CHAPTER ONE: THE PROPOSAL

My billionaire fiancé put a bullet in my chest and left me to die.

But hold on…let me take you back to when love still felt safe, when I couldn't see Adrian for who he truly was.

Champagne fizzed on my tongue and Adrian's fingers traced lazy circles on my bare shoulder. We were tangled in his king-sized bed, my bridesmaid dress somewhere on the floor next to his undone bow tie.

"You've got that wrinkle again," he murmured against my neck. "Right…… here."

His thumb pressed gently between my brows and I brushed his hand away, laughing. "Three years together and you still study my face like you're cramming for an exam."

"Thats because… every time I look at you, I find something new. Like right now, there's this tiny gold fleck in your left eye. I swear it wasn't there yesterday."

Oh..this man,noticing gold fleck like it's some buried treasure.

"And there it is again," he teased. "That off-key humming you do when you're drunk and happy."

"I do not hum off-key."

“Baby you do,remember our second date? You were humming in the elevator like a car alarm and poor Mrs. Brown almost called security."he said with a little laugh.

The memory made me want to hide under the covers because that cursed elevator had witnessed my worst musical crimes. I had been humming "With You" while floating too high on love to care about pitch, and by the time we sat down for dinner Adrian had spaghetti sauce on his shirt from nervous fumbling.

"“Off key?” I gasped, flipping my hair like i was offended for real. “No, babe, that’s musical talent. And besides… Mrs. Brown hasn’t heard a good melody before. That’s why you acted like that.”

Adrian laughed so hard his whole body shook against mine. "Baby, you sounded like a dying cat, but I loved it because you were so happy you couldn't hold it in."

I pushed up on my elbows to study him properly because his hair was wrecked from my fingers and my lipstick marked his jaw, and for a moment the world narrowed down to just us.

"You remember our first date?" His thumb brushed my cheekbone.

"When your car broke down in the rain?"

"You mean when I wanted to take you to the fanciest restaurant in New York?" Something soft moved through his eyes. "I was furious because I had the whole night planned, an expensive restaurant and a perfect table, but instead we were stuck in my car sharing takeout while rain hammered the windows. Then you laughed at my stupid jokes and I thought, this is what I want for the rest of my life."

A shy smile broke through before I could stop it. "Really? Why didn't you tell me?"

"Because I knew I was screwed. Three hours in and I was already picturing rings." His forehead pressed to mine. "You had whipped cream on your nose and all I could think about was how badly I wanted to kiss you."

"Why didn't you?"

"Because if I did, I would have never let you go."

The way he said it, like a promise and a warning all at once, made something in me go soft and warm.

"You know every scar," he whispered. "Every nightmare. You're the only one who never left, even when I gave you every reason to."

His eyes wouldn't leave mine. "I can't wait to make you my wife."

Wife, the word sent lightning through my veins and made my brain go fuzzy with happiness.

I threw my head back and screamed at the ceiling. "Hey! Everyone! Adrian Thorne wants to marry me!"

He pulled me down, laughing. "You're insane."

"You haven't seen anything yet. Just wait until we actually get married, then you'll see real madness."

We laughed until tears blurred everything and our stomachs ached and we were nothing but chaos wrapped in the kind of love that scared me because it felt too good to be real.

Then he went completely still.

"What's wrong?"

His hand reached over the bed's edge and came back trembling, holding a tiny black box.

Everything inside me went haywire.

"Adrian"

"Wait, let me do this right."

He slid off the bed and dropped to one knee on the hardwood, shirtless with his hair a complete disaster and tears gathering in his eyes. The ring box shook in his hand like he was terrified I might say no.

"I wrote this speech fifty times," he said, barely able to get the words out. "Tore it up fifty-one because nothing was good enough for you."

Tears spilled down my cheeks before I could stop them.

"Three years ago, I met this girl at the worst party in Manhattan. Everyone else was loud and exhausting but she sat alone in a corner, quiet, and she was too glowing.From that moment I knew I had seen the most beautiful womu in my life and I still think that."

"Adrian"

"No, please, let me finish." He wiped his face with his free hand. "That night you told me you hated small talk and said you would rather know someone's deepest fear than their favorite food."

I nodded while wiping tears that wouldn't stop coming.

"Mine was dying alone and being forgotten, but then you smiled at me and I knew I would never be alone again."

"When I woke up from that nightmare, terrified and gasping for air, you pulled me close and ran your fingers through my hair until I fell back asleep. You didn't need explanations or ask questions, you just made me feel safe." He could barely get the words out now. "And I thought, God I'm going to marry her, and that was only six months in and I was already a finished man."

The box snapped open and light caught the ring, a simple band with diamonds that looked like stolen stars.

"You make me laugh when I'm angry and you sweeten my coffee on bad days without me asking. You believe in me even when I don't believe in myself."

He lost it completely then with his shoulders shaking as tears spilled freely.

"I don't just want a lifetime with you, I want every single second," he said while barely holding himself together. "Every morning I wake up and see you, every stupid fight about movies, every laugh until my stomach hurts. I want all of it. I want to you to be by my side throughout this journey of life.I want you to be the mother of my children."

The words hit me so hard I couldn't say a word,I just kept staring at him through tears.

"Aurora Marie Winters," he said my full name like a vow "Will you marry me?"

"Yes." The word ripped out of me as my knees hit the ground and I was shaking with tears streaming as I nodded over and over. "Yes, I'll marry you."

His hands trembled so badly he nearly dropped the ring but I guided him and slid it onto my finger. It fit perfectly like it was always meant to be there.

We collapsed into each other while crying and kissing and laughing, so tangled I couldn't tell where he ended and I began. He pressed his lips to the ring again and again while whispering "you said yes" like he couldn't quite believe it was real.

"Thank you," he said into my hair while barely able to get the words out. "You've made me the happiest man alive. I love you so much."

"I love you more," I sobbed against his neck.

I believed every single thing.

God! I was such a fool.