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A Girl
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2026-10-12 14:35:51Cassandra couldn't stop thinking about the velvet box.
She'd found it by accident—a small, dark blue box tucked into the back of Dante's drawer. She hadn't opened it. She hadn't needed to. She knew what it was. She'd seen enough engagement rings in movies, in magazines, in the windows of jewelry stores she passed on the street.
Dante was going to propose.
For real this time. Not a fake engagement. Not a strategy. A real proposal. A real marriage. A real future.
She should have been happy. She should have been thrilled. She should have been counting down the days until he got down on one knee and asked her to be his wife.
But she was terrified.
---
Not because she didn't love him. She did. More than she'd ever loved anyone. More than she'd ever thought possible.
But because love meant vulnerability. Love meant risk. Love meant opening herself up to the possibility of losing everything.
And Cassandra had lost so much already.
Her mother. Her grandmother. Her sense of self. Her innocence. Her trust.
She'd been betrayed by the people who were supposed to protect her. She'd been hunted, poisoned, threatened. She'd learned that love could be a weapon. That trust could be a trap. That the people closest to you were the ones who hurt you the most.
She was scared to let herself be happy.
---
Dante noticed she was distant.
She was quieter than usual. She pushed her food around her plate without eating. She stared out the window with a faraway look in her eyes.
He sat beside her on the sofa, taking her hand.
"Talk to me," he said quietly.
She tried to lie. She tried to say it was nothing, just hormones, just tiredness. But the words wouldn't come.
She told him about the box.
About the ring.
About her fear.
Dante listened.
He didn't push. He didn't try to fix it. He just held her. His arms wrapped around her, warm and steady. His lips pressed to her hair.
"I understand," he said quietly. "I'm scared too."
She looked up at him. "You? Scared?"
"Terrified." He met her eyes. "I've been hurt before. Betrayed before. I know what it's like to be afraid of love. To wonder if it's worth the risk."
"And what did you decide?"
He was silent for a moment. Then he spoke.
"I decided it was."
He told her about his parents. About Elena and Vincent. About the marriage that had crumbled under the weight of secrets and lies. About the childhood he'd spent watching two people destroy each other.
"I thought love was a weakness," he said. "I thought it was something to avoid. Something that would only bring pain."
"And now?"
"Now I know I was wrong." He cupped her face. His thumbs brushed her cheeks. "Love isn't a weakness. It's the only thing worth fighting for."
---
Cassandra made a decision.
She wasn't going to let fear control her anymore. She wasn't going to let the past dictate her future. She was going to love Dante. Fully. Completely. Without reservation.
She took his hand. "I'm ready."
He looked at her. "Ready for what?"
"For us. For whatever comes next." She squeezed his hand. "I'm not going to run anymore. I'm not going to hide. I'm going to love you. For the rest of my life."
His eyes glistened. He pulled her into his arms.
"I love you," he whispered.
"I love you too."
---
That night, they held each other.
No words. No promises. Just presence. Just love.
For the first time in her life, Cassandra felt safe. Not because she was protected. Not because she was hidden. But because she was loved.
---
That night, Cassandra dreamed of her mother.
Grace was sitting in a garden—a beautiful garden, filled with roses and lilies and wildflowers of every color. She was wearing a white dress, her hair loose, her smile soft.
She looked up when Cassandra approached.
"My darling," she said.
Cassandra sat beside her. The grass was soft beneath her feet. The sun was warm on her face.
"I miss you," Cassandra whispered.
"I know." Grace took her hand. "But I'm always with you."
"How?"
"Here." Grace touched her heart. "And here." She touched Cassandra's stomach. "And here."
Cassandra looked down. Her stomach was round, heavy with child. She could feel the baby kicking.
"She's going to be beautiful," Grace said.
"She?"
Grace smiled. "Yes. She."
---
Cassandra woke with tears on her face.
But they weren't sad tears. They were happy tears. Peaceful tears.
She pressed her hand to her stomach. "A girl," she whispered. "I'm going to have a girl."
Dante stirred beside her. "What?"
"Nothing." She kissed his forehead. "Just a dream."
She closed her eyes, holding onto the image of her mother's smile.
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