Chapter 10 - The Eight O'Clock Promise
One year later.
It was exactly eight o’clock on a Friday night.
Emily stood in front of the full-length mirror in the master bedroom of the Chicago penthouse.
She was wearing an emerald wrap dress—not the one from a year ago, but a new one, tailored customly for her curves by one of the top fashion houses in Milan. Her hair was styled in dark, elegant waves over her shoulders, and a brilliant diamond ring sparkled on the ring finger of her left hand.
The bedroom door opened.
Adrian Kane walked into the room. He wore a crisp black tuxedo, looking impeccably handsome, his dark eyes instantly locking onto his wife’s reflection in the mirror.
He stopped right behind her, wrapping his powerful arms around her waist, pulling her back against his broad chest. He rested his chin on her shoulder, looking at her in the glass.
"You are breathtaking, Mrs. Kane," Adrian whispered, pressing a soft kiss against her neck.
"We have a dinner reservation at Spiaggia in thirty minutes," Emily reminded him, a playful smile on her lips as her hands covered his on her waist. "Are you going to order me to cancel it?"
Adrian smiled—a warm, affectionate expression reserved exclusively for her.
"Never," Adrian said softly, reaching down to take her hand, lifting it to his lips to press a kiss against her wedding ring. "I promised myself a year ago that I would spend the rest of my life taking you out, showing you off, and reminding you every single day that you are the absolute center of my world."
"Even at eight o'clock on a Friday?" she teased gently.
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"Especially at eight o'clock on a Friday," Adrian replied, his dark eyes burning with endless devotion.
They turned toward the bedroom door together, walking hand in hand out of the penthouse, stepping into a future built not on secrets or fear, but on a love that was absolute, unyielding, and forever untouchable.
