Yes?

Playlist for This Chapter: Just Friends by Why Don't We, Tell Me You Love Me by Demi Lovato.

As we walked hand in hand through the hall and towards the front, I felt everyone's eyes one me as they regarded me carefully, judging me with their cat eyes.

"Ace, Dove. Good to see you." Stefano came up to us and so did Salvatore.

"You too." I smiled warmly at them as we chatted a bit. Nico had to meet some other people as well and we continued to make our rounds, saying hello to the relevant people.

"Here." Nico handed me a champagne glass and took one for himself, downing it in one go.

"Whoa there, slow down. Are you okay?" I put my hand on his arm, glancing at his stressed and tense features and frowned.

"Nico, sweetheart, is everything alright?" I asked him when he gave me a weak smile.

"Everything's fine, my love. I'm just a little tired is all." He dismissed the topic entirely as I nodded reluctantly, pecking his cheek as he held me close by my waist.

"How do you like the party so far?" He asked me after we'd sat down.

"I love it. It's absolutely amazing. I'm so proud of you." I grabbed his face in my hands and pecked his lips, watching his smile widen.

"Yeah?" He asked.

"Yeah." I pecked his lips once more when a throat being cleared behind us made us break apart and turn our heads.

"Sofia." I said unimpressed when she smiled not so nicely at me before throwing a seductive smile towards Nico who turned right back around after rolling his eyes.

I saw his clenched fists and covered his hands with my own, feeling him relax.

"Dove, what a pleasant surprise to see you here." She said in a fake nice tone when I scoffed.

"Cut the crap. We both know how you exactly feel about me being here." I said when she rolled her eyes.

"Well, sue me for trying to extend an olive branch." She said and my eyebrows raised in surprise. I saw Nico looking over at me from the corner of my eye meaningfully.

"Thanks, but no thanks." I said and turned back around.

"Whatever. I just wanted to ask when you're returning back home, since you don't really plan on staying here for long, do you." She asked sweetly but before I could answer, Nico spoke for me.

"Never. She's staying forever." He said, our eyes connecting as we passed a smile to each other.

"You do realize she doesn't belong to our family or isn't even remotely connected to our world. You can't keep her by your side." Sofia crossed her arms over her overly exposed chest, her red dress glimmering under the light.

"If I gave a fuck, I would've answered you. But I don't, so get the hell out of here." Nico said through clenched teeth when I rubbed his thigh softly to calm him down.

"And last I checked, I was the Don, not you." He said angrily when Sofia huffed, rolling her eyes before she stomped away.

"Ignore her my love." Nico said intertwining our fingers together when I smiled and nodded.

"I will, don't worry. Although you look really cute when you worry for me." I squished his cheeks between my palms so his lips formed a pout.

"So cute." I cooed and pecked his lips once more when he shrugged my hands away in annoyance.

"I'm not cute." He muttered and I chuckled at his cuteness.

"You are for me. My cute little boy." I leaned my head on his shoulder when he smirked at me mischievously.

"Yours?" he asked amused when I nodded.

"Mmhm. Mine." I whispered as our lips met in a heated kiss, my hands raking through his hair when he groaned as I tugged at it.

"Seriously guys, get a room." We heard Matteo's voice and broke our kiss. Nico scowled at him and glared at the poor guy while I giggled at their exchange.

"What do you want now?" Nico said exasperated when Matteo spared me a meaningful glance before looking at Nico. A strange look passed between Nico's eyes before he cleared his throat and nodded.

I watched as Matteo left without another word, leaving me confused as to what just happened. My thoughts were interrupted when the food was served.

We ate in a quiet chatter, talking about small things here and there while sipping on the wine. The food was absolutely delicious and so fancy, and I was full after eating just a little.

Dessert was served soon after which I devoured quickly, earning an amused glance from Nico who gently wiped my lips with his napkin.

When we were done, I heard light music being played by the orchestra and looked at Nico as he stood up from his seat and held his hand out to me.

"May I have your first dance, my love?" He asked huskily, eyes boring into mine as I nodded and put my hand in his, letting him pull me to the dancefloor in the middle.

He put his one hand on my waist and interlinked our fingers with the other one as I rest my free hand on his shoulder.

He pulled me impossibly closer to him so that our bodies were pressed together as the music changed to a more sensual one.

I smiled as he spun me away from him and then pulled me back into his chest, my dress flaring out whenever he twirled me.

We moved a little faster to the music, our movements in sync as he spun my around and pressed my back to his front, swaying side by side slowly before tailing his fingers up my bare arm sensually, he placed a kiss on my neck before turning me around once again so I was facing him.

"Beautiful." He whispered when our eyes met and I smiled at him warmly when he suddenly dipped me low, holding me tightly as I let my head fall back before I was pulled back up again.

Our movements slowed with the music as I wound my arms around his neck, his arms around my waist while I rested my head on his chest, listening to his racing heart as we moved slowly to the beat.

I saw Stuart and Adriana also dancing from the corner of my eye and Matteo and Jake talking in a corner in hushed tones.

Nico turned a bit so he was facing the two men. I briefly saw them give him a thumbs up before leaving.

"My love?" Nico called out to me when I pulled away from his chest, looking into his tense eyes.

"I uh-... I wanted to show you something." He said when I looked at him confused but he pulled me off the dancefloor and led me out of the hall.

"Where are we going?" I asked him as we walked down a stone pathway, our hands intertwined together, with him at the front and me following behind.

