“No. Ours.”
He bent and kissed her forehead.
The gesture was small. It carried no audience, no orchestra, no family approval, no diamond to prove anything.
Just warmth.
Just choice.
Later that morning, they left the estate through the front doors.
Julian did not look back until they reached the car. Elena stood beside him, one hand in his, the other resting over their child. Behind them, workers opened the tall iron gates, and the first sunlight spilled across the drive.
The house was no longer a fortress.
The river was no longer a threat.
And beneath the balcony, where the ring had been lost and found, the water carried a single bright reflection toward the open horizon.
