Sacrifice (Heart of a Wounded Hero)

I walk over to the dresser and pull out the box I have buried under some clothes. When I walk back to Ella, it takes her a minute to notice the box in my hands.

Her eyes widen, and she stares up at me and stutters, “What? What is that, Logan?”

She’s pointing at the box in my hand, and I open it to show her. As soon as I get in front of her, I drop to one knee. “I love you, Ella. I know you want to take this slowly, and it’s mostly because you wanted me to be sure, but from the moment we kissed, I knew that I loved you and I would for the rest of my life. I wanted to do this tonight in front of all of our friends, but I don’t want to go another minute without you being mine.”

She drops down to her knees and grabs on to my upper arms. “I’ve always been yours, Logan. I don’t need a ring to know how you feel about me.”

I take the ring from the box and put it on her finger. “There’s not a day that goes by that I don’t think about Noah and how life can change in an instant. I want you to be my wife. I want it all with you, sweet Ella. I want the marriage, the babies, all of it. Please, will you be my wife?”

Tears start to roll down her cheeks. “Yes. Yes. I’ll marry you.”

I can’t hold back. I kiss her as if my whole life depends on it. From this day forward, I’m living each day to its fullest.