Chapter 220
Chapter 220:
Alexander took her hands in his, his thumbs tracing gentle circles on her skin. “I’d marry you tomorrow if you wanted. Or wait years if that’s what you needed. The timing doesn’t matter to me. Only that it happens.”
The certainty in his voice, the patience and understanding, filled Camille with a warmth that pushed back against the cold fear that had been her companion for so long. Even now, with victory within reach, that fear lingered at the edge of her mind. Rose had taken so much from her. The possibility that she might somehow take this too—this chance at happiness with Alexander—had haunted Camille’s darker moments.
“I want a small ceremony,” she found herself saying, allowing the future to take shape in her mind for perhaps the first time. “Just close friends. Victoria, of course. Hannah. My parents.”
Alexander nodded, encouraging her to continue this rare moment of looking forward rather than back.
“Somewhere peaceful,” she went on. “Not a church or a hotel ballroom. Somewhere outdoors, perhaps. With flowers and simple decorations.”
“Spring?” he suggested, joining her in this careful construction of possibilities. “Spring would be perfect. New beginnings.”
She gazed down at the phoenix ring…
The symbol of her rebirth. “I’ll wear white, I think. Traditional in some ways, unexpected in others.”
Alexander smiled. “You’ll be beautiful no matter what you wear.”
Camille leaned against him, allowing herself to sink into the comfort of his presence, the solid reality of him beside her. For so long, her life had been defined by struggle, first against Rose and Stefan’s betrayal, then against Rose’s attempts to destroy her new life. The possibility of peace, of happiness without looking over her shoulder, seemed almost unreal.
“Do you think it’s really almost over?” she asked, her voice barely above a whisper. “After all this time, all the attacks and counterattacks, could it really end in two days?”
Alexander was quiet for a moment, considering her question with the seriousness it deserved. “I think,” he said finally, “that your battle with Rose will end when you choose to end it. When you decide that your future matters more than her past actions.”
His words settled over her like a gentle blanket. She had never thought of it that way—that continuing to fight Rose was, in some ways, a choice. That she had the power to determine when the war was truly over.
“You’re right,” she said slowly. “After the Grid launches, after we’ve neutralized whatever plan they’ve made for the ceremony, that’s when I choose to end it. To focus on us, on the future, not on Rose and what she tried to take from me.”
Alexander kissed her temple, his lips warm against her skin. “Then that’s when it ends.”
Outside, the city continued its nighttime rhythm, unaware of the private moment of victory unfolding in the penthouse above. Camille closed her eyes, memorizing this feeling, this rare sense of triumph untainted by the next looming threat.
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