coat on the steps of the Aldervane Hotel. I told you that you were a guest in my house until the war was won. But the truth is... from the very second I saw you standing in that broken wedding dress, defying Cresswell with your eyes, you were never my guest. You were my salvation."
He opened the velvet box.
Inside lay a breathtaking platinum ring, its band intricately engraved with delicate vines of lilies of the valley, crowned by a flawless, radiant-cut blue diamond that mirrored the exact color of the lake at dusk.
"I gave you a vow written in steel when we were running from the dark," Rhys whispered, taking the ring from the box. "Today, with no enemies left on this earth, I want to give you a vow written in peace. Will you renew your vows with me, Isadora? Not as survivors of a war... but as two souls who have built an empire of love?"
May you like
Tears of pure, overwhelming joy spilled over my lashes, catching the twilight glow. I looked into the eyes of the man who had torn apart the corrupt world to give me freedom, and who had laid down his weapons to give me peace.
"Yes," I breathed, my voice trembling with happy tears. "A thousand times, yes, Rhys."
