Papa and Mama looked at each other. “Alessandra?” Mama said softly. “You say you’re an adult now. You don’t need our permission to marry him. Is that what you want?”
I looked at Trenton, a smile spreading across my face. “It’s what I want,” I answered.
Trenton nodded and knelt on the floor. I worried for a moment that he’d hurt himself again. But he seemed fine. He withdrew a small box from his pocket and opened it to reveal a beautiful diamond ring nestled in the black velvet.
“Will you marry me?”
I threw my arms around him. “Yes!”
As he slid the ring on my finger, the air around us seemed suddenly lighter. Mama smiled and hugged me, something she hadn’t done in more than three years. Papa tried to maintain his gruff exterior, but he smiled as Olivia tugged at his beard. Even Marco shook hands with Trenton before hugging me.
Everything was now right in my world. The man I loved, loved me back. And I was no longer afraid to tell him that I loved him. He was crazy about our daughter and I could already see that she was going to be spoiled rotten between Trenton, Marco and my parents. And speaking of Marco and my parents, they now understood why I loved Trenton and that I had to live my life though it was different from the life they’d wanted for me. And that was ok.
Ah, life was good. I had all I could ever want.
And I was going to marry my Colonel.
The End
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