21. Celina #2
“The Best Picture nomination represents everything I want to become,” Celina said, her voice carrying quiet conviction.
“While I’m honored by the Best Actress nomination, A Walk Toward Forever is my heart on screen.
It’s the story I needed to tell, produced the way I believe stories should be told.
If I win Best Picture, it validates not just that specific project, but the entire vision we’re building and who I have become in the process. ”
Devon’s pen stopped moving, and he looked up with something like admiration. “That’s remarkably honest. Most actors would hedge their bets, give equal attention to both campaigns.”
“I’m not most actors,” Celina replied simply. “I’m a producer who happens to act, not the other way around. And I’m finally in a position to make choices based on what matters to me rather than what’s expected.”
Devon’s pen had barely finished moving across his notepad when Celina saw the change in Osias beside her. His entire body language altered, his shoulders straightening and jaw tightening with something that looked like barely controlled tension.
“I hate to interrupt, but I need to say something,” Osias said.
The words sent a spike of confusion through Celina’s chest. They were in the middle of a press event, surrounded by entertainment journalists and industry power players, with cameras positioned strategically throughout the elegant banquet room.
Before she could respond or even formulate a question, Osias was moving, rising from his chair with that fluid grace that made him impossible to ignore.
Then he dropped to one knee right there in the middle of the banquet room, and Celina’s breath caught in her throat.
The conversations at nearby tables died instantly, replaced by a silence so complete she could hear her own heartbeat thundering in her ears.
He’s proposing. Here. Now.
The realization hit her like a tidal wave, stealing the air from her lungs as she watched this impossibly powerful man kneel before her with an expression of such raw vulnerability it made her chest ache.
“Celina,” he said, his deep voice carrying clearly across the suddenly silent room, and she realized that every camera in the place was now trained on them.
Flash bulbs began popping like scattered stars, but the world had narrowed to nothing except the man at her feet and the way he was looking at her like she was his entire universe.
His hand disappeared into his suit jacket, emerging with a small velvet box that made her heart race.
When he opened the box, the diamond inside caught the light from the chandeliers above, throwing rainbows across the cream linen tablecloth, but she barely registered its beauty because she was drowning in the intensity of his gaze.
“For thirty years,” Osias began, his voice steady despite the emotion she could feel pouring through their bond, “you’ve been performing for other people. Giving them pieces of yourself until you forgot who you were underneath all that pressure.”
Tears were already threatening at the corners of her eyes.
“But from the moment you walked into my office,” he continued, “you’ve been nothing but authentically, brilliantly yourself. You’ve taught me what it means to choose someone not because you need them, but because you can’t imagine a world where they’re not beside you.”
The cameras were flashing constantly now, and she was dimly aware of movement as reporters shifted closer to catch every word, but none of it mattered. Nothing existed except Osias.
“You’ve made me braver,” he said, echoing her own words from earlier but transforming them into something deeper. “You’ve shown me that the strongest thing I can do isn’t protect you from the world—it’s stand beside you as you conquer it yourself.”
How had she spent thirty-four years not knowing that love could feel like this—like coming home and setting sail at the same time?
“Celina Bates,” Osias said softly, “will you marry me?”
For a heartbeat that felt like eternity, Celina was aware of everything at once.
The weight of dozens of eyes watching them.
The soft click of cameras capturing what would undoubtedly be front-page news across every entertainment magazine in the country.
Devon’s pen frozen above his notepad as he realized he was witnessing the story of the year.
But mostly she was aware of the man kneeling before her, offering her not just a ring but a future where she would never have to perform love because she would be living it every single day.
“Yes,” she breathed. “Of course yes. Always yes.”
The smile that transformed Osias’s face was blinding as he put the ring on her finger, and then she was cupping his strong jaw in her hands and kissing him with everything she had.
Thirty years of carefully controlled public appearances dissolved as she poured her love and joy and absolute certainty into the kiss, dimly aware that cameras were flashing around them like fireworks but completely unable to care about anything except him.
When they broke apart, the room around them had erupted into applause and excited chatter.
“I love you,” she said, not caring who heard or what they wrote about it tomorrow.
“I love you too,” he replied, settling back into his chair and immediately pulling her closer.
The press descended on them like a perfectly dressed swarm, notebooks and recording devices appearing as reporters crowded around their table with a barely controlled excitement that meant tomorrow’s headlines were already writing themselves.
“Mr. Fellan!” called out a woman from People magazine. “What made you choose this moment to propose? Why here, why now?”
Osias’s hand found hers, his thumb tracing over the ring as he looked directly into the cameras with that Alpha confidence that had built an empire.
“I chose this moment,” he said simply, “to show the world how much I love this woman and how I cannot imagine my life without her. And I wanted everyone to see what true love looks like.”
His words sent warmth flooding through their bond, and Celina felt herself smiling so widely her cheeks hurt.
This was her mate—no longer the man who avoided the press or let their scrutiny cause him stress.
Instead, he was embracing the fact that their love story belonged partly to the world now, and if they could show that authenticity and genuine connection were possible even in Hollywood’s spotlight, maybe they could create space for others to be real too.
We’re going to change everything, she realized, watching him handle the chaos with perfect poise.