CHAPTER 112: Five to Zero

POV: Selene Castellano

The glow of the phone cast a sharp beam of light on Avalon's face, creating a harsh line that stood out against her jaw.

Selene squinted at the screen over his shoulder.

"The final score was 5-0," she exclaimed. "I can hardly believe it, they really pulled it off."

Avalon didn’t move. Just stared at the words like they might rearrange themselves into something else.

"The board finally made a decision," he said. "They voted to get rid of the rules that were holding things back." He was talking about Henderson's proposal, which everyone agreed on. There was no one who disagreed. He stopped for a moment before continuing. "The part of the will that said you had to be married to get something? That's not valid anymore."

Selene sat up.

“What does that mean exactly.”

“It means the year is over,” he said. “ Legally. The moment this is filed, nothing requires us to stay married.” His voice was careful. Too careful. “ Nobody’s forcing either of us to be here anymore.”

Selene's heart seemed to skip a beat, and for a moment, everything inside her went quiet.

"Is that how you see it," she asked, "as a way out?"

He turned to her.

He shook his head, the words tumbling out fast, like he couldn't get them out quick enough. "No," he said, the sound sharp, abrupt. But then he paused, took a deep breath, and tried again. "What I'm trying to say is... I don't know how to process this, and my initial reaction was fear, which really bothers me. I hate that fear was my first instinct."

“Fear of what.”

He was quiet for a long moment.

"You stayed because of a will, but what if a part of you is still here because you're not sure how to move on?"

Selene stared at him.

“You think that’s why I’m still here.”

"I never really gave you a choice, did I?" he said, looking back on it. "Just a few minutes ago, I asked you to marry me, for real this time. And now, with no pressure or deadlines, I'm starting to think I've never actually asked you to choose me because you want to. I've only had you because it was what we were supposed to do." He paused, considering his words. "I mean, I've always taken it for granted that you'd be with me, because of circumstances or whatever. But now I'm realizing, I've never really given you the freedom to decide if you want to be with me, without anything else influencing your decision."

Selene sat with that.

It wasn’t what she’d expected.

It turned out to be both worse and better than she had imagined it would be.

"She spoke slowly, her words dripping with a quiet intensity. 'That's not fear of losing me,' she said, her voice barely above a whisper. 'It's fear that I was never really in control, that my choices were just an illusion.'"

“Yes,” he said.

She reached over. Took his hand.

“Avalon.”

“Yes.”

She looked at him, her eyes locked on his. "I made a decision every day," she said. "Fate brought us together once, but after that, it was all up to me. I decided to stay for the depositions, to come back to this apartment every night. I chose you, not just on special occasions, but on ordinary days too." She paused, holding his gaze. "Fate may have opened the door, but I'm the one who kept walking through it, who kept choosing us, every single day."

He looked at her.

“Say that again,” he said quietly.

She told him, "I picked you, no strings attached, no expiration date, every day, starting from the very first one."

He let out a deep breath, feeling like a weight had been lifted off him, as if something that had been pressing down on his chest for a long time had finally let go.

“So,” she said. “ What happens now. Practically.”

"He explained that the lawyers specifically filed to end the marriage condition. All the other parts of the will stays the same. This means Pierce Holdings and the inheritance remain unchanged. The only thing that changes is that the marriage requirement is no longer needed."

“And Henderson.”

Avalon pointed out that he actually ended up losing the upper hand he thought he had with the foundation, all because of the board. What happened was, his resolution had the opposite effect of what he intended - instead of giving him more control, it actually set them free.

“Accidentally.”

He was trying to get rid of some rules that were holding back Pierce Holdings' smaller companies, so it would be easier for the foundation to take them over. But what he didn't notice was that the marriage rule was actually part of the same legal system. There was a pause. Then he said, "James just found the mistake an hour ago and sent an email right away."

Selene almost laughed.

"She claimed that Henderson had unintentionally set them free while attempting to take something that belonged to them."

“Yes.”

That's definitely been the highlight of my year so far, I just can't stop laughing about it.

He looked at her.

The corner of his mouth moved.

“It is fairly funny,” he admitted.

She climbed back into his lap.

Looked at him properly.

She reminded him, "You mentioned you wanted to ask me something when the time was right, now that everything is settled."

“I did say that.”

“Henderson just settled it for us. Accidentally.”

He looked at her.

“Are you asking me to propose right now,” he said. “ In bed with a half empty champagne bottle on the nightstand.”

"You made it clear that the moment was perfect, and all that was needed was a willingness to take it."

He was quiet for a moment.

He leaned over to the bedside table, but not to grab anything. Instead, he gently took her hand in his, cradling it between his palms.

"Selene Castellano," he said, his voice filled with emotion. "There's no obligation, no time limit, no conditions - just my heartfelt request, because I want to spend the rest of my life making choices with you, just like you've been doing with me." He took a moment to collect his thoughts. "Will you stay married to me, not because we have to, but because I'm asking you to, freely and sincerely?"

Selene felt her throat tighten.

“Yes,” she said.

“Just yes.”

“Completely yes.”

He pulled her down and kissed her.

Her phone buzzed against the nightstand.

She ignored it the first time.

It buzzed again.

She didn't let go of him, and at the same time, she stretched out her hand to grab it.

Glanced at the screen.

Went still.

“What,” he said.

She turned the phone toward him.

A news alert.

Breaking: California Senator Gerald Whitmore Found Dead in Federal Custody.