Flawless Prize

I decide to leave him in silence, but by the time we pull up at his place, I’m a little hurt that he’s freezing me out. After everything, I would have hoped he’d let me in. And since I risked everything for him tonight…

We get upstairs. Caleb closes the door behind us, and heads straight for his office without even looking at me.

“What’s going on?” I ask, stopping him.

He pauses, looking reluctant. “Juliet…”

“I mean it. After everything that’s happened tonight, you don’t have anything to say to me?” I step forwards. “Look, I know you’re angry about making that deal with Nero, but surely you can see, it’s the only way out—”

“Quiet!”

I hush, surprised.

“I’m not mad at you,” Caleb says, dragging a hand through his hair. “In fact… I’m wondering what the fuck I would do without you.”

Oh.

I stare at him, open-mouthed. Whatever I was expecting, I wasn’t this.

“What you did for me tonight… I don’t know what I did to deserve someone like you, but I owe you my life. My everything.” Caleb moves closer, and then, before I can even register what’s happening, he drops to one knee in front of me.

“Will you marry me?”