637 "The Billionaire Boss Was Supposed to Fire the Waitress Who Hid Her Baby Between Linen Crates, but the Recording From His Forbidden Office Exposed the Family That Wanted Her Child

One month later.

It was a late August afternoon. The sun was dipping below the horizon of Lake Michigan, painting the water in brilliant shades of amber, violet, and molten gold.

A private seventy-foot luxury yacht named The Sea Lily glided smoothly across the calm, glassy surface of the lake, two miles off the coast of downtown Chicago.

On the teakwood aft deck, a small round dining table was set with white linen, fine silver, and a vase of fresh yellow roses—Lily's favorite flowers.

Lily, now ten months old and wearing a tiny blue sailor dress, was happily bouncing on a soft velvet blanket, attempting to stack three wooden blocks while Mrs. Gable sat nearby with a camera, capturing every moment.

I stood near the polished brass railing, wearing a simple, elegant ivory silk cocktail dress that fluttered gently in the soft evening breeze.

Sebastian stepped up behind me, wrapping his warm arms around my waist, pulling me back against his chest as we watched the setting sun reflect off the Chicago skyline.

"Are you happy, Maya?" Sebastian whispered into my hair, his deep voice rich with emotion.

I turned around in his arms, resting my hands on his shoulders, looking up into his breathtaking gray eyes.

"I have never been happier in my entire life, Sebastian," I said truthfully, my heart full to bursting. "The foundation is helping hundreds of mothers. Julian and his father were convicted in federal court yesterday and sentenced to twenty years in prison. And Lily... Lily calls you 'Dada' now."

Sebastian’s intense gray eyes softened, a faint shimmer of emotion appearing in them as he looked over at tiny Lily, who was currently waving a blue block at him while yelling, "Dada! Look!"

"She's my daughter, Maya," Sebastian said softly, his voice trembling slightly. "In every way that matters."

He reached into his jacket pocket and pulled out a small, dark blue velvet box.

My breath hitched in my throat. My hands flew to my mouth as tears immediately filled my eyes.

Sebastian slowly lowered himself onto one knee on the teakwood deck of the yacht. He opened the velvet box to reveal a breathtaking, flawless five-carat cushion-cut diamond set in a delicate platinum band, glowing under the golden sunset.

"Maya Delgado," Sebastian said, his voice deep, clear, and steady. "Ten months ago, you walked into my basement office holding your sick baby, terrified, exhausted, but braver than any human being I had ever met. You brought life, love, and hope back into a cold, empty world that I had built out of stone and money."

Tears spilled over my eyelashes, running down my cheeks in happy streams.

"I don't want to just protect you and Lily, Maya," Sebastian continued, his gray eyes shining with endless love and devotion. "I want to spend every sunrise and sunset of my life building a home with you. Will you do me the absolute honor of becoming my wife?"

I couldn't speak. My heart was pounding so hard I thought it would burst out of my chest.

I dropped to my knees right in front of him on the deck, throwing my arms around his neck, burying my face into his shoulder.

"Yes!" I sobbed with joyous laughter. "Yes, Sebastian! A thousand times yes!"

Sebastian let out a booming, joyous laugh, wrapping his strong arms around my waist and lifting me up, kissing my lips with a deep, passionate intensity that set my entire soul ablaze.

Beside us, Lily clapped her little hands together, giggling loudly as Mrs. Gable snapped a photograph of the three of us wrapped in the golden light of the sunset.