24. Rings and Revelations
Chapter twenty-four
Rings and Revelations
Lei
I knelt before Moni.
My heart boomed in my chest like a war drum.
This wasn’t just a proposal—it was a lifetime claim.
A blood oath.
A vow to God.
A promise that no one else would ever touch her, hold her, or have her.
Not in this life or any other.
She was mine.
She always had been. But as I looked up at her, my chest tightened with a fear I hadn’t expected.
What if she says no?
The thought was a jagged blade, slicing through my confidence and leaving me terrifyingly raw.
The idea of her rejection was unthinkable.
If she refused me—if she even hesitated—I wouldn’t know what to do.
Would I be able to let her walk away without wearing my ring?
No.
That answer was immediate.
Primal.
I wouldn’t let her go.
Couldn’t.
Tonight, I planned to fight for her, to bleed for her, to sacrifice everything to have her peacefully by my side.
The depth of my possessiveness, the way it clawed at my insides, made me feel like a man barely hanging onto the edges of sanity, it wouldn’t let her not wear my ring tonight.
I loved her so fiercely so much that it bordered on a maddening obsession, and that terrified me.
Moni’s eyes widened and her lips parted as if she wanted to speak, but no words came.
For a few seconds, she just stared at me with her chest rising and falling rapidly.
Each second stretched into an eternity and my nerves frayed further.
Two fireflies flowed around us, and I wanted to shout, to demand an answer, but instead, I stayed still, my hands gripping the small box so tightly my knuckles ached.
And then, finally, her eyes shimmered with tears.
I tensed.
One tear slipped down her cheek, and she let out a shaky breath. “Yes. . .”
I swallowed. “Yes?”
She nervously nodded. “Yes, baby. Of course.”
Relief crashed over me like a tidal wave, dragging the breath from my lungs. “What the fuck took you so long?”
She chuckled. “Would you calm down?”
“I thought I was going to have to force this ring on your finger.”
“Lei. . .” She wiped the tears from her cheek. “You had me speechless. . .”
“And you had me terrified.” My hands trembled as I pulled the ring from the box. “Goddamn it.”
More tears spilled from her eyes, but there was a smile on her face—a soft, beautiful smile that I wanted to burn into my memory forever.
“Sorry,” she said, wiping at her cheek with the back of her hand. “I wasn’t expecting you to propose tonight.”
Then, she extended her hand, and that’s when I saw it.
What the fuck!
A ring was already on her finger.
Not the ring finger , but there it was nonetheless—a gleaming band of silver with a huge sapphire set at its center.
My relief turned to ice, freezing my veins.
Are you fucking kidding me!
I’d seen that ring before.
It had belonged to my mother.
Rage pounded through my body, swift and unrelenting. I forced myself to rise off the ground slowly, careful not to scare Moni, but inside, the fury was a living thing, roaring and snapping at its cage.
How dare he? How fucking dare he?
My father’s audacity knew no bounds and now he was marking her—my woman—with something so personal, so intimate.
“Lei?” Moni’s voice was soft, pulling me back to her. “What’s wrong?”
I didn’t answer right away.
My gaze locked on the ring like it was a venomous snake, coiled and ready to strike.
Slowly, I reached for her hand. “When did my father give you this?”
She hesitated. “Before we went to the feast.”
The words sent another jolt of fury through me.
My teeth clenched, and my jaw ached as I fought to keep my voice steady. “And what did he say?”
Her brow furrowed as if trying to remember. “He said. . .it was what he gave your mother when she became Mountain Mistress.”
Not exactly true.
I closed my eyes, inhaling deeply through my nose as the realization settled over me like a dark, suffocating cloud.
How many times had I seen that same ring on my mother’s finger?
And now, my father had placed it on Moni’s finger like a brand.
A declaration.
The past rushed in yanking me into a memory I hadn’t allowed myself to visit in years.
I was eight years old, standing in the crowd with Yan. She was tugging on my hand, bored and restless, but I couldn’t look away from the spectacle unfolding in front of us.
The park in the center of the East had been transformed for the occasion.
Blue silk banners fluttered in the wind and the scent of incense hung heavy in the air.
The entire clan was there—soldiers, advisors, their families—all gathered to witness what my father called "The Rededication."
My father never really spoke of his emotions, but on that day, he wore them like armor. His voice boomed through the space as he stood beside my mother.
And she looked radiant, dressed in a sapphire qipao embroidered with silver. She’d had her hair swept up and a sapphire crown sat atop it.
He placed that ring on her finger for the first time in front of everyone. “Ten years ago, I made this woman my wife but I couldn’t give her the wedding she deserved. Back then, we were battling poverty. Every ounce of strength, every dollar we had went to ensuring our survival.”
The crowd was silent, hanging on his every word.
“So today, I correct that mistake. Today, I show the East what this woman means to me.” He turned to her then. “This woman isn’t just my wife. She is my heart. If I am the Mountain Master then she is the Mountain Mistress. You should know that the woman who wears this ring is in possession of everything I have, everything that I am. My loyalty, my devotion, my soul.”
