Chapter 10 - A New Dawn at the Estate
Spring came early to the Grimaldiro estate.
The heavy ice and blinding blizzards of Christmas Eve had melted away, replaced by green rolling lawns, blooming tulips, and sweet, warm air blowing off the surrounding hills.
I stood on the wide stone patio where, four months ago, I had been locked out in the freezing dark. I was wearing a soft yellow sundress, the light breeze lifting my dark hair away from my neck. My hands were completely healed, not a single scar remaining from the frostbite that had nearly taken my life.
"You're standing too close to the edge," a deep, familiar voice rumbled from behind me.
I turned with a bright smile. Nicholas walked out onto the sunlit patio, dressed in a sharp gray suit without a tie, looking relaxed and regal in the morning light.
"I'm not afraid of the cold anymore," I laughed softly as he stepped up beside me, wrapping his large arm around my waist and pulling me gently against his broad chest.
"Good," Nicholas murmured, resting his chin lightly on top of my head, inhaling the soft scent of flowery perfume in my hair. "Because you're never going to feel it again."
Life at the mansion had completely changed.
I was no longer a maid. The day Nicholas returned from Chicago, he officially hired a new house management team—a kind, elderly woman named Mrs. Higgins who treated the staff with respect and dignity. My family’s medical debts had been paid off entirely in a single morning, funded by a mysterious non-profit foundation Nicholas had established in my name.
And as for Richard Caldwell? He was currently serving a twenty-year sentence in a maximum-security federal prison, constantly looking over his shoulder for Moretti enforcers.
"What are you thinking about?" Nicholas asked softly, his dark eyes tracing my face with an intense, devotion that still made my heart skip a beat every single day.
"I was thinking about the vase," I admitted, turning in his arms to face him, wrapping my hands around his crisp lapels. "The cheap replica I dropped."
Nicholas let out a soft, low chuckle—a sound that was once so rare in this house, but now echoed through its hallways every day.
"That fake piece of porcelain was the best investment I ever made," Nicholas said, reaching into his pocket and pulling out a small velvet box.
My breath hitched as he opened it, revealing a stunning ring made of platinum, featuring a brilliant, radiant-cut diamond that sparkled bright like sunlight reflecting off fresh snow.
"Nicholas..." I gasped, tears of overwhelming joy instantly welling up in my eyes.
"Four months ago, I found a girl freezing under a pine tree in my storm," Nicholas said, his voice dropping into a deep, emotional vow. "I thought I was saving your life, Elena. But the truth is... you saved mine. You brought light, heat, and humanity back into a house that had been cold for far too long."
He took my right hand, slipping the ring smoothly onto my finger, fitting perfectly against my skin.
"No more uniforms," Nicholas promised, leaning down until his lips were brushed against mine. "No more hiding. Stay with me, Elena. Be the lady of this house."
May you like
"Yes," I whispered against his mouth, wrapping my arms around his neck and pulling him close. "Yes, Nicholas. Always."
As his soft, warm lips met mine in a deep, passionate kiss under the warm spring sun, I knew that the storm was finally over. The ice had melted, the shadows had vanished, and in the arms of the most dangerous man in the city, I had finally found my home.
