Chapter 34

The bright lights in her room momentarily blinded her, and it took a while for Sia to adjust to the brightness, but there was no mistaking the voice she had just heard. That voice was etched in her mind, in her heart, and her soul. How could she ever forget his voice?
Blinking rapidly, she squinted to see the person whose face was now partially visible in the dim lights. Not only was his sudden presence shocking but the deep scar that ran from his cheek to his chin and also the sling covering his arm were as well. Sia was dying to ask him what was wrong, why was he injured, how did he get injured, but she held herself back by sheer strength of will. He was the one who had left her and disappeared without a trace. She couldn’t give herself up now and show him just how desperate she had been to hear his voice or to even catch just a glimpse of him.
“Why are you here?” She didn’t want to sound so rude, but she couldn’t help it. With the desperation also came the pent-up anger for the past eight months.
“I know you’re hurt. I know you’re angry,” Julian said as he took a few steps forward and came to a stop right in front of Sia. “God, it’s been ages since I saw you. You have no idea how desperate I’d been to catch just a glimpse of you . . . but I knew I couldn’t. I had to stay away from you because I hadn’t achieved my goals yet. I wanted to come back once I had nothing holding me back.”
Sia remembered the time when Christian had told her about Julian taking over Turner Security and becoming the next CEO. But for that to happen, he’d have to have a spotless fifty successful mission count to be accepted by the board. Sia also remembered that hers had been Julian’s forty-ninth mission which meant that Julian had to go on another one right after he had dealt with Arthur. So, that was why he had to stay away from her for so long.
Julian reached out and brushed a stray strand of hair behind Sia’s ear, cupping her cheek.
“Julian,” Sia breathed out and filled her lungs with his familiar scent. She’d been deprived of him for so long but now, she felt herself coming to life under his touch. Sia thought that she could resist him—at least for a bit longer—but as soon as his lips came down on hers, she found herself succumbing to her love for him. Everything else just seemed to fade away, and Sia felt like she had finally found her oasis after wandering in the desert for so long.
The kiss wasn’t lingering or gentle. It was filled with passion and longing and love. Sia’s heart melted at the desperation of the kiss, at the feeling of yearning to keep her close that she felt from his kisses. She could die right then and there and have no regrets. When Julian finally pulled back to gasp for air, Sia pressed her cheek to his chest and found comfort in the thundering of his heart. She wasn’t dreaming, Julian had finally come for her.
“How did you get injured?” she asked him after she’d gain some sort of control over her own thundering heart. She lightly touched the cast as Julian continued to hold her close with his free hand.
“Remember how I told you that I have another mission left ‘till I become CEO of the Turner Security?” Julian asked. Sia nodded, her face pressed to his chest. “That’s what kept me from you for so long: my last mission as one of the company’s bodyguards. But it turns out, there were a few Mafia thugs involved, hence the wounds and the broken arm.
“Oh dear.” Sia pulled back to watch Julian’s face. “Are you okay now? When did you leave the hospital? As far as I could remember, you were severely injured during the fight with Arthur and his goons.”
Julian just pulled her back into his embrace, and she complied without protest, not wanting to be away from him any longer. “I’m fine now. I wanted to come sooner, but the doctors wouldn’t let me out. And I left right after you woke up from that coma. I came to see you, to tell you that I’d be leaving and not to worry about me, but you were disoriented, and the doctors had you under heavy dosages of sedatives so you could rest, so I wasn’t able to tell you. I did tell someone else, though, and they helped me set up tonight’s date without letting you find out.”
Sia lifted her head and gave him a questioning look to which Julian just smirked. “I happen to have a very good friend in your house.”
“Leo!” Sia exclaimed, finally realizing whom Julian was talking about. “That’s why he wasn’t depressed when you left. He knew! That little traitor made me go through hell and back. Where is he?”
“Hey, don’t be mad, I asked him not to tell you,” Julian said when he saw her frown adorably. “And Leo and Martha are in my house, having a party I guess, since Vanessa decided to cook and Christian decided to join them. Oh, that reminds me, I got dinner!” he said happily as he ushered her into the dining room.
The lights were dimmed in the dining room, and Sia gasped when she saw what Julian and her son had set up for her. There were tiny candles everywhere along with huge bouquets of red roses placed all over the room. They had even made a red carpet of red rose petals that started from the dining room door and led to the table with several small candles placed around it. The entire room smelled of fresh roses.
