34. Nina
Nina
ONE WEEK LATER
I hold my hand over Stella’s eyes while I lead her into her house. Kai, her bodyguard, meets with Nate in the pool house to go over the security measures he implemented.
“This is a bit dramatic,” Stella says. “I can close my eyes on my own. And I don’t even understand why I’m needing to close my eyes.”
“You’ll understand in a minute,” I say. She hasn’t seen the house since she bought it and doesn’t know I decorated it while she was in Europe. “And it is necessary, since I don’t know if you’re the type of person who likes to peek or not.”
She snorts, and when I position her in the kitchen, I remove my hand and say, “Ta-da.”
Stella blinks rapidly before glancing at me in confusion. “You…decorated?”
“I didn’t want you to come home to an empty house and have to start from scratch.”
She spins in a slow circle, taking in everything.
“You decorated the whole house?” she asks slowly.
“Yeah. If you hate it, I can redo it. I?—”
Stella knocks the air out of me with her hug. “You, my friend, are amazing. You didn’t have to do this, but this is seriously the best surprise ever.”
I grin. “Do you want a tour?”
“Hell yeah.” She runs her hand over the table in awe. “This is so beautiful.”
I lead her through the house, pointing out all the things I’ve done and why I chose the designs I did.
I keep checking her face, looking for any signs that she’s unhappy, but her wide grin tells me she loves it.
She gasps and oohs and aahs throughout the entire tour and this moment right here is exactly the reason why I did it.
“You’re so talented,” Stella says when we finish and return to the kitchen. “But you worked so hard on this, I don’t want to take it away from you. You can stay here, take over this house, I can always find another…”
“Hell no, this is all yours. Evren’s house repairs are finally complete anyway, and I’m moving in with him.”
Stella chuckles. “So, it’s serious, then?”
“It’s more than serious. He even demanded that I decorate it, to make it my own.” When he said that, my heart melted even more. He loves my style and designs and the fact that he wants them in our home means the world to me.
“As he should. When you get famous, I can claim that I have a custom house done by you.”
I wince. “I don’t need fame; I just want to do what I love.”
“Now that, I can understand.”
Kai and Nate come into the kitchen and Stella avoids looking at Kai directly. I guess she’s still embarrassed about him catching her in the act.
“We need to leave now to make your appointment on time,” Nate says to me.
I nod and hug Stella once more. “Hope you enjoy it here.”
“I definitely will,” she says. “Dinner tomorrow at Elodie’s?”
“Of course.”
It’s fun to have her in town. Now we just need Aria to buy a place in Skyrise, and we can all see each other more regularly.
Nate is supposed to drive me to the restaurant Evren made reservations at, but instead of heading into town, he heads to a private airport. Confused, I wait until we pull up to Evren’s jet to ask my questions.
Evren opens the door for me.
“Hi,” I say. “Is your jet now a restaurant?”
“I have a surprise for you. ”
“Okay?” I skip up the steps. “Let me guess, you won’t tell me until we get to wherever we’re going.”
“Sounds about right.”
I chuckle and sit on the couch.
“But we do have something to celebrate,” Evren says casually, handing me a glass of champagne.
“The reporter broke the story today. Mert and Will are officially fired, my old lawyers no longer have a license to practice, and Harold is now blacklisted within the community. No one wants to associate with him.”
“Seriously? That’s amazing.”
He grins. “It is, and it’s a relief that everyone knows what kind of people they are.”
“Agreed.” I take a sip of my champagne. “So that’s why we’re here? To celebrate the downfall of our enemies?”
“Nope, we’re here because I’m taking you somewhere you’ve always wanted to go.”
“Let me guess? Milan?” I joke. Clearly, we’re not going to Milan in the middle of the workweek. “Ohh, or maybe Miami?”
“You had it right the first time.”
“Milan?” I gasp. “No way. You’re joking, right?”
“Do I look like I’m fucking with you?” He says it with a serious tone, and there’s nothing about him that would indicate he’s joking.
“But you have work…”
“Don’t you get it?” Evren says. “You’re more important than work. And don’t tell me you’d rather stay in Skyrise and miss out on a tour of some of the most prestigious fashion houses in the world.”
“Holy shit.” A tour of any of the Italian brand headquarters would be a dream come true, and he said houses, meaning more than one. “Are you for real?”
“I certainly hope so.” He flashes me a grin.
“But we can’t just go for me.”
“Why not?”
“Because we should also do something you want to do.”
He thinks about it for a minute. “Well, I’ve always wanted to go to Lake Como.”
“Perfect, we’ll do that, too.” I straddle his lap. “And we’ll do everything else you want, as long as we get to do it together.”
“Now you’re getting it,” he murmurs, his thumb brushing gently along my jaw.
“That’s what I mean when I say you’re more important than work.
Before you, it was all I had, all I focused on.
But now…” He pauses, the sincerity in his gaze making my breath catch.
“Now, I see it all differently. You’ve shown me there’s more to life—more to us .
I wake up thinking about you, not meetings or deals.
I fall asleep with you on my mind. You are what matters.
My future—our future—that’s the priority. Everything else can wait.”
“Well, shit, when you put it like that…” I lean into him, my voice soft but steady. “We’re going to be unstoppable.”
Milan and Lake Como are the dreamiest places in the world, or at least what I’ve seen of the world.
