10. Bella #4
“You really were going to stop the wedding,” I say. The surveillance report I found in the files had told me his investigator was there that day - but never why he came himself. Now I understand. I’m awed by the lengths he went to.
“I was,” Adrian says. “I couldn’t let you marry him knowing what I knew. Even if you hated me for it, even if you never spoke to me again, I had to try to save you from that mistake.”
I turn in his arms so I can look at him properly. “You saved my life that day, Adrian. Not just physically, but in every way that matters. You gave me a purpose when I had none. You gave me strength when I felt weak. You gave me love when I thought I’d never trust anyone again.”
Adrian cups my face in his hands, his thumbs brushing away the tears that have started to fall. “You gave me something too, Bella. You gave me hope. You showed me that love doesn’t have to be a game or a strategy. It can be real and honest and beautiful.”
I lean in and kiss him, pouring all my love and gratitude into the gesture. Adrian responds immediately, his arms tightening around me, pulling me closer.
The kiss deepens, becomes more urgent. I shift so I’m straddling his lap, my hands tangling in his hair. Adrian’s hands slide under my shirt, his touch sending shivers down my spine.
“Bella,” he murmurs against my lips. “Are you sure?”
“I’m sure,” I say, pulling back just enough to look into his eyes. “I want you, Adrian. I want this. I want us.”
Adrian stands, lifting me with him, and I wrap my legs around his waist. He carries me to the bedroom, laying me gently on the bed. The firelight from the living room casts a warm glow through the open doorway, illuminating his face as he looks down at me.
“You’re so beautiful,” he says, his voice rough with emotion and desire.
“So are you,” I reply, reaching up to pull him down to me.
We make love slowly, tenderly, taking our time to explore and savor each other.
It’s different from our previous encounters - less desperate, more intentional.
This isn’t just physical desire; it’s a celebration of everything we’ve been through, everything we’ve overcome, everything we mean to each other.
Afterward, we lie tangled together, my head on Adrian’s chest, his fingers tracing lazy patterns on my back.
“I want to marry you,” Adrian says suddenly. “Not because of Marcus, not because of the trial, but because I can’t imagine my life without you in it.”
I lift my head to look at him, my heart swelling with love. “I want to marry you too.”
“You like your ring, you keep staring at it,” Adrian says with a rueful smile.
He’s right. He has caught me looking at it quite a few times.
“I don’t need a ring to know that I love you,” I say, pressing a kiss to his chest. “I know how you feel about me. I feel it every day in the way you look at me, the way you protect me, the way you love me.”
“At least you still got a proper proposal,” Adrian says with a wink, joking with me and trying to make light of the situation like always.
“With a ring and flowers and all the romance you deserve. But for now, I just need to hear you say it. Say you’ll marry me, Bella.
Say you’ll spend the rest of your life with me. ”
“Yes,” I say without hesitation even though I already said I would. “Yes, I’ll marry you. I’ll spend the rest of my life with you. I’ll build a future with you. I’ll have a family with you. Yes to everything, Adrian. Yes.”
Adrian kisses me again, and I can feel him smiling against my lips. “I love you so much.”
“I love you too,” I whisper. “More than I ever thought possible.”
We fall asleep like that, wrapped in each other’s arms, the promise of our future stretching out before us like the lake outside our window - vast and beautiful and full of possibility.
The rest of our weekend passes in a blissful haze. We talk about our dreams for the future - the house we want to buy, the children we want to have, the life we want to build together. We make love and laugh and simply enjoy being together without the weight of the world pressing down on us.
“I can’t wait to marry you,” Adrian says, setting me down and kissing me deeply.
“I can’t wait either,” I reply. “But first, we have a trial to get through.”
Adrian’s expression sobers slightly. “We do. But after that, nothing is going to stop us from building the life we want.”
“Nothing,” I agree, looking down at the ring on my finger. It’s a symbol of everything we’ve overcome, everything we’ve fought for, and everything we’re going to build together.
We return to the city refreshed and ready to face whatever comes next. The trial is scheduled to begin in six weeks, and the prosecutors want to meet with us regularly to prepare our testimony.
In our prep sessions, Rachel keeps circling back to my credibility. “They’re going to bring up your relationship with Mr. Sterling,” she warns, “suggest that it’s inappropriate, that it clouds your judgment. But we have the evidence to prove them wrong.”
“Let them try,” Adrian says, his hand finding mine under the table.
“Bella’s testimony is just one piece of a much larger puzzle.