The table had two lit candles on it as well, and Sia could see two plates of steaming pasta along with a black forest cake for dessert, and a bottle of champagne with two wine glasses. Julian pressed a button on a remote right then and soft music began to fill the room.
“Wow,” Sia remarked.
“Let’s have dinner first.” Julian led her to the table. “You’ve had a long day. You must be famished.”
They talked a lot over dinner—about Julian’s trip to Siberia, his mission, Sia’s work, and how much they both missed each other. Sia had nearly forgotten just how great of a company Julian was and how much she liked just to spend time with him. He was perfect in every way possible—perfect for her.
“So, what now?” Sia asked after dinner, nervously fiddling with her fingers,as she tried to go back to the easy, comfortable talks they had eight months before.
Julian hesitated at first, but then he sighed and looked at Sia nervously. “Now comes the hard part.”
Sia was speechless. Was this it? Was this why Julian was here? To properly say goodbye to her before he leaves forever? Did he find someone in his final mission? Someone more his age? Probably a woman who didn’t come with as much baggage as Sia had, and she wasn’t just talking about emotional baggage. Sia had a thirteen-year old son, and she was sure Julian wasn’t even thinking about kids at his age. She tried to make herself relax and think clearly. If Julian said this was it, then she would let him go. That was all she could do. That was all.
But Julian was kneeling in front of her and taking her hand in his. When he brought her hand to his lips and kissed the back of her palm, she finally got her brain to function again. She desperately wanted to believe that this was real. This was the moment that she had been dreaming of since she met Julian, since she fell in love with him, but she was too scared to hope.
“Sia Andréa Milton,” Julian began, his voice shaky and nervous. “I’ve been in love with you since the first time I saw you. You are the most courageous, most beautiful woman that I’ve ever met, and I know just how strong and independent you are. You don’t need me or any other man in your life. You are perfectly fine on your own.
“But I need you in my life, Sia. You’ve taught me what it truly means to love someone, to love them so deeply that everything else ceases to exist. But most of all, you’ve taught me to love myself for who I am. You made me accept myself just like the way you had accepted me without hesitation even after knowing my past.
“I love you Sia, more than I have ever loved anyone in my life. Will you do me the honor of becoming my wife and spending the rest of forever with me? I promise to make you the happiest bride in the world.”
Sia felt her vision blur then tears running down her cheeks freely as Julian stared at her in anticipation. She wanted desperately to put him out of his misery—to put them both out of their misery—and just say yes, but the words were stuck in her throat and she just couldn’t get it out. Her whole body had gone into shock. Was it possible to love someone so much like how much she loved Julian at this moment? She didn’t think so and yet, her heart was overflowing with emotions.
When words failed her, Sia just nodded and finally saw a smile light up Julian’s face. He took out a red velvet box from his jacket pocket and slipped on a ring onto Sia’s ring finger. And then, before she knew it, he was crushing her to his chest as he repeated “I love you” in her ears over and over again.
“I love you too,” Sia choked out when she could finally draw air into her lungs. Her arms were around Julian and she was crushing him to herself before she remembered Julian’s injuries and pulled back. Her eyes finally landed on her ring.
It was a single solitaire diamond ring, simple yet elegant and perfect. The diamond was the size of a pea and Sia was intimidated to wear such a big stone on her little fingers, but she absolutely loved the right. She loved nothing more than to be wed to someone she truly loved and who loved her back wholeheartedly. “It’s beautiful,” she told Julian before she cupped his face and placed a lingering kiss onto his lips.
“You have no idea how much you mean to me, Julian Turner,” she told him as she placed her hand against his heart. “You say I taught you to love, but it was you who taught me what it really means to love someone. I didn’t have any place for a man in my life until you came along.
“I was barely surviving ‘till now, Julian, but you taught me to live, to laugh openly, and to have courage enough to stand up to my worst nightmares. You are my strength and my courage. I promise that I will love you forever, however long our forever will be.”
“Yes,” Julian said softly into her ears, entwining their hands together. “For now until however long our forever lasts.”
Love was the most wonderful feeling in the world, but it was also a double-edged sword. It had the power to make someone a better person and to bring out the worst in some; it had the power to reform or to exacerbate an already malignant character. It was up to the heart to decide which path it wanted to take. Sia and Julian know better and chose the path of light.