The crowd erupted into cheers.
The memory faded and I was back in the present with my fingers curling into fists.
That ring wasn’t just a symbol of tradition or power.
It was a declaration of my father’s love, a vow carved into stone that all the East would recognize, even if Moni had no idea what it meant.
And now my father had given it to Moni— my Moni.
Why?
The answer churned in my gut.
I opened my eyes.
She watched me. “Lei. . .talk to me. . .”
This isn’t just a gesture of tradition. That’s bullshit that he told her.
It was something else, something far more dangerous.
More rage rose in me.
Is he in love with her?
The thought was ridiculous.
Absurd.
But the more I turned it over in my mind, the more the pieces fit.
He wanted to spend time with her on his possible last night on Earth. I should have known from that moment. But there were so many other clues. . .so many other times. . .
He was infatuated with Moni.
He had to be.
There was no other reason, no other explanation.
He wasn’t just trying to manipulate or control her. He wanted her in a way that made my blood boil.
However, it didn’t matter.
Moni wasn’t his to love.
She was mine and she’d wear my ring, not his.
My mother’s ring belonged buried with the past, not wrapped around the finger of my future.
“Lei?”
I met Moni’s gaze, the warmth and concern in her eyes cut through my rage like a knife.
None of this was her fault.
It was my father’s doing—his games, his endless need to control everything around him. His sick plotting turning to twisted fascination.
The thought of my father imagining her—wanting her—drove me to the brink. This wasn’t just a battle for tradition or legacy or revenge over Chanel and Romeo.
This was even more personal.
“I just realized something but. . .everything is okay.” I slipped the sapphire ring off her finger.
Moni didn’t protest, but her gaze searched mine. “What did you realize?”
I didn’t say anything as I pocketed my mother’s ring and took my ring—the one I’d chosen for her, the one that belonged to us—and slid it onto her finger where it should’ve been all along.
“There.” I swallowed down some of my anger. “That’s much better.”
“What’s up with the other ring?”
“You’re going to be my wife. Let’s just focus on that.”
She blinked.
“I’m happy that you said yes.”
“But you look mad. Very mad.”
“That has nothing to do with you.”
“Then, tell me what’s going on.”
“I won’t let him ruin this moment. Not right now. Let me. . .enjoy the fact that you said yes. . .that one day. . .very fucking soon. . .you will be walking down an aisle in a beautiful gown and the world will know that you are my wife.”
Moni’s lips parted, but before she could speak, I couldn’t wait. I pulled her into my arms, clutching her like she was the only thing anchoring me to this world, the only light against the storm raging inside.
She didn’t hesitate.
She wrapped herself around me, her arms sliding over my shoulders, her warmth pressing against the cold fury still simmering in my chest.
Her touch was a balm that slowly healed my darkening soul.
Her lips found mine. Soft and sweet, they carried the kind of gentleness I didn’t deserve but couldn’t resist.
That first brush of her mouth against mine unraveled me completely.
Groaning, I let myself sink into her, surrendering to the kiss like a man starved, desperate for salvation.
Her kiss wasn’t just a touch—it was a lifeline. It wrapped around my heart and chased away the murderous thoughts in my head.
God, she’s so perfect.
Her tongue moved with mine, each soft, intoxicating press tethering me to the here and now.
More fireflies swirled and played in the air around us.
She threaded her fingers through my hair and molded her body perfectly against mine.
I tightened my hold on her pulling her closer, needing to feel every part of her against me.
My cock grew in my pants.
My lips moved over hers with a fervor that bordered on desperation, as if I could pour everything I couldn’t say into the kiss.
You’re mine. Only mine. Forever mine.
I kissed her like the world could end in that moment and I would die happy as long as she was in my arms. Her warmth melted the ice in my veins yet the fire of my possessiveness still smoldered, refusing to die.
It terrified me, the depth of my need for her, but her touch softened the edges of that fear.
Oh God.
The kiss deepened, pulling me under, drowning every thought except her—her warmth, her softness, the way her lips molded perfectly to mine.
Nothing else mattered.
Not my father.
Not the ring.
Not the feast.
Not the battle.
It was just her.
Her fingers tightened in my hair and a soft moan escaped her lips.
A jolt of heat ripped through my body, shattering what little control I had left.
I broke the kiss, resting my forehead against hers as we both fought to catch our breath. “I love you. You don’t know how much. You don’t know what you do to me.”
Her hands slid down to cup my face and she brushed her thumbs over my jaw. “Lei, I think I have an idea because you do the same to me.”
I took off my thick ceremonial jacket and slung it to the ground. It lay right next to her fur coat.
She chuckled. “You looked good in that.”
“Oh yeah.” I took off my shirt fast, not caring about the buttons snapping away or any rips in the fabric.
No humor left her.
Instead, she slipped her gaze down my muscular chest. “Lei. . .”
“Yes, Moni.”
“We have a feast. What are you doing?”
I slung the shirt to the ground and undid the top button of my pants. “Are you hungry? Or. . .would you like to stay here and feast on each other?”