Chapter 18 - The Proposal
The following winter brought a heavy, beautiful snowfall to Boston, blanketing the city in a massive, sparkling layer of pure white snow.
It was a stark, completely poetic contrast to the horrific, terrifying blizzard I had barely survived all those years ago.
I was standing by the massive window in my living room, drinking hot cocoa and watching Lily build a completely lopsided snowman in the front yard.
Marcus was outside with her, laughing loudly as she aggressively threw a tiny, poorly packed snowball directly at his face.
I watched them completely wrapped in absolute, pure joy, realizing how incredibly far I had traveled from that freezing, terrifying night of absolute despair.
Marcus walked back into the warm house, shaking the heavy snow from his thick coat and stomping his boots on the mat.
He walked over to me, wrapping his incredibly warm, strong arms around my waist, pressing a soft kiss to my temple.
He told me that he loved the beautiful, completely chaotic life we had built together, and he absolutely never wanted to live without us.
He slowly reached into his heavy coat pocket, pulling out a small, incredibly simple velvet box.
He did not drop to one knee in a massive, theatrical display of overwhelming wealth; he simply looked deeply into my eyes.
He asked me if I would do him the massive, absolute honor of becoming his wife and officially letting him adopt Lily as his own daughter.
Tears of pure, overwhelming happiness immediately spilled down my cheeks as I nodded my head yes completely without hesitation.
The ring was not a massive, ostentatious diamond meant to impress the Boston elite; it was a beautiful, vintage sapphire that perfectly matched Lily’s eyes.
It was a ring chosen with deep, absolute thought and profound, overwhelming love.
Lily ran into the house, completely covered in snow, loudly demanding hot chocolate and marshmallows.
Marcus picked her up, swinging her wildly in the air, loudly announcing that we were officially going to be a real family.
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Lily cheered incredibly loudly, completely oblivious to the massive, beautiful weight of the incredible promise we had just made to each other.
I looked at the beautiful, completely safe family standing in my living room, knowing I had finally reached my incredibly happy ending.
