Elena
I'd never seen anything like it.
The sky shimmered — green, violet, and blue streaks dancing across the stars like ribbons of light had been spilled from heaven. The Northern Lights were surreal. Hypnotic. And standing under them, bundled in Zayden's thick coat, I forgot everything else.
My illness.
The ticking clock.
The fear I tried so hard to swallow.
Zayden stood beside me in the deep snow, his hand clutching mine tightly. He hadn't said a word in the last ten minutes. Just silence, except for the hush of the wind and our breaths fogging in the cold.
And then—
He slowly turned to face me.
"Elena."
His voice was steady, but something about the way he said my name made my heart stutter.
"I know we came here for peace," he began. "To forget for a little while. But the truth is... I don't want temporary with you."
He reached into the inside pocket of his coat.
My breath caught.
"No matter what time we have," he whispered, pulling out a tiny velvet box, "I want all of it. With you."
He dropped to one knee in the snow, the Northern Lights blazing above us like the sky itself was watching.
"Elena Ryes," he said, eyes locked on mine, "will you marry me?"
I froze. For a second, the world went quiet — like even time was holding its breath.
"Yes," I whispered, voice cracking.
Then louder — "Yes. Yes, Zayden. Yes."
He slipped the ring onto my finger — a simple silver band with a tiny sapphire, catching the green light above. I launched into his arms, laughing and crying all at once, and he kissed me hard, his hands tangling in my hair as we nearly toppled into the snow.
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Later That Night
We returned to the cabin, breathless and drunk on joy. He carried me inside, not letting my feet touch the ground, and dropped me onto the bed like I was fragile and precious all at once.
"I'm going to make you mine," he whispered, pressing kisses from my neck to my collarbone, "in every way."
That night, we made love with a kind of desperation and tenderness I'd never felt before. Every touch was a vow. Every breath, a promise. Under the weight of forever and the ache of time, he worshipped me like I was made of stars.
And when we finally lay in silence, tangled together under thick covers, he pulled me close and whispered against my ear:
> "Mrs. Wolfe. That's who you'll be. No matter what happens."
And I smiled through the tears.
Because he was right.
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