Our villa in Lake Como is directly on the water, framed by rolling hills and other massive homes. Today, we’re going on a boat ride to enjoy all the lake has to offer. I pull on a summer dress and head to the living room where Evren’s already waiting for me.
“Quick question,” he says, putting on a bomber jacket. “Does this look okay?”
“A jacket?” I ask as he does a slow spin, showing off whatever this jacket is. “But it’s not cold outside?—”
The words dry up in my throat as I read the back. It’s the same jacket I made for Stella, Aria, and Elodie for the charity event, the one that put me on the map. But it’s in a men’s cut and size. On the back, hand-sewn on the top, in lopsided and uneven stitching are the words marry me.
My brain stutters, unable to process the words at first. He’s proposing? Of all the things I thought he’d ask right now, it’s not that. He turns back around to face me and grabs my hands in his.
“I have a new appreciation for sewing,” he says, “after it took me hours to sew just those words.”
My breath catches, and I forget how to speak, my mouth suddenly dry. Eventually, I choke out, “You sewed that yourself?”
“Yes, because I wanted you to have a good memory related to this jacket. It’s something you’ve shied away from, and it’s even been used against you recently. Maybe it’s a stupid way to ask you to marry me, but?—”
“It’s not stupid.” I cup his face in my hands. “It’s thoughtful and unique and perfect.”
“I love you more than I’ll ever be able to express with words.
You’re it for me, and I can’t imagine life without you by my side.
” He says it simply, as if it’s obvious, as if there is no other truth in the world than this.
“I want to be the one who hands you your first cup of coffee every morning, just to see your smile. I want to hear your off-key singing that fills the house with so much life. I want to be the strength behind you—the knife in your hand—whenever you need to cut through anything or anyone that stands in your way. I want to live in the beautiful, colorful world you create, where nothing is ever dull and everything feels like magic. And every night, I want to fall asleep with your fingers running through my hair, your body pressed against mine, knowing I’m exactly where I’m meant to be.
Forever. So, please, Nina, please, do me the honor of marrying me. ”
His words stretch me like an elastic band, pulling me to the edge until I snap—only to spring back, reshaping me into something entirely new. My heart races, and tears well, as I stare at him in awe. I never thought someone would see the real me and still want me, until him.
I swallow, trying to find the right words, but everything I feel for him is too big, too all-encompassing.
“You…you make me feel like I’m home,” I whisper, my voice catching.
“My first true home in my life. I always thought home was a place, but it turns out it was a person—you.” I clear my throat, trying to talk over the emotion blocking it.
“Making you smile and having fun with you is my new life goal. So is forcing you to eat sugary cereal in the morning, even if you hate it.” He chuckles and I grin.
“But I promise to fiercely defend you from anyone who doesn’t see how amazing you are, because you deserve nothing less.
And every night, I want to fall asleep wrapped in your arms, knowing that when we wake up, we’ll face the world together, side by side. ”
“Is that a yes?” he asks, blinking back his own tears.
“No, it’s a hell fucking yes.”
He wraps his arms around me, kissing me like I’m the missing piece that makes his life complete. And I finally understand what it feels like to belong so completely to someone else, as if every moment in my life was leading me to him, to this moment.
He pulls back and asks, “Wait, don’t you want to see the ring?”
“No, I don’t care about that.”
“Even if you’re going to wear it the rest of your life?”
“Well…when you put it that way,” I tease.
He laughs and pulls a velvet box out of the jacket pocket and opens it.
Inside is the most stunning ring I’ve ever seen.
With a shaking hand, I pick it up. The band is a mix of platinum and silver, intricately woven together to create a design that looks almost like a crown.
The massive, cushion-cut diamond in the center is a serious showstopper.
But what makes the ring unique are the colorful gemstones—emeralds, sapphires, and rubies—that are set in a halo, radiating outward like a burst of confetti.
It’s the most unique ring I’ve ever seen—bold, vibrant, and unapologetically luxurious.
“It’s exquisite,” I whisper.
He takes the ring from me and slides a literal piece of art onto my finger.
“Do you like it?” he asks.
“This will never be leaving my hand, and if someone tries to take it from me, I’ll fight them to the ends of the earth.”
He chuckles. “I’ll take that as a yes.” His phone buzzes and he glances at it. “Come, we’re going to be late.”
“They’ll wait for us.”
“They will,” he agrees easily. “But I don’t think we should be late for our dreams.”
“If that’s the case, then we better hurry.” I tug him toward the door, but then stop. “Wait, ditch the jacket. I don’t want random people to accept your proposal.”
“Good idea.” He chuckles and places it on the couch. “There’s only one person I want in this universe.”
I smile and say, “Race you to the car?”
“On the count of three?”
“Three meaning go or three, then go?”
“Three—”
I take off with a shriek and he bursts into laughter, hot on my heels. Pushing through the front door, I’m momentarily blinded by the sun as we race into a new future together, one that is of our making.
I used to believe that hope was a luxury I couldn’t afford, having tucked my aspirations away after too many disappointments.
But because of him, I realized that my dreams weren’t lost—they were simply waiting for the right moment to bloom.
He reignited a fire within me, reminding me that dreaming is not only possible but essential.
Turns out dreams aren’t just distant whispers—they’re tangible, waiting to be chased. Or, in my case, they were lines waiting to be crossed.
Thank you so much for reading!