Chapter 20 - Beneath the Crystal Chandelier Once More
The music we danced to was entirely in our heads.
It was the rhythm of a new beginning,
untethered from the lies of the past and the shadows of a fallen empire.
Lucy spun between us,
her laughter echoing off the high vaulted ceilings like wind chimes.
“Are we going to live on the farm now?” she asked,
looking up at both of us.
“Yes,
sweetheart,
” Gabriel answered,
his arm wrapping securely around my waist as we glided across the floor.
“We're going to plant apple trees and raise horses.
”
“And will you be our family?” she asked innocently.
Gabriel looked down at me,
his gaze softening with a depth of emotion that words could never capture.
“Only if your mother agrees to it,
” he whispered softly.
I rested my head against his shoulder,
feeling the solid,
steady beat of his heart.
“It's about time,
” I murmured against his lapel.
The rain began to tap gently against the tall ballroom windows once again,
washing away the last traces of the old world.
We were no longer captives of the past.
We were the architects of our own destiny.
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