"Just a little farther baby." He said looking back at me and stopped in his tracks, taking off his mask and putting it aside and then taking off mine and putting it next to his.

"Where you taking me?" I asked him confused as he tugged at my hand, leading me through the path which was becoming more rocky the farther we walked.

"Almost there baby." He said and we walked for nearly another five minutes before we reached a dark part of a forest and my heart raced in my chest.

"You're not planning to finally kill me, are you?" I asked jokingly when he gave me an unimpressed look before pulling me towards a clearing.

Worth a try.

"What's.... going on?" I asked him when he sighed and turned me a little to the left and I gasped when I saw the view in front of me.

I felt his arms wrap around my waist as I looked at the city below, twinkling lights in the distance and the stars littering the sky.

"Wow." I gaped at he view when I felt Nico's arms tighten around me.

"You know Dove, the day you bumped into me that day at the café, I was this close to killing you." He said when I looked back at him unimpressed.

"But I'm so fucking glad I didn't." He added quickly when I chuckled, shaking my head and looking forward once again.

"And then fate played a weird game with us by making us bump into each other again and again and again until we no longer needed fate to let us see each other. And I'm so glad I kissed the living shit out of you that night." He said and I chuckled.

"I need you to know Dove, that I have never seen any woman the way I see you. Tell me a few years ago that I found love, I'd laugh in that person's face. You made me want to be a better person, a better man, for you. And baby, you mean the world to me. I don't know what I'd ever do without you." He said as my eyes welled up.

"Nico, what do you mea-"

"Let me fucking finish." He said firmly and I shut up, letting him continue.

Rude.

"I never thought I'd share my pain with anyone. I never thought I'd have someone who loved me with their everything. Hell, I never thought I'd ever find love after what happened to my family. But you, my love, you came into my life and changed everything." He said as tears rolled down my cheeks.

"And I love you for that. Infinitely. Even though they said that love would make me weak, I have never been more brutal." He said, his arms loosening around me.

"So what I'm trying to say is that I... I can't imagine a life without you baby. You're it for me. And you'll always be mine, forever and always." He said and pulled away completely from me.

I frowned, looking around in the dark when suddenly the whole area lit up, lights in every corner that illuminated everything even more and when I turned around, I gasp escaped my lips as I stared at the man in front of me, down on one knee with a black velvet box in hand.

Oh. My. God.

"Marry me, Dove, and make me the happiest man alive." He said as the tears flowed freely down my face.

The silence in the air around us was deafening as I watched his love filled eyes for me, my throat clogging up from all the emotion.

"You're not exactly giving me a choice, are you?" I smiled through the tears when he smiled back, albeit nervously.

"Not really. I'm just making it seem like it." He shrugged, when I broke out into a smile and nodded my head furiously.

"Yes, yes, yes! I'll marry you!" I exclaimed when he released a sig of relief and laughed as he pulled out the beautiful diamond ring from the box and with shaky hands, slid it onto my left hand's fourth finger.

Before I could say anything, he crashed his lips onto mine, kissing me feverishly and pouring out all the emotion and love into his kiss while his hands gripped my waist, my own hands framing his face.

We pulled away breathless, resting our foreheads together when we both laughed and he wiped my tears away from his thumb.

"I love you, so fucking much baby." He whispered while I beamed, placing a kiss on his lips before wrapping my arms around him.

"I love you too." I whispered in his ear as his hold tightened around me.

"Always and forever, yeah?" He said pulling away to look into my eyes when I nodded, kissing his cheeks.

"Always and forever." I whispered back.

He took my hand and led us back to the party, sending a quick message on his phone before tucking it safely into his pocket, he kissed my cheek as we reached the party and he put our masks back on as we went inside.

As soon as we entered the hall, a flurry of balloons, streamers and confetti fell onto our heads while I laughed in glee, looking above us along with all the guests who looked about in awe.

"Surprise!" Stuart, Adriana, Matteo and Jake all came to stand in front of us when I realized it.

"You knew! You all knew all along, didn't you?" I narrowed my eyes at them accusingly when Adriana grinned.

"But it was worth it, wasn't it?" She inquired and I nodded when she came and hugged me tightly.

"Welcome to the family." She said along with Stuart.

"Finally we have someone of good quality in this family, other than me, of course." Matteo gave me a side hug while I chuckled at him.

"Congratulations you two." Jake hugged me and then Nico before smiling wide.

Nico grabbed two champagne glasses and held one out to me. All the guests did the same while Nico clinked his glass to get everyone's attention.

"Thank you to all those who came to celebrate with us. And now, I'd like to introduce you to my life, my fiancé, Dove." Nico held his hand out to me which I took as he kissed my hand affectionately and then my forehead.

"To the happy couple!" Jake exclaimed and everyone cheered, clapping as we clinked our glasses and downed our drinks in one go while I showed Adriana my ring.

"Fiancé. I like the sound of that." I whispered in Nico's ear when he smirked, holding me by my waist and pulled me closer.

"Then you'll love my plans for us for tonight." He whispered seductively in my ear when I smiled at him, pecking his lips briefly.

"Can't wait." I said and saw his sly smile as we raised our glasses.

"To us. Always and forever." Nico said.

"Always and forever." I said as we clinked our glasses together, downing our drinks with our eyes trained on each other, heat sizzling around us as we looked back at the crowd.

Always and forever.