Chapter 9 - The Day Fay Finally Said YesDominic spent six weeks planning the second proposal.
Everyone knew.
Except Fay.
Or at least everyone believed she did not know.
Carmine was terrible at secrets.
“You should probably keep Saturday evening free.”
“Why?”
“No reason.”
“Carmine.”
“Boss said I’m not allowed to tell you.”
“Tell me what?”
“Nothing.”
“You just told me there’s something.”
“I’ve been shot in the head before.”
“No, you haven’t.”
“Maybe I should have been.”
Fay walked away.
Saturday arrived warm and clear.
Spring had transformed the estate.
The frozen gardens were green again.
Flowers covered the stone walls.
Fay had now lived on the property almost a year.
Her cottage had become home.
Not because Dominic owned it.
Because she had chosen it.
Her debts no longer controlled her.
She had returned to community college.
Two nights a week, Fay studied accounting.
Dominic found this deeply amusing.
“You’re becoming an accountant?”
“Someone needs to understand where your money goes.”
“I have accountants.”
“You have criminals with calculators.”
“Former criminals.”
“Some habits take time.”
Dominic himself had changed.
Not completely.
He was still impatient.
Still intimidating.
Still capable of silencing a room with one look.
But the empire was gone.
In its place stood Corso Holdings.
Shipping.
Warehousing.
Security.
Commercial property.
Construction.
Legitimate.
Audited.
Taxed.
Carmine complained constantly.
But he wore a tie now.
Mostly.
Dominic’s medical progress had slowed.
He could stand with braces.
Take several assisted steps between bars.
Doctors remained cautious.
He might never walk independently.
Dominic had finally accepted that recovery was not a bargain.
Effort did not guarantee miracles.
Some days he used the wheelchair without resentment.
Other days he hated it.
Fay loved him on both kinds of days.
At five Saturday afternoon, Mrs. Gable arrived.
Fay nearly dropped her coffee.
Mrs. Gable looked healthier.
Her gray hair was loose around her shoulders.
She carried a small wrapped box.
“What are you doing here?”
“I was invited.”
“By Dominic?”
“Of course.”
Fay looked suspicious.
Mrs. Gable smiled.
“He asked me to help you dress.”
“Oh no.”
“Oh yes.”
The dress was blue.
Not expensive-looking.
Not dramatic.
Simple.
Beautiful.
Fay stared at herself in the mirror.
Mrs. Gable stood behind her.
“You look happy.”
Fay smiled.
“I am.”
“Good.”
Mrs. Gable’s expression became emotional.
“He deserves some happiness.”
“So do you.”
The older woman looked down.
“I’m learning.”
At seven, Carmine arrived.
Wearing a suit.
An actual suit.
Fay stared.
“You clean up surprisingly well.”
“I hate everything about this.”
He offered his arm.
“Come on.”
“Where?”
“Garden.”
They walked through the estate.
The house was quiet.
Too quiet.
When Carmine opened the rear doors, Fay stopped.
Lights filled the garden.
Not hundreds of people.
Not an extravagant party.
Only those who mattered.
Mrs. Gable.
Elena.
Salvatore.
Dominic’s physical therapist.
Several employees.
People Fay had met during the strange year that had transformed her life.
At the end of the garden path sat Dominic.
Not in his wheelchair.
In a simple wooden chair.
His braces were hidden beneath dark trousers.
His wheelchair stood beside him.
He did not hide it.
He did not hide anything anymore.
Fay walked toward him.
“You’re ridiculous.”
Dominic smiled.
“I was told the therapy room lacked atmosphere.”
“It smelled like feet.”
“I remember.”
She stopped in front of him.
Dominic reached for his wheelchair.
Fay frowned.
“What are you doing?”
“Something stupid.”
“Dominic.”
He locked the braces.
Placed both hands on the chair.
Then stood.
People gasped.
Fay’s eyes widened.
“Don’t.”
Dominic looked at her.
“I need to do this.”
“No, you don’t.”
“I know.”
That answer stopped her.
Dominic was not standing because he believed he needed to become able-bodied to deserve her.
He was standing because he wanted this moment.
His choice.
He took one assisted step.
Then another.
Fay’s hands covered her mouth.
Carmine stood behind Dominic but did not touch him.
Dominic took a third step.
His body trembled violently.
“Enough.”
Fay moved forward.
Dominic shook his head.
“One more.”
He took it.
Then his knees weakened.
Fay caught him.
Of course she did.
They laughed as she helped him back into the wheelchair.
Dominic breathed heavily.
“You are absolutely insane.”
“I learned from you.”
Then he took out a ring.
Not enormous.
Not extravagant.
A small diamond set in an antique band.
Fay stared.
“It belonged to my mother.”
Dominic looked at her.
“She was the only person in my childhood who ever told my father no.”
Fay laughed through sudden tears.
“That sounds familiar.”
“She died when I was seventeen.”
“She told me something before she died.”
“She said power makes it easy to confuse obedience with love.”
Dominic’s voice shook.
“I spent most of my life making that mistake.”
“Then you walked into my house.”
“You ignored my threats.”
“You cleaned up everything I broke.”
“You held my legs when they betrayed me.”
“You stood between me and a gunman.”
“You refused my money.”
“You refused my first proposal.”
Several people laughed.
Fay cried harder.
Dominic continued.
“You taught me that love is not someone staying because they’re afraid to leave.”
“It’s someone who is completely free to walk away…”
He looked at her.
“…and chooses to stay.”
Fay covered her face.
Dominic smiled.
“Fay Willis.”
“I love you.”
“I will probably irritate you for the rest of my life.”
“Definitely.”
“I cannot promise I’ll ever walk normally.”
“I don’t care.”
“I know.”
He swallowed.
“And that is why I can ask you this without shame.”
“Will you marry me?”
Fay looked around.
At Carmine pretending not to cry.
At Mrs. Gable openly crying.
At Elena smiling.
Then back at Dominic.
The first time she had met him, he had been sitting alone in a dark room throwing food at walls because anger was the only form of control he had left.
Now he sat beneath an open sky.
No hiding.
No threats.
No fear.
Fay knelt.
“Yes.”
Dominic blinked.
“What?”
She laughed.
“Yes.”
He slid the ring onto her finger.
It fit.
Then Fay kissed him.
Everyone applauded.
Carmine shouted something inappropriate.
Mrs. Gable hit him with her purse.
For once, everything was perfect.
But happiness did not erase the past.
Two weeks before the wedding, Dominic received a letter.
Federal prosecutors had completed their review.
There would be no more negotiated delays.
May you like
Dominic Corso would have to answer publicly for the crimes committed before his transformation.
The maximum sentence was eight years.
