Page 86

"When I met you, I was drowning in grief. Some days it would rage, drowning me, pulling me under until I couldn't breathe. I thought I had to outrun it, so that's what I did. I used men to avoid it, but you...you weren't someone I could use."

"Four, get the fuck outta my face with all these river analogies," he snapped. Every time Crown and I tried to talk about this, I let him back me down, but not this time.

"No, you need to hear this, so shut up and fucking listen!" I stepped away from the couch and walked in his direction. Once close enough, I grabbed hold of his shirt and forced him to look at me.

"I wasn't supposed to outrun it. I had to learn to wade through it. Let it carry me instead of fighting it."

His brow furrowed. "What are you saying?"

"I'm saying..." I took a breath, gathering every piece of my broken heart. "That my grief carried me to love... your love."

"We already know my heart belongs with you. That was never our problem."

My voice cracked.

"I know. But when I say it carried me to your love, I mean it led me to a man who affirms me in ways no one else has. A man who protects me in ways my soul understands. A man who sees and accepts me... the broken pieces included. With you, I let go and let love."

"River... you're saying a lot without saying shit," he murmured, a smirk tugging at his mouth.

I laughed through my tears. With trembling fingers, I unclipped the gold chain from around my neck. A ring slid off into my hand.

"I love you, Crown. I love you so much that it hurts, and so deep it doesn't have an end. You could walk away right now, and I'd still love you. Cortez 'Crown' Gravehart, I love you, I'm in love with you, and whether you like it or not, I'm doing life with you."

I grabbed his left hand and slipped the ring onto his finger fast. It clicked into place, locking tight.

"The fuck is this?" he muttered, looking down.

"That's our forever."

He chuckled, shaking his head. "You proposing to me, Four?"

"Boy, don't be foolish." I giggled through sniffles. "This ring isn't a proposal, it's a promise. Even when you're not mine... you are mine. It's proof I'm willing to wait. You chased me long enough, so now it's my turn to do some running."

Crown inspected the white gold band with diamonds along its surface.

Near the edge, where only he would see, was my name, River 'Four' Gravehart , etched in script.

It was my way of carving a silent vow into something unbreakable.

Because this ring wasn't just jewelry, it was memories, my devotion, a new beginning, and our forever, all wrapped around his finger.

"River." He grinned. "You're finally letting me see you, and she's as beautiful as I pictured. But if I'm being honest, I'm done."

My heart froze, and the world cracked in half. My knees buckled, my voice caught, and the tears came fast and merciless.

"Four—"

"No, it's okay. I know we've got work to do, and I?—"

"Four, listen to me," Crown commanded, grabbing my throat gently. His touch grounded me.

"I'm done with the chasing. I did it enough for both of us.

We've been running toward each other since the day your ex shot me.

We just didn't know it. But now? We caught what we were meant to find.

No more searching. No more waiting. We've always been each other's home. It was written from the beginning."

And then he kissed me, hard, like the kind of kiss that rewrites the ending to every past heartbreak. Our lips moved like a vow, our breath exhaled like a prayer.

Crown pulled back and then pressed his forehead to mine. For a moment, his eyes searched mine.

"Come on," he instructed.

"Come on, where?" I questioned, brushing my fingers across his chest as he stepped back.

He didn't answer. Just took my hand. We stepped out of the small room into what looked like a chapel. Crown's grip tightened as we moved forward. Kysre, Killian, Grim, and Ghost stood near the doors.

"What the hell are y'all doing here? Where are we?" I asked.

Crown smirked. "Killian agreed to give me the sedative that knocked you out if I got him and Kysre in the same room."

"Wow," Kysre muttered, rolling her eyes.

Killian didn't say a word. He just looked at her like she was fire behind glass, as if the world stilled so he could memorize her.

"Okay, but why are we in a chapel? Are we really getting married?" I asked, nervous to hear his answer.

"This is practice for the real thing," Crown replied, walking me toward the altar. At the altar, Crown nodded to the chapel guy. "We don't need the extras. Just the vows."

The man nodded, and Crown cleared his throat.

"Four... the only two things in this life that I fear are God and losing you.

These past two months without you felt like a decade.

You're me and I am you. We weren't ready back then, maybe not even now, but with you, I know there's nothing I can't conquer.

I'm so outta my body 'bout you, I might fuck around and take your name as long as you're my wife.

River 'Four' Ashland, do me the honor. Give a nigga the privilege of being your husband. "

Laughter broke through my tears.

"Whew!" I fanned my face. "How am I supposed to top that?"

"You don't," Crown responded, raising his hand before dropping to one knee. At that cue, Brian McKnight's " The Only One for Me" started playing.

"What are you doing?" I asked, voice trembling.

"Doing what I should've done the first night I met you."

Crown pulled out a ring even more gorgeous than the one on my finger.

"I told you from the day we met that you were my wife.

I put the first ring on your finger to prove I meant it.

But if I'm honest... I used it to hold us in place.

That ring was my way of controlling what I was too afraid to lose.

But now..." His voice caught, eyes searching mine like they were begging for belief.

"Now, I want to give you this one... not as a chain, but a choice.

I want you to choose me, Four, because no matter what, you'll always be the real Mrs. Gravehart. "

"Yes!" I blurted, moving the original ring to my other hand so he could slip on the new one.

"I fucking love you, River."

Tears spilled down my cheeks. "And I'm so fucking in love with you, Cortez."

We were finally ready.

To love without fear.

To live without running.

To just be River and Cortez.

"I'm happy you came to your senses," I relayed, staring into my man's eyes.

"You think I was gonna let you be the next nigga's four-eyed problem?" He chuckled.

"That's not what I meant. Remember when you said you wanted triplets?" I giggled. "You didn't get three, but you'll be a father of two in the next six months."

Grabbing his hands, I placed them gently on my stomach.

"Damn, I'm 'bout to have two four-eyed babies with my four-eyed fiancée. A nigga did ight in life!"

“Crown please!” I laughed.

The End