I Divorced the President’s Secret Heiress (Kael’s POV)

Chapter 30

The palace staff gave me curious glances as I directed the fifth delivery of flowers into the grand foyer. By now, the entire entrance hall resembled an enchanted garden, with cascades of roses, lilies, and orchids transforming the normally austere space into something magical. The scent was intoxicating—perhaps overwhelming—but I needed this gesture to be memorable. Unforgettable. Like her.

"Is this too much?" I asked Marcus, my security detail who'd been helping coordinate this extravagance.

He smirked, adjusting a particularly large arrangement of white peonies. "For most women? Absolutely. For the president's daughter whom you've already divorced once? Probably not enough."

I shot him a look, but he wasn't wrong. The flowers were just the beginning, the prelude to the question burning in my pocket—quite literally, as the velvet box had been there all day, seeming to grow heavier with each passing hour.

Three weeks had passed since our return from the Maldives. Three weeks since I'd watched Celestina reluctantly transition back into her demanding role as the president's daughter, her schedule immediately consumed by diplomatic functions and political obligations. I'd seen how quickly the peace we'd found on those pristine beaches had begun to erode under the weight of her responsibilities. How the sparkle in her eyes—the one I'd worked so hard to restore—had begun to dim again.

I couldn't let her slip away. Not again. Not when I finally understood what I'd lost the first time.

My phone buzzed with a notification from palace security. Her car had just passed through the main gates. I smoothed down my suit jacket, checked my reflection one last time in the ornate mirror hanging in the hallway. The man staring back at me was almost unrecognizable from the cold, distant husband I had been during our first marriage. My eyes held determination now, not indifference. My posture spoke of purpose, not pride.

I positioned myself at the top of the grand staircase, heart hammering against my ribs as I heard the front doors open. Then she appeared, and everything else faded away.

Celestina stepped into the flower-filled foyer, momentarily frozen in surprise. Even exhausted from her long day, she was breathtaking—her dark hair cascading over her shoulders, her posture regal despite her obvious fatigue. I watched her lips form the word "flowers" as she took in the scene before her.

"Welcome home," I called down from my position.

She turned, her expressive eyes widening as they found me. I descended the stairs slowly, fighting to keep my breathing steady. This moment felt pivotal, as if balanced on a knife's edge. I had been rehearsing what to say for days, but now, facing her, the carefully prepared words seemed inadequate.

"What is all this?" she asked, gesturing at the floral explosion around us.

I stopped before her, close enough to catch the familiar scent of her perfume beneath the flowers' fragrance. "This is me, trying to show you how much you mean to me."

A faint smile touched her lips as she crossed her arms—her classic defensive posture when she felt vulnerable. "A bit dramatic, don't you think?"

I laughed softly, nervously rubbing the back of my neck. "Maybe. But I've realized there's nothing I wouldn't do to make you happy, Celestina."

My fingers found the velvet box in my pocket, and I withdrew it with a sureness I didn't entirely feel. Her eyes tracked the movement, widening when I opened it to reveal the diamond ring inside—a new one, nothing like the ostentatious piece I'd given her the first time. This one was elegant, unique, chosen specifically for the woman she had become, not the trophy wife I had once wanted her to be.

"Kael..." Her voice faltered as she took an instinctive step backward.

I dropped to one knee, my gaze locked with hers. The world narrowed to just us two, standing amid a sea of flowers in the silent palace foyer.

"Celestina, I know I hurt you before. I know I failed you in ways that I'll regret for the rest of my life." My voice was steadier than I expected, each word weighted with truth. "But I've changed. And I want to spend the rest of my life proving to you that I can be the man you deserve."

I watched emotions flicker across her face—shock, uncertainty, and something softer that gave me hope. "Will you marry me?" I asked.

The silence that followed seemed eternal. I could see her remembering—the cold silences of our past, the bitter arguments, the tears I had pretended not to notice. But I could also see her remembering us dancing barefoot on a Maldivian beach, laughing together over breakfast, the way I'd held her through a nightmare just weeks ago.

"I don't know," she finally whispered.

The words hit me like a physical blow. Of all the responses I had prepared for, this limbo wasn't one of them. "You don't know?" I echoed, struggling to keep the disappointment from my voice.

She shook her head, retreating another step. "Kael, this is... a lot. I wasn't expecting this. And I'm not sure I'm ready to make that kind of decision."

I rose slowly, closing the ring box but keeping it firmly in my palm. "I understand," I said carefully, though my heart was racing with anxiety. "But can I ask why?"

Celestina exhaled, running a hand through her hair—a rare gesture of uncertainty from a woman who usually projected nothing but confidence. "Because I'm still trying to figure out who I am. The last time we were married, I lost myself, Kael. I don't want that to happen again."

Her words cut deep, not because they were accusatory, but because they were true. In our first marriage, I had wanted her to be an accessory to my ambitions, not a partner with her own dreams.

"You won't lose yourself this time," I promised, stepping closer. "I won't let that happen. I'll support you, stand by you, whatever it takes."

She looked at me, her eyes filled with wariness that broke my heart. "And what if we fail again? What if we're just not meant to be together?"

I closed the distance between us, close enough to see the flecks of gold in her brown eyes. "Then at least we'll know we tried. But Celestina, I believe we can make this work. I believe in us."

I took her hand, placing the closed ring box in her palm and gently closing her fingers around it. "Keep this. Think about it. I'm not asking for an answer tonight."

Her lips parted in surprise. "You're not?"

I shook my head. "The man I was before would have demanded an immediate yes. But I'm not that man anymore." I brushed a strand of hair from her face. "Take your time. I'll be here when you're ready—whether your answer is yes or no."

I wrapped my arms around her, breathing in the moment. It wasn't the fairy-tale proposal ending I'd imagined, but perhaps it was something better—something real.

A second chance that, this time, we might both be ready for.

THE END.