Chapter 9 - A DIFFERENT KIND OF POWER
Six months later, Arthur sold the estate.
I couldn't believe it.
“You're really leaving?”
“Yes.”
“Where?”
He smiled.
“Somewhere smaller.”
We moved into a quiet house outside the city.
No armed men.
No secret meetings.
No midnight visitors.
Arthur started a legitimate security company.
I finished paying my father's medical debt.
Then I went back to school.
One evening, Arthur found me studying at the kitchen table.
“You need a break.”
“I have an exam.”
“You've been studying for six hours.”
“Four.”
“Six.”
I smiled.
“You're keeping track?”
“Of everything.”
He kissed my forehead.
I looked at him.
“Do you miss it?”
“What?”
“The power.”
Arthur thought for a moment.
“Sometimes.”
“Do you regret leaving?”
“No.”
“Why?”
He looked toward the window.
“Because power used to mean people were afraid of me.”
“And now?”
He smiled.
“Now it means I can wake up next to you without wondering who's going to betray me.”
I closed my books.
“You know something?”
“What?”
“You're different.”
“I know.”
“You're happier.”
“Yes.”
I leaned into him.
“And you're still terrifying.”
He laughed.
“Good.”
Then he reached into his pocket.
I stared.
A small velvet box.
“Arthur…”
He opened it.
Inside was a simple ring.
“No grand proposal.”
I smiled.
“No audience.”
“No weapons.”
I laughed.
“Good.”
He took my hand.
“Just a question.”
My eyes filled with tears.
“Norah Hayes, will you marry me?”
I looked at the man who had once appeared at my basement door bleeding and broken.
The man who had asked me for one night of safety.
The man who had taught me that even the most feared person in the city could still be human.
“Yes.”
May you like
He smiled.
And for the first time, Arthur Costello looked completely unafraid.
