Chapter 9 - The Unspoken Promise
As the weeks turned into months, the recovery of Ryder’s mother became a joy that permeated the entire household. She began to garden again, her hands gaining strength, her mind cleared of the fog of terror. The trio became an inseparable unit, bound by a history that only they understood.
Ryder began to realize that his life had undergone a transformation far beyond his career. The high-powered, cold, and transactional life he had led in Saudi Arabia now seemed like a dream belonging to another man. He realized that he could not imagine a single day—or a single morning coffee, or a quiet evening—without Jade by his side.
He began planning for the future. He didn't want a grand, performative gesture; he wanted something that honored the journey they had taken together. He spent days scouting a location for a quiet, intimate ceremony—a place overlooking the ocean where they had taken those first tentative walks.
One evening, under the canopy of the garden they had planted together, Ryder stopped Jade while they were walking.
"I spent my life thinking that success was about what I could accumulate," he began, his voice steady but thick with emotion. "I built walls around us thinking I was protecting you. But I realize now that you were the one who was protecting me all along. You saved my mother’s life, and in the process, you gave me back mine."
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He pulled a simple, elegant ring from his pocket—not a show of wealth, but a symbol of permanence. "I don't want you to be a guest here anymore, Jade. I want this to be your home. I want us to be a family, not in name, but in every way that counts. Will you marry me?"
Jade’s eyes welled with tears, but she was smiling—a brilliant, genuine smile that made the world seem brighter. "I’ve been home since the day I stood between her and that spoon, Ryder. I’m not going anywhere."