Even if they manage to discredit her - which they won’t - we still have the financial records, the witness testimony, the physical evidence from the attempted murder.
Marcus Webb is going to prison no matter what. ”
Rachel nods. “That’s true. But I want Bella to be prepared for what’s coming. This isn’t going to be easy.”
“I can handle it,” I say firmly. “I’ve come this far. I’m not backing down now.”
Over the next few weeks, I spend hours with Rachel and her team, going over my testimony, practicing my responses to potential questions, learning how to stay calm under pressure. It’s exhausting, but I’m determined to do this right.
Adrian is with me every step of the way, supporting me, encouraging me, reminding me why we’re doing this. And slowly, I start to feel ready.
One evening, about three weeks before the trial, Sarah comes over for dinner. She’s been my rock through all of this, and I’m grateful for her friendship.
“So,” she says as we’re sitting on my couch with glasses of wine, “are you going to tell me about that ring on your finger, or am I supposed to just pretend I haven’t noticed it?”
I laugh, holding up my hand so she can see it properly. “Adrian proposed. We’re engaged.”
Sarah squeals and pulls me into a hug. “Oh my God, Bella! That’s amazing! When did this happen?”
“A few weeks ago,” I say, smiling at the memory. “He proposed over a beautiful dinner, and then we celebrated with a weekend away at a cabin in the mountains.”
“I’m so happy for you,” Sarah says, her eyes shining with tears. “You deserve this. You deserve to be happy.”
“I am happy,” I say, and I mean it. “Happier than I’ve been in a long time. Maybe ever.”
“When’s the wedding?” Sarah asks.
“After the trial,” I say. “We want to get through that first, put Marcus behind us for good. Then we can focus on our future.”
Sarah nods understandingly. “That makes sense. But I’m calling dibs on being your maid of honor.”
“Obviously,” I say, laughing. “Who else would it be?”
We spend the rest of the evening talking about wedding plans, about my future with Adrian, about everything except the trial. It’s a welcome respite from the constant stress and preparation.
When Sarah leaves, I call Adrian. He’s working late at the office, but he answers on the first ring.
“Hey, beautiful,” he says, and I can hear the smile in his voice. “How was dinner with Sarah?”
“Good,” I say. “She’s excited about the engagement. She’s already planning the bachelorette party.”
Adrian chuckles. “I’d expect nothing less. Are you okay? You sound tired.”
“I’m tired,” I admit. “But I’m okay. I just… I miss you.”
“I miss you too,” Adrian says. “I’ll be home in an hour. Wait up for me?”
“Always,” I promise.
When Adrian arrives home, he finds me curled up on the couch, fighting to keep my eyes open. He smiles and scoops me up in his arms, carrying me to bed.
“You didn’t have to wait up,” he says as he tucks me in.
“I wanted to,” I murmur, already half asleep. “I always want to see you.”
Adrian climbs into bed beside me, pulling me close. “I love you, Bella.”
“I love you too,” I whisper, and then I’m asleep, safe in his arms.
The weeks pass quickly, and before I know it, the trial is only days away. I’m nervous but ready. I’ve prepared as much as I can. Now it’s just a matter of seeing it through.
The night before the trial begins, Adrian and I stay up late, talking about everything and nothing. We’re both too keyed up to sleep, too aware that tomorrow everything changes.
“Are you scared?” Adrian asks as we lie in bed, the city lights twinkling through the windows.
“A little,” I admit. “But mostly I’m just ready for this to be over. Ready to move on with our lives.”
“Me too,” Adrian says, pressing a kiss to my forehead. “But no matter what happens tomorrow, no matter what Marcus’s lawyers throw at us, I want you to remember something.”
“What’s that?” I ask.
“You’re not the same woman who ran from that wedding,” Adrian says. “You’re stronger now. You’re braver. You’ve faced your fears and come out the other side. Marcus can’t hurt you anymore, Bella. He has no power over you.”
I feel tears prick my eyes. “Thank you for believing in me. For helping me believe in myself.”
“Always,” Adrian promises. “I’ll always believe in you.”
We make love that night with a tenderness and intensity that takes my breath away. It’s a reaffirmation of everything we are to each other, everything we’ve built together. And when we finally fall asleep, tangled together in the darkness, I feel ready to face whatever tomorrow brings.
But the next morning brings a surprise I never expected.
I wake feeling nauseous, barely making it to the bathroom before I’m sick. Adrian is immediately at my side, holding my hair back, rubbing soothing circles on my back.
“Are you okay?” he asks, concern evident in his voice. “Is it nerves about the trial?”