by Anne Marck
As the director is called to the stage, my anxiety only gets worse. I have five minutes before I go up there.
I do a breathing exercise that Julia taught me and mentally prepare myself for when I hear the sound system announce my name.
“Welcome our student speaker, Luna St. Clair.”
I inhale then walk shakily to center stage. Suddenly, all the lights are on me, along with the sound of applause.
“That’s it, baby!” Katarina screams, standing out in the audience, earning a few laughs and more applause.
She heard Dominic calling me baby a few months ago at the center, so I should have expected this.
I blush and clear my throat. Crap. I’m shaking so badly that I can barely adjust the microphone to the height of my mouth.
My brain glitches. All I see is white. I can no longer breathe. To make matters worse, a deafening silence takes over the auditorium, everyone waiting for my speech.
As if moved by a higher force, I raise my eyes from the paper to the audience and find the gray eyes that are so familiar and supportive fixed on me. It takes a second to absorb his strength, to regain my determination. Dominic does this to me.
I take a deep breath. “Good evening …” The first attempt comes out weak, so I repeat, “Good evening, ladies and gentlemen.”
I get a greeting back.
Encouraged, I begin to say what I have tried to put into words for a month.
“We are gathered tonight to celebrate not only the achievement of a college degree, but the universe of possibilities that await us from now on.” I take my eyes off Dominic and meet my classmates, who are sitting in a special area next to the stage. “Our professions have the power to take us far, but the big question is: what should we do with it?”
I turn to face the man who changed my life. “Because of a very special person, I have learned that we can do much more for this world. And we must.
“I was once on the streets, starving, sick, running away, and someone reached out and took me in.” I reconnect my gaze with his intense one. “The lesson I drew from that is: on the fringes of our own axis, there are people who need us, really need us. And what we can do for them is part of our professional responsibility. If we are going to build, model, and adapt spaces to make the world more beautiful, then why not align it with ways to transform the lives of many as well? This must be our greatest goal: to change the world as we see it, giving our work humanity above all else.”
I’m interrupted by a strong ovation.
I wait then continue, “May we succeed in our ventures from this moment on and honor our professions.” I turn to my new colleagues.
Hats are thrown in the air and hugs mingle with colored banners that fall from the ceiling.
I sigh in relief that I made it this far.
I go through all the hugs and congratulations of my colleagues so I can join my family. Yes, family.
Carrying my degree, I approach Dominic, Simone, Gabi, Jasmine, Katy, Julia, and Alice.
My first goal is to kiss Dominic. I’ve been away from him all day and feeling his support only made me desperate to touch him.
“That was beautiful, baby,” he whispers, his lips glued to mine.
I hear the sighs behind us but soon cease paying attention, consumed by the sensations of our contact.
“I love you,” I murmur almost breathlessly.
“Me, too.” He touches my swollen lips.
“Child,” Simone says. “Congratulations. You looked beautiful up there.”
I hug her tightly. “Thanks, Simone. You know it means a lot to me, don’t you?” I say excitedly.
“I have to thank you, Luna. You gave me a home, and that I will never forget.”
“You took care of me when I needed you the most, Simone. No thanks could ever be enough.”
The old lady wipes a tear, and I do the same.
“Come here, my beautiful baby!” Gabi pulls me into a hug before I even turn toward her. “I’m so proud of my friend, the architect!”
The girls’ laughter makes me laugh, too.
“Thanks, Gabi! It would not have worked out so well if you hadn’t adjusted my robe in time,” I whisper, joking about our last-minute panic.
The graduation store confused me with some giant two-hundred-pound man and sent me a robe three times too big. If it weren’t for her, I don’t even know if I would have made it.
“Congratulations, architect!” Katarina is next. “I’m serious about renovating Daniel’s beach house, and I think friends get a discount, right?”
I give a loud laugh. “Friends get a discount,” I assure her.
Julia and Alice, whom I have hung out with a lot in the last months, hug me, too. They’re beautiful and sweet … and I’m still scared to death of Dominic comparing me to them.
Finally, I have Jasmine in my arms. I give her a bear hug.
“Congratulations, Lu. You were incredible,” she says quietly into my hair.
“Thank you, sister. We didn’t have time to talk this week. How are things going?” I ask without releasing her.
“Progressing. I’m anxious to show you,” she reveals.
I pull away and see the genuine glow in her eyes.
For the first time since I met her, I feel like I’m seeing a little of that darkness receding, giving way to the girl who is going to get a lot out of life.
So fast that I barely understand, she stiffens in front of me.
“I have to go,” she says inaudibly, so I have to read the words on her lips.
I follow the direction of her eyes and understand.
