The car ride was quiet.

Not tense, not expectant—just filled with a kind of stillness that Sophie couldn’t quite name. Her fingers lay loosely in Alexander’s hand, their palms pressed together, the weight of the ring between them. Every so often, he would glance at her, not to search for confirmation, but simply to see her. As if tonight, even with the ring on her hand and her yes still echoing in the air, he needed the reassurance of her presence.

She gave it. Without words. Without performance.

The car pulled into a private drive. White gravel shifted beneath the tires as they curved toward a secluded manor house surrounded...