Chapter 15: The Real Vows
Later that night, after Lily had gone to bed, Arthur and Clara sat by the fireplace. Mayia was asleep at their feet.
Arthur reached into his pocket. He didn't pull out a velvet box. Instead, he pulled out a simple, braided silver band. He had bought it from a local artisan at a farmer's market. It cost perhaps fifty dollars.
""I don't have a speech,"" Arthur said quietly, taking Clara's hand. ""I just know that before you, I was a man living in a house of mirrors. You broke the glass. You saved my daughter, and you saved me. Will you marry me?""
Clara looked at the simple silver ring, tears welling in her eyes. It was worth infinitely more than a million-dollar diamond.
""Yes,"" she whispered.
As he slipped the ring onto her finger, Mayia let out a soft sigh in her sleep. Arthur pulled Clara close, knowing that he had finally found the true meaning of wealth, not in bank accounts or diamonds, but in the love of a family built on kindness, truth, and a dog named Mayia.
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