“Go, my friend. We’ll talk tomorrow.”
Before she can get away, I take her hand. “I love you, Jas.”
“Love you, too, Lu.”
Then I let her get lost in the crowd.
“It was her, wasn’t it?” Damien asks anxiously from behind me.
“Hi, Damien. I’m glad you could come.” I smile sweetly.
I can see the fire in his eyes behind his new, horrible appearance: his beard too messy and dark circles under his eyes.
“She can run away, Luna, but she can’t hide. I’ll find her, whether she wants me to or not.”
Dominic comes to his side. “Damien …” he warns discreetly.
“Your girl is keeping her from me. You know that, don’t you?” Damien murmurs fiercely.
“It wasn’t Luna who put you in this situation, brother. Deal with the consequences.”
Damien gives me a cold, dangerous look and a disgusted snort. “Damn whore,” I hear him mumble as he walks away.
Asshole. He’s learned nothing.
• • •
As Dominic heads uptown, I begin to pay attention to the route, curious, until I recognize the beaten-up dirt road.
“Why are we—”
“I thought we’d stop here. I like to come here every once in a while.” His amused, relaxed tone confuses me, because it’s contrary to the grip he has on the steering wheel.
Though I thought we were having dinner, I like the idea of coming back here.
As we climb the dark path, I see the lights of the city far below us. It’s totally awesome.
“My goodness, Dominic. At night, this place is even more beautiful,” I murmur admiringly.
Dominic parks the car and shuts off the engine. “Let’s go down, baby.”
“What are you thinking of doing with me here alone, Dom, far from others, and with that beautiful view of the city?” I joke maliciously.
Dominic laughs, looking so handsome.
Opening the door, he helps me down then gently takes my hand. We walk a few steps closer to the edge of the cliff in full darkness. Then he stops, the city lit up at our feet, and turns toward me.
“Do you remember the first time I brought you here?”
I bite my lip. “I remember. That’s when I told you who I was.”
Something behind me catches my eye. I’m surprised by a path of lights being gradually
lit, leading to a dinner table surrounded by small flashing lights. What is this?
I look for an answer in Dominic’s gaze. What I see makes me take a step back.
“But … What …?” I gasp.
Kneeling, Dominic holds in his hand a beautiful ring with a rose-colored diamond, shaped like a small heart.
“It was here that I discovered the name of the woman who had burrowed her way into me. The woman I’ve loved since the first time I saw her, and who has completely changed my life.” His voice fails, becoming a low, attractive note. “Luna St. Clair, please marry me.”
I don’t know if that was a question. My tears don’t allow me to think.
“Yes, yes, yes!”
I’m taken into his arms, and Dominic holds me close, validating that this is where I’m protected, where I want to be forever.
Dominic, my Dom.
He has a gift: giving himself without asking for anything in return, placing the needs of others ahead of his own, saving lives as he did mine.
“I love you, Dom.”
• • •
The nurse reads the paper in front of her again without understanding it. Her expression contains a mixture of wonder and disbelief. Each line causes the brightness in her eyes to intensify.
With trembling hands, she looks at the envelope to check for the sender, but only one sentence identifies it.
Thank you to the one who saved my life.
“What is it?” Her colleague at the hospital questions.
Still open-mouthed, the nurse raises her tearful eyes to Matilda. “Someone just gave me a house …”
“And …?” asks the colleague suspiciously.
“That’s it. They bought the house I live in and transferred it to my name …” she murmurs.
“Let me see that.” Matilde removes the paper from her hands.
While the other nurse reads it, Nadja searches her memory for someone who could offer her something of this nature. And then the image of the fragile girl with red hair comes to mind.
Yes, it could only have been her! Nadja saw her face in the news a few months after her flight from the hospital. Luna St. Clair, the redheaded angel.
About the next book
We will read the story of Sophie and Nicholas Salvatore in the tale “Wait Me Awake,” a spin-off of the Protectors Trilogy.
Nicholas and Sophie have a painful past. She was the poor, naïve, passionate girl. He was the young heir to one of the most traditional and unscrupulous Italian mafia families.
Wickedness separated them and caused deep wounds. Sophie was seriously injured, and Nicholas Salvatore made the choice not to believe her.
As the years passed, he took on the instincts of his blood and became a dangerous man, feared by all. Sophie decided to turn her pain into aid for her neighborhood by becoming a social worker in a hostile region of the city. However, time has not been able to stop the pain, hurt … and love.
Hi, dear reader! Did you like this story? I hope so! Dominic was written with all the affection and respect to my readers. Thank you so much for accompanying me on this adventure that was the life of these characters.
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