Chapter 83

Anna’s POV

“Will you marry me, Anna?”

“Ryan…” I gasped, my voice catching a little. I blinked at him, caught completely off guard. My heart stuttered in my chest, my eyes wide as they dropped to the little velvet box in his hand and the ring sparkling inside it. I hadn’t expected this. Not here. Especially not when we were standing in front of my parents’ grave.

Ryan held the ring out with a soft smile, his eyes fixed on mine, steady and full of love.

I’d never been here before. Not even once. And it wasn’t because I didn’t care or didn’t love them—God, I did. I just couldn’t face it. I was scared… terrified, actually. Scared of seeing their names carved into stone. Scared of what it would stir up inside me. So for seventeen years, I stayed away, always telling myself I wasn’t ready.

But after everything that had happened, after Sophie’s death, after George’s downfall, after those endless letters from the European Council demanding answers and de