RETURN OF THE LEGENDARY NORTHERN DRAGON

WILL YOU MARRY ME?

Ava woke to the smell of food—real food, not dumpster scraps or expired charity handouts.

She blinked against morning light streaming through floor-to-ceiling windows, momentarily disoriented by the luxury surrounding her. The penthouse. Grayson's secret apartment. Yesterday felt like a fever dream—the cemetery, the attack, the butterfly birthmark, the impossible proposal.

Her side throbbed where Grayson had stitched the knife wound. She sat up carefully and found him in the kitchen, stirring a pot of something that smelled like heaven.

"You didn't have to do this," Ava said, her voice rough from sleep. "I should leave before I cause you more trouble—"

Grayson looked up, expression unreadable. "The only trouble is you not taking care of yourself." He carried over a tray—congee, herbal tea, pain medication arranged like a hospital meal. "Eat first. Then we'll talk."

Ava took the bowl with trembling hands. When was the last time someone had cooked for her? Years. Maybe a decade. The congee was perfectly seasoned, warming her from the inside out.

Grayson sat across from her, watching her eat with an intensity that made her uncomfortable. Then he reached into his pocket and pulled out a small velvet box.

Ava's spoon froze halfway to her mouth.

Grayson opened the box. Inside sat a ring—simple, elegant, a single diamond that caught the light and threw rainbows across the walls.

"Ava Morgan," he said quietly, "will you marry me?"

Ava choked on her congee. She coughed violently, eyes watering, congee spraying across the tray.

"WHAT?" She gasped between coughs. "You just got divorced yesterday! Are you seriously doing this right now?"

"Yes."

"That's insane! You don't even know me! I'm homeless, I'm cursed, I'm—"

"The woman my mother told me to find," Grayson interrupted. "The woman who saved my life. The woman I've been looking for fifteen years."

Ava set down the bowl before she dropped it. "This is grief talking. You're hurt from your divorce, not thinking clearly—"

"I've never been more clear." Grayson's voice was steel wrapped in silk. "I'm not asking you to love me, Ava. I'm asking for a chance to honor my mother's wish and protect you the way I should have fifteen years ago."

Ava stood shakily, ignoring the pain in her side. "Even if I wanted to—which I don't!—I can't marry you. I have no identification papers, no birth certificate, no family to sign documents. I don't legally exist anymore!"

A knock at the door interrupted her protest.

Grayson stood and opened it. A man in an expensive suit entered—mid-thirties, professional, carrying a leather briefcase. He nodded respectfully to Grayson.

"Sir, the documents you requested."

He handed Grayson a thick folder. Grayson opened it and spread the contents across the coffee table.

Ava stared in shock. Her birth certificate. Her ID card. Her social security documentation. Papers she'd lost years ago when her last shelter was raided, papers she'd thought were gone forever.

"How did you..." Her voice cracked. "Who are you?"

Grayson met her gaze steadily. "Someone who keeps his promises."

Ava's legs gave out. She sank back onto the couch, staring at documents that represented her entire legal existence. With shaking hands, she picked up her ID—her face from five years ago, thinner but recognizable.

"The wedding is scheduled for three days from now," Grayson continued. "The same day my ex-wife is marrying Logan Stone. You can refuse. Walk away right now. But I promise you'll never struggle alone again, whether you marry me or not."

Ava looked up at him through tears. This man who'd saved her life, who'd fought off thugs without hesitation, who'd stitched her wounds with practiced hands. This stranger who somehow knew her better than people she'd known for years.

She should refuse. Should run. Should protect him from whatever curse followed her.

But she was so tired of being alone.

"Three days?" she whispered.

Grayson nodded.

Ava looked at the ring, then at her recovered documents, then back at Grayson. Something shifted in her chest—not love, not yet, but the first fragile seed of hope she'd felt in twelve years.

She didn't say yes. Didn't say no. Just wiped her tears and picked up the congee bowl with trembling hands.

Grayson's lips curved in the smallest smile. He understood.

_______

Two days later, Ava sat curled on the penthouse couch when Grayson returned carrying expensive shopping bags.

"You'll need a dress for the ceremony," he said, pulling out options from boutiques whose names Ava recognized from magazine covers she'd seen in trash bins.

She touched the fabric of the first dress—silk so fine it felt like water. "This is too much. These probably cost more than I've earned in my entire life—"

Grayson's phone rang. He glanced at the screen—James—and stepped onto the balcony to answer.

Ava barely noticed, too overwhelmed by the dresses laid out before her. White, cream, pale blue—each one more beautiful than anything she'd ever touched.

On the balcony, Grayson answered. "Report."

"Sir, the Reed family is hosting an emergency meeting with investors tomorrow." James's voice was professional, clipped. "They're claiming their financial crisis is corporate sabotage. Threatening legal action against unknown parties."

