10
Leaving my job freed me from unwanted computer studies.
I returned to my jewelry design degree, picking up my pencils and blueprints.
One afternoon, sketching in my home greenhouse, Harrison arrived.
He brought a pearl and diamond tiara.
I recognized it instantly-a vintage piece I’d seen in a book.
The design, incorporating lover’s knots, was stunning.
The pearls were flawless, graduating in size, subtly interwoven with diamonds-like tears of love.
When I protested the gift, he said it was a present for his fiancée, now rightfully mine.
My wolf chimed in, “I knew you loved this tiara on your eighteenth birthday, but someone bought it at an exorbitant price.”
“It was Harrison.”
“But how did he know you’d like it?”
Harrison recounted the incident six years prior.
At sixteen, he’d fainted on the beach in Billigia, nearly swept away by the waves.
I’d saved him with a life preserver.
He remembered me instantly, thinking I was an angel.
Coincidentally, my college mentor was Harrison’s mother.
No wonder he knew my tastes.
“So, you’re proposing because I saved you? I didn’t think about that…”
And I hadn’t recognized him at first, a fact I regretted.
Harrison shook his head.”Do you believe in love at first sight?”
I smiled.
Such clichés felt like fairy tales.
Harrison laughed.”I don’t, but my heart never lies when I see you. On my eighteenth birthday, I learned you were my fated mate. Unfortunately, you were already in love with someone else.”
His gaze was intense, his eyes tender, almost drowning me.
My heart fluttered.
He waited six years.
He’d considered giving up when he saw my boyfriend, but learning about Rick’s long-hidden love, knowing he couldn’t give me happiness, he pursued me.
He knelt, a perfectly sized ring held out.”I want a chance to love you openly.”
“If
you don’t believe me now, it’s alright. I have a lifetime to prove it.”
My parents appeared, each holding a bouquet of roses.”Say yes! Say yes!”
I recalled the scene at the restaurant, the celebration surrounding me, instead of Rick and Calista.
This time, I wanted to indulge, to have a love story like a heist.
I slipped the ring onto my finger.
Tears glistened in Harrison’s eyes as he slid it on, securing me.
My mother placed the tiara on my head. My father, weeping, filmed the moment.
