Chapter 7 - No More Strategic Marriages
One year later, Roman stood in the same office where Tessa had once resigned.
But almost everything else had changed.
The criminal infrastructure connected to the Castell organization had been dismantled piece by piece.
Some assets were sold.
Others became legitimate companies.
Marco now ran security for those businesses and complained constantly that legal paperwork was more painful than bullets.
Roman considered that progress.
Senator Malcolm Bishop had been indicted after Mercer’s cooperation exposed the financial conspiracy.
Chloe negotiated her own agreement after proving she had been manipulated into parts of her father’s operation.
And Tessa?
Tessa never returned as Roman’s employee.
That mattered.
She built her own risk-management firm.
Roman became her most irritating client.
At 8:17 that evening, the office door opened.
Tessa entered carrying a leather bag.
She stopped.
Roman was standing beside the desk.
“You said this was urgent.”
“It is.”
“What happened?”
“Nothing.”
Her eyes narrowed.
“Roman Castell, if you manufactured an emergency—”
“I didn’t.”
She looked around.
“No guards.”
“No.”
“No Marco.”
“No.”
“No champagne.”
Roman hesitated.
“That was intentional.”
Tessa slowly put down her bag.
“What are you doing?”
Roman reached into his jacket.
Her eyes widened.
“Roman.”
He placed a small box on the desk.
Tessa stared at it.
“Do not kneel.”
“I wasn’t going to.”
“Good.”
“I remember what happened the last time a ring entered this office.”
“So do I.”
Roman opened the box.
Inside was a simple diamond ring.
Nothing like Chloe’s enormous political statement.
Tessa looked at him.
Roman did not touch the ring.
“I spent most of my life believing marriage was leverage.”
Tessa remained silent.
“Something families traded. Something men like Bishop negotiated. Something I could use to prevent a war.”
He shook his head.
“I was wrong.”
Tessa’s eyes became wet.
Roman continued.
“I’m not offering you an alliance.”
“Good.”
“I’m not asking you to protect me.”
“Better.”
“I’m not asking you to work for me.”
“Very good.”
He smiled.
“I’m asking whether you want to build a life with me.”
Tessa looked at the ring.
Then at him.
“You’re forgetting something.”
Roman’s smile disappeared.
“What?”
“You never said the actual words.”
He stared at her.
Then laughed quietly.
“Tessa Hayes.”
“Yes?”
“Will you marry me?”
She made him wait.
Three seconds.
Four.
Five.
Roman’s confidence visibly deteriorated.
Tessa smiled.
“Yes.”
He exhaled.
“Five seconds?”
“You deserved thirty.”
“I nearly died.”
“You’ve survived worse.”
“Debatable.”
He slipped the ring onto her finger.
Tessa looked at it.
Then at him.
“One condition.”
Roman became suspicious.
“What?”
“No strategic marriages.”
“Agreed.”
“No making decisions about my life without me.”
“Agreed.”
“No locking office doors when I’m trying to leave.”
Roman winced.
“I’m never escaping that, am I?”
“Never.”
“Agreed.”
“And one more.”
“You said one condition.”
“I changed the terms.”
Roman smiled.
“Of course you did.”
Tessa stepped closer.
“If there’s a problem, you tell me.”
“I will.”
“If you’re afraid, you tell me.”
He hesitated.
“Tessa—”
“That hesitation is exactly why it’s a condition.”
Roman sighed.
“Fine.”
“And if somebody tries to destroy us?”
Roman’s old expression appeared for half a second.
Cold.
Dangerous.
Tessa raised an eyebrow.
He corrected himself.
“We call our attorneys.”
She laughed.
“Look at you.”
“I hate what you’ve done to me.”
“No, you don’t.”
“No.”
Roman wrapped his arms around her.
“I really don’t.”
Later that evening, they walked downstairs together.
A year earlier, the ballroom had been filled with politicians and strangers celebrating a marriage designed to destroy Roman Castell.
Tonight, only a small group waited.
Marco.
A few trusted friends.
Employees who had stayed through the transition.
No political alliance.
No merger.
No hidden agreement.
Marco noticed the ring first.
His mouth fell open.
“No.”
Roman frowned.
“What?”
Marco pointed at Tessa.
“You actually said yes?”
Tessa smiled.
“Eventually.”
Marco looked at Roman.
“How much did you pay her?”
Roman started toward him.
Tessa caught Roman’s sleeve.
“Legal businesses, remember?”
Roman stopped.
“Right.”
Marco laughed.
Tessa leaned against Roman.
“You’re learning.”
“Slowly.”
“That’s enough.”
Roman looked down at her.
A year earlier, he had locked an office door because he believed control could keep someone from leaving.
Now he understood something simpler.
The right person stayed because she was free to go.
Roman took Tessa’s hand.
“No speeches tonight.”
She looked suspicious.
“Really?”
“Really.”
“No announcements?”
“One.”
“What?”
Roman lifted their joined hands.
“This wasn’t strategic.”
Tessa smiled.
“No.”
Around them, their friends began applauding.
Roman leaned closer.
“This was the first smart decision I made without you.”
Tessa laughed.
May you like
“Don’t get carried away.”
And this time, when the office door closed behind them, nobody locked it.