Grayson's eyes narrowed. "Let them scramble. What about Logan Stone?"

"Stone is liquidating everything he can. Desperate for cash flow. He's also announced his wedding to Vanessa Reed has been moved up—to tomorrow afternoon at the Grand Meridian Hotel."

Grayson processed this information. "They're rushing it to project stability to investors. Show they're unified, strong, not panicking."

"Exactly, sir."

Grayson looked back through the glass at Ava examining dresses with wonder on her face. Then he smiled—cold, predatory.

"Change our venue," Grayson said quietly. "Book the Grand Meridian Hotel. Same day. Same time."

James hesitated. "Sir, that's—"

"The same location where they're getting married. Make it happen."

"They've already booked the main ballroom—"

"Then book the Imperial Suite. The one above the ballroom. I want them to know we're there. I want them to feel it." Grayson's voice dropped to something dangerous. "They shouldn't have a peaceful wedding after wronging the wrong man."

"Understood, sir. I'll make the arrangements."

Grayson hung up and returned inside. Ava looked up from the dresses, her eyes bright with unshed tears.

"Grayson? I can't possibly wear any of these. They're too beautiful for someone like me—"

He crossed to her and knelt so they were eye level. "You survived twelve years on the streets with your dignity intact. You kept your kindness when the world showed you only cruelty. These dresses aren't too beautiful for you, Ava. You're too strong for them."

Ava's tears spilled over. Nobody had ever spoken to her like this. Like she was worth something. Like she mattered.

"I don't understand you," she whispered. "Why are you doing all this?"

"Because you deserve it. Because my mother wanted me to. Because—" Grayson paused, something shifting in his expression. "Because watching you examine these dresses like they're treasures makes me realize how much the Reeds took for granted."

Ava wiped her eyes. "When is the wedding?"

"Tomorrow afternoon. Two o'clock."

"That's so soon—"

"We're getting married at the Grand Meridian Hotel," Grayson said casually, as if mentioning the weather. "It's where Vanessa and Logan are having their ceremony."

Ava's eyes went wide. "What? The same place? The same day?"

"The same time, actually. Different floors." Grayson's smile could cut glass. "I thought it appropriate."

"That's—" Ava didn't know what to call it. Insane? Brilliant? Terrifying? "They'll know. They'll see you."

"I'm counting on it."

Something in his tone made Ava shiver. This wasn't the gentle man who'd cooked her congee. This was someone else—someone colder, more dangerous.

"Grayson, what exactly are you planning?"

He stood and helped her to her feet carefully, mindful of her wound. "Justice, Ava. I'm planning justice. They humiliated me for three years while I protected them. They tortured you for sport in high school. They threw away a marriage like garbage." His eyes hardened. "Tomorrow, they'll understand what they've lost. And they'll watch me marry the woman I should have found three years ago."

Ava's heart hammered. "This feels like revenge."

"Revenge would be destroying them completely." Grayson picked up the white silk dress—the most elegant of the options. "This is just making sure they see what real value looks like before their fake world collapses."

He handed her the dress. Ava took it, fabric whispering through her fingers.

"You really want to do this?" she asked quietly. "Marry me tomorrow at the same place they're getting married? Turn their wedding into a confrontation?"

Grayson met her eyes. "I want to marry you because my mother asked me to. Because you deserve protection and safety and someone who sees your worth. The location?" He smiled coldly. "That's just a bonus. They get to celebrate their lies while we honor the truth."

Ava clutched the dress to her chest. Part of her wanted to argue, to say this was too much too fast, to protect him from whatever revenge plot he was orchestrating.

But another part—the part that had been humiliated by Vanessa Reed in school cafeterias, that had been called "cemetery rat" while sleeping in her dead parents' grave—that part wanted to see the look on Vanessa's face when she realized the truth.

"What time should I be ready?" Ava asked.

Grayson's smile widened. "One thirty. James will help you prepare. The car will be waiting."

"And if they try to stop us? If they call security?"

"Let them try." Something dangerous flickered in Grayson's eyes. "I own the hotel."

Ava's breath caught. "You what?"

"The Grand Meridian Hotel is one of many properties registered under Northern Holdings. Which means I can book any venue I want, any time I want." He touched her cheek gently. "And tomorrow, I want them to watch me marry you in the same building where they're celebrating their lies."

Ava didn't know whether to laugh or cry. This was insane. Reckless. Perfect.

"You're terrifying when you want to be," she whispered.

"Only to people who deserve it." Grayson stepped back, giving her space. "Get some rest. Tomorrow is going to be memorable."

For the first time in twelve years, Ava felt something dangerous and intoxicating flowing through her veins and she couldn't wait.