Chapter 10 - The Oath Rewritten
Later that night, long after the gala had ended and the last guests had departed, a black limousine drove Damian and Elena back to the Moretti estate in Lake Forest.
The mansion was quiet, illuminated by warm exterior lanterns casting soft golden light across the manicured lawns.
Hand in hand, Damian and Elena walked up the grand staircase, past the dining room where six months ago Isabelle had cut Elena’s hair, and stepped into the private master study on the second floor.
A fire was crackling in the brick fireplace, filling the room with the warm scent of pine wood.
Damian walked over to the massive oak desk, reached into the lower drawer, and pulled out the ancient, leather-bound ledger—the book that had started everything.
He laid the ledger open on the desk under the lamp light, turning to the last page.
“Why did you bring out the ledger tonight, Damian?” Elena asked, walking up behind him, resting her chin softly against his shoulder.
Damian reached into his pocket and pulled out a gold fountain pen. He handed it to her.
“Twenty years ago, my father wrote an oath in this book to protect Julian Vasquez’s daughter,” Damian said softly, turning her around in his arms to look into her eyes. “Tonight, I want us to rewrite the oath together.”
Elena looked at the open ledger, then up at Damian’s handsome, earnest face. “What are we writing?”
Damian took her hand, guiding the gold pen to the bottom of the ancient parchment.
“We are writing that the Moretti and Vasquez bloodlines are no longer bound by debt or obligation,” Damian whispered, his voice trembling slightly with raw emotion. “They are bound by love.”
Elena felt tears of pure happiness welling in her eyes. She gripped the gold pen tightly, and together with Damian, she signed her name beneath his at the bottom of the historic ledger.
Moretti, Damian & Vasquez, Elena. Bound by Love and Blood, 2026.
Damian took the pen from her hand, set it on the desk, and pulled her close into a passionate, breathtaking embrace.
He reached into his pocket once more, pulling out a small velvet box. He clicked it open, revealing a flawless, seven-carat emerald ring surrounded by delicate diamonds that sparkled under the firelight.
“Elena Vasquez,” Damian said, his grey eyes locked onto hers with absolute devotion. “Will you marry me and rule this city by my side?”
Elena looked at the ring, then up at the man who had protected her shadows, fought for her father’s honor, and loved her with every beat of his heart.
A breathtaking smile lit up her face.
May you like
“Yes, Damian,” Elena whispered, her voice filled with absolute certainty. “Yes.”
Damian slid the emerald ring onto her finger, pulled her into his arms, and kissed her as the warm firelight danced across the walls of the mansion, sealing their fate forever in a world where a maid had become a queen.
