Alianna's gaze flickered to Jax's reflection in the mirror. Their eyes burned with a flame that would reignite their recent argument. Alianna looked away dismissively, standing firmly and defiantly with her decision.

Part of her knew Jax was right, after every thing she learnt today, could she really handle what was to come? But the greater part of her conscious knew that she was ready, the old Alianna could have killed a man right at the door and then go blood stained bartering, the woman she was becoming can more than handle this task.

Jax watched at Alianna curled her hair into a small bun, letting a few strands frame her face. His eyes instinctively dropped to the flare of her dark green skirt, double checking that she had her knife with her, and his gut churned as he reminded himself that Alianna was not that kind of woman anymore.

"Let's go," Alianna's calm voice broke the quiet as she fixed her polka dot beige shirt that was tucked into her skirt. Jax smiled, minutely uneasy as their fingers wove together as they walked down the hall. The couple was quiet, the sounds of their respective loafers and ballet flats echoing in the empty hall. If it were possible, their silence got louder as they approached Jax's study.

Alianna inclined her head to the Keepers who guarded the door and Jax raised an eyebrow as they inclined their heads in return. The Keepers had a high opinion of Alianna after the family's latest ordeal, judging her values and morals were in the right place and were impressed by her bravery. Jax cleared his throat and knocked firmly on the door.

"Come in." The muted voice was reserved, a practised calm that came with years of negotiation, but there was no denying the power this man possessed. Jax squeezed Alianna's hand gently making her rub his hand with her thumb as he opened the door.

Jax's office was barely lit with just the desk lamp on, the yellow bulb reflecting in the back of the leather chair and the air definitely smelt like someone had gotten the cigars Jax kept in the bottom drawer. Alianna smiled at the two Keepers on either side of the person sitting behind the desk and she watched smoke rise into the air.

"Papa," Jax started, slightly self-conscious addressing his father endearingly in Alianna's presence. He was usually the most powerful person in the room and could swallow his pride whenever the two of them were in the same room but he found this difficult to do in front of her. "I would like you to meet my Rose." Jax sighed softly under his breath at the apparent indifference from his father. "Alianna, this is my father I.."

"Iohannes Boveri," the man in the chair turned around. Alianna flinched as his eyes met hers and her head spun with a sense of déjà vu as she was catapulted to one year ago as she stood in Jax's office, clad in a white shirt and black skirt with a tray and a Cuba Libre in hand.

Iohannes Boveri was an enigma with an piercing gaze that rocked the already shaky foundation of her confidence, something Jax had inherited or learnt, but his age was betrayed by crinkles around his eyes. His chiselled face was framed with a well-kept beard that was meticulous trimmed coupled with a serious sneer. His grey hair was gelled back and created quite a contrast to the dark room. Just as his son, Iohannes Boveri was powerful yet refined, dangerous but not threatening and she was not afraid; she had dealt with the Devil himself and lived. Alianna did not break the gaze as Iohannes put out his cigar, he looked Alianna over before he spoke again.

"Leave us Jax."

Jax's grip on Alianna's hand tightened so fast that pain shot up her arm. "I am not leaving."

"Jax," came the second command.

"Anything that you need to say to Alianna can and should be said in front of me."

"Jax," Alianna's interjection distracted the beast roaring inside of him. "Jax," she tugged his hand making him look at her. She smiled, "I will be fine." If his father had not been in the room, she would have kissed him. "Go."

Jax's eyes flickered between Alianna and Iohannes before his shoulders relaxed. He leaned forward and kissed her briefly, a silent message to his father. "Dinner will be ready when you are done." Alianna smiled and nodded as Jax left the room. She returned her attention to elephant in the room. Iohannes gestured to the seat in front of him and she sat.

"I have heard many things about you Ms Alianna. You have caused quite a stir over the past couple of months," his Italian accent was heavier than she expected, "but tell me Alianna," he leaned forward on the desk, "who are you?"

Alianna was not sure how it happened but her entire story spilled out of her mouth. A combination of what she had learned from L'iiblis' memories to her own experiences to her side of the past year since she met Jax but telling her story felt like a weight had been lifted off her chest. Voicing the thoughts that have been buzzing in her head, she forgot her audience as she talked and for the first time in her life; she felt confident in who she was as Alianna. It felt strange to pour her heart out to Iohannes but she had a nagging feeling that if there was one person she could be honest with; it was him.

