Chapter 23 - THE PROPOSAL
Three months later, Eleanor returned home late.
The house was dark.
“Marcus?”
No answer.
She switched on the lights.
Nothing.
Then music began playing.
Soft piano.
Eleanor stopped.
Candles lined the hallway.
Photographs covered the walls.
Her life.
Chloe.
Her father.
The hospital.
The children.
The foundation.
The people she had saved.
The people who had helped her survive.
At the end of the hallway stood Marcus.
He wore a dark suit.
Eleanor laughed nervously.
“What did you do?”
Marcus smiled.
“Something I've been planning for a long time.”
He walked toward her.
“I met you when you were angry.”
He took another step.
“You were angry at Arthur.”
Another.
“Angry at your family.”
Another.
“Angry at yourself.”
He stopped in front of her.
“But I watched you turn that anger into something beautiful.”
Eleanor's eyes filled.
“Marcus…”
He reached into his pocket.
This time, it was a ring.
He dropped to one knee.
“I can't promise you a life without pain.”
Eleanor covered her mouth.
“I can't promise you that the past will disappear.”
He opened the box.
“But I can promise that you will never face the future alone.”
Eleanor was crying now.
“Will you marry me?”
She laughed through tears.
“Yes.”
Marcus stood.
She threw her arms around him.
He kissed her.
And somewhere in the distance, church bells began ringing.
Eleanor closed her eyes.
May you like
For the first time, happiness didn't feel like something she had to earn.
It simply felt like home.
