Page 16 of A Virgo’s Muse (BLP Signs of Love #12)
She called me her sanctuary. And in that moment, it hit me harder than any bullet, louder than any siren, more sacred than any prayer I ever whispered under my breath hoping for peace.
Desire Howard just told the world I was her safe space. Me—a man who’d done too much dirt to pretend he was some kind of hero, a man with shadows longer than his résumé. A man who never thought he’d deserve something pure.
She handed me the mic. Her hand trembled as she did, tears streaking down those beautiful cheeks, and I wrapped my fingers around hers like it was second nature. Because at this point… it was.
I took a deep breath. The weight of the moment pressed against my chest, but I wasn’t scared. Nah. For once in my life… I was sure. I brought the mic to my lips and turned to her… just her. I couldn’t even see the crowd anymore. Just Desire.
“My name isn’t important right now,” I started, my voice low but steady.
“But some of you already know who I am. Some of y’all know me as Onyx from Merrburry Courts.
Others know me from the rec center. Some know what I used to be out there.
And maybe you had a reason to be scared of that man. Maybe you still do.”
I paused, squeezing her hand.
“But Desire wasn’t. She saw me, the real me, before I was even ready to be seen.”
Desire looked at me, eyes glistening. Her lips parted like she was trying to breathe through the ache in her chest.
“I ain’t never been good at talking about feelings,” I admitted, chuckling lightly. “I was raised to survive, not to love. And even when I had everything else, the money, cars, the power… I didn’t have peace. I didn’t have purpose.”
I turned back toward the crowd briefly, but my eyes landed right back on her.
“Then I met Desire.”
I could feel my throat begin to tighten.
“She was all softness and fire, control and chaos. She painted like her heart was bleeding. She smiled like she was holding back a storm. And she loved like it hurt, but she did it anyway.”
Quiet silence fell over the room. It was just us, standing in the middle of a gallery full of our story.
“She didn’t need me to fix her. She just needed someone to see her.
And I swear to God, I saw everything. From that first night at Angel’s Secret where she was able to see my sculpture in its entirety to the first time I was able to place my hands on hers when we sculpted clay together, to the first brush stroke she made on my chest… I was gone.”
A few people laughed softly at the memory. I didn’t even crack a smile. It was too real, and I was reliving it as I spoke.
“Desire,” I said, turning to face her fully. “You didn’t just change my life. You made me want one.”
She gasped. Her body trembled, and her tears kept falling freely now.
“I used to think love was a weakness. That being vulnerable made you a target. But loving you made me stronger. It made me better. It made me a man I never thought I could be.”
I dropped the mic to my side then lowered down slowly onto one knee. My heart was beating so damn loud I swore everybody could hear it.
Her eyes widened. Her hand flew to her mouth.
I pulled the velvet box from my pocket and flipped it open. Inside was a soft oval-cut diamond nestled in a hidden halo with a thin, elegant band. It was soft just like her.
“I may not have known you long, but I know what forever feels like now. You made sure of that.”
She was already crying, shoulders shaking, mouth trembling as she nodded before I could even ask. But I still said it.
“Desire Monique Howard… will you marry me?”
She didn’t hesitate.
“Yes,” she cried, voice shaking. “Yes, yes, yes.”
I slid the ring onto her finger, stood up, and wrapped her in my arms like I never planned on letting go again. Because I didn’t.
The entire gallery erupted with applause, and voices of people we knew and strangers congratulated us on the next chapter of our lives.
I felt her clutching onto me. I felt her believing in us. That’s when I noticed her eyes widen. Her breath caught. I turned around to see what she was seeing.
Her mom and dad stood at the back of the gallery, tears streaking both their faces. Her mom lucid, upright, smiling, and her father, holding her mother close like she was a miracle returned to him.
Desire gasped, stepping forward with both hands covering her mouth. It was her two biggest moments—her first full collection being displayed, and now her proposal, and the universe made sure her parents were here for both.
She turned and looked back at me like I had something to do with it. I didn’t this time, but I would’ve. Because anything that made her smile like that? I’d chase it to the end of the world.
I walked up behind her, wrapping my arms around her waist as we looked at her mom and dad standing side by side.
It became a full circle moment. My throat burned, not because I was overwhelmed, but because I realized something I never had before.
I was finally home—not in a place, not in a building, not in a street or a code… but in her. Desire was my home.
And standing there, with her back against my chest and my arms around her, I knew for a fact… I’d burn the whole world down before I let anybody take that from me.