Chapter 10 - Epilogue — The Real Vows
Two weeks later, the board of Fierro Global Enterprises met for an emergency vote.
With Aunt Elena stripped of her voting rights due to corporate espionage and conspiracy, and with Giovanni legally married and firmly in control of the majority shares, the motion to ratify his leadership passed unanimously.
That evening, the North Avenue estate was bathed in the soft, warm glow of sunset.
I sat on the wide stone veranda, watching Lily chase a golden retriever across the manicured lawn while a plate of freshly baked chocolate chip cookies sat untouched on the table beside me.
Footsteps approached from behind.
A heavy, warm jacket settled gently over my shoulders.
I didn't need to turn around to know who it was.
Giovanni leaned against the balustrade beside me, looking out at the gardens where Lily was laughing as the dog bounded around her.
“The board meeting went well, I take it?” I asked, sipping my tea.
“Unanimous,” Giovanni replied smoothly. “Aunt Elena has retired to a very comfortable villa in Tuscany—with strict instructions never to return.”
“And Tyler?”
“Bankrupt, sued for fraud, and currently packing his bags for a new life in a very small, very distant town where no one will ever lend him a dime again.”
I let out a long, slow breath, feeling a weight lift off my chest that I hadn't even realized I was carrying. For three years, I had defined myself by the wreckage of my past—by the boy who left me pregnant, by the family that viewed me as a failure, by the exhaustion of surviving paycheck to paycheck.
And now...
“You know,” I said softly, turning my head to look at him, “we never actually had a real wedding. Just a chaotic waltz in a ballroom full of terrified aristocrats.”
Giovanni turned his head, his amber eyes locking onto mine with a steady, intense warmth that made my breath hitch.
He reached out, taking my hand in his, his thumb gently brushing over my knuckles where a simple, elegant platinum band now sat beside a diamond that looked like it could buy a small hospital.
“We can fix that,” Giovanni said quietly.
“Is that a proposal?”
“It’s a correction,” he murmured, stepping closer until I could feel the heat radiating from his chest. “No fake stories for the board, no pretending for Aunt Elena, and no spectators. Just us, Lily, and a real set of vows.”
I looked down at our joined hands, then up into the amber eyes of the man who had walked out of the shadows of the Bellmont Grand ballroom and completely rewritten my universe.
“Only if I get to wear a dress that isn't from a department store sale rack,” I whispered with a smile.
May you like
Giovanni’s lips curved into a genuine, breathtaking smile that reached all the way to his eyes.
“Jessica,” he murmured, pulling me gently against his side as the sun dipped below the horizon, painting the Chicago skyline in brilliant shades of gold and amber. “You can have whatever you want.”
