The champagne flute shattered against the imported Italian marble, sending a spray of cold liquid and razor-sharp crystal across my black uniform shoes.

One year later.

The grand opening of the Sarah Miller Center for Children in downtown Riverhead was the largest public event the city had hosted in a decade.

The bright, three-story building stood where an abandoned textile warehouse had once rotted—a state-of-the-art facility featuring music rooms, art studios, tutored study halls, and a massive indoor athletic complex open to every child in the county, free of charge.

Hundreds of families filled the open-air courtyard. Local officials, news cameras, and community leaders mingled with local parents while children tested the new playground equipment.

I stood in the second-floor director's office, looking out through the floor-to-ceiling glass windows at the crowd below.

I was wearing a sharp, tailored navy suit—a far cry from the black maid's uniform I had worn two years ago. On the wall behind my desk hung a framed photograph taken on the day we broke ground: Leo, Chloe, Alice, Marcus, and me, all wearing yellow hard hats covered in mud, laughing hysterically.

"You look like a CEO," a soft voice said from the doorway.

I turned around. Marcus stood there, leaning against the doorframe, holding a single red rose in his hand. He looked incredibly handsome in a dark grey suit, his eyes shining with pride.

"I feel like an imposter sometimes," I confessed with a small laugh, smoothing down the front of my jacket. "Two years ago, I was counting quarters to buy milk at the grocery store."

Marcus stepped into the office, holding out the rose. "You were never an imposter, Sarah. You were just waiting for a room big enough for your heart."

I took the rose, smelling its sweet fragrance, looking into his eyes. "Thank you, Marcus. For trusting me with all of this."

"Trusting you was the easiest decision I ever made," Marcus said softly. He stepped closer, reaching out to gently touch my cheek with his thumb. "There's one more thing we need to take care of before the ribbon-cutting ceremony down stairs."

"What's that?" I asked, frowning slightly.

Marcus reached into his pocket and pulled out a small, velvet-lined mahogany box.

My heart stopped beating for a full second.

Marcus didn't get down on his knees—he knew I hated public displays of submission—but he stepped right up to me, opening the velvet box to reveal a simple, stunning platinum ring set with a brilliant, brilliant-cut diamond that caught the sunlight pouring through the window.

"Marcus..." I gasped, my hand going to my mouth.

"I didn't bring you into my life to be a hero, Sarah," Marcus said, his voice trembling slightly with emotion. "I brought you in because I love you. I love the way you laugh with Leo. I love the way you teach Chloe to be fierce. I love the way you look at the world—not for what it is, but for what it could be if someone was brave enough to fix it."

He took my shaking right hand in his.

"Will you marry me, Sarah? Will you build the rest of this life with us?"

Tears blurred my vision, spilling over my eyelashes and falling down my cheeks. But for the first time in my life, they weren't tears of fear or humiliation. They were tears of pure, overwhelming joy.

I looked past his shoulder, through the glass window, down into the courtyard.

Leo and Chloe were standing near the ribbon-cutting stage, looking up at our second-floor window, jumping up and down, pointing at us with huge, bright smiles on their faces. They knew what was happening. They had probably helped him pick out the ring.

I looked back at Marcus, stepping right into his arms.

"Yes," I whispered, pressing my forehead against his chest. "Yes, Marcus. Absolutely yes."

He let out a long, shuddering breath, sliding the platinum ring onto my finger before wrapping his arms around my waist and lifting me slightly off my feet, kissing me with a deep, passionate tenderness that made the rest of the world vanish.