The room was quiet and her throat was raw as her story came to an end. One thing she had noticed during her spiel was that Iohannes' expression had remain a careful mask of impassivity. Alianna relaxed as Iohannes' fingers drummed thoughtfully on the desk.

"When Jax was old enough to start his education of the family," Iohannes leaned back, Alianna was slightly annoyed at his opening words but kept her face equally disinterested, "that must have been around ten years of age at my wife's insistence. I was worried, that he was weak. He thought with his heart and not his instincts, he loved and forgave when he should have killed and asked no question; quite like you. I would have loved to have a child like you." Alianna's stomach twisted and she swallowed a particularly rude retort at the hint of joy that crept into his voice.

Iohannes chuckled at her reaction, "I always thought that the Boveri family will lose their reputation when Jax took my place. Undoubtedly he had the basics mastered but he was not the ruthless leader I wanted him to be. My father had trained me to do what needed to be done, no matter the situation, as his father had trained him and so on but for the life of me, I could not comprehend how Jax loved people and we butted heads about it, quite frequently as I recall. I just could not understand it until my wife sacrificed her life for mine."

A jolt ran down Alianna's spine as Iohannes gazed off in the distance behind her. "Despite my orders, she ran back into the room and the moment she threw herself in front of the gun, my world shattered and my brain could not handle the shock of seeing her lifeless eyes, Jax's eyes, staring at me." Alianna's fist clenched as she tried to drive the image from her mind. Iohannes' hand shook as he reached for another cigar.

"At first I did blame my son for my wife's death, after all he should have died before giving up our secrets as was our code. But I mourned and I came to the realisation that my wife sacrificed her life because she loved me. Love was something that was foreign to me but not to my son." Iohannes' mouth twisted into a slight smile. "Which is why I left him to rebuild our family here, he breathed a new life and new direction into the family and I thank my wife for that."

His eyes affixed on Alianna. "You have no idea how fortunate you are, you would have been dead if you had walked into that office and met me."

"Perhaps," Alianna responded vaguely and she found her fingers twitching for her knife as old instincts crept into her throat.

Iohannes noticed this and his eyes flashed as he extended his hand to her. "May I?"

He did not need to say which hand he wanted to see. Alianna placed her left hand in his, the opal in the centre of the lotus ring glinted in the dim light as Iohannes inspected it. His hands were scarred and his grip was hard from years without someone's gentle touch. Alianna pitied him as he released her hand.

"My son is a good man Alianna and you," his eyes shone, "you are a good woman, despite everything," Alianna pressed her lips together, silencing her protest, "after all, you wear my wife's ring and she was an angel among demons; I have no doubt Jax sees the same in you."

Another jolt ran down Alianna spine and she was rendered speechless as Iohannes stood and walked over to where she sat, offering her his arm. "Come now, I think Genevra's nerves will give out if we don't make an appearance for dinner soon."

Alianna smiled slowly as she stood and accepted his arm. With the Keepers in tow, they headed to the kitchen, talking freely about general topics in hushed tones as the weight off both their shoulders disappeared. Their conversation came to a stop as they entered the dining room.

Jax stopped pacing as the tension in the room increased tenfold and his eyes hardened in disbelief and pride as he saw his father and Alianna's linked hands. As Iohannes stopped at the head of the table, Alianna excused herself, side hugging Rex and jokingly bumping into Evan as she walked over to Jax.

"Are you alright?" Jax asked curtly, searching her face for any sign that his father had caused her any sort of stress as his arms coiled protectively around her.

Alianna's cheeks burned, "I'm fine," unable to meet the heat of his scrutiny and focused her attention to fixing the collar of his shirt. She could understand why Jax had been nervous, evident from the scent of scotch on his breath, but she also figured that the Iohannes she had talked to in the study was not the Iohannes that the Boveri family were accustomed seeing. Jax kissed her forehead before taking her hand and leading her over to her seat on his left at the other head of the table.

Genevra could barely contain her smile as she stepped forward, "Dinner is served." Alianna bit back a smile as she saw Naveen, Emilio and all their bodyguards decked in their usual suits but instead of being armed with knives and guns, they were armed with their dinner. She gathered that at the Boveri house in Italy they had staff to help but that was not a tradition Jax upheld across the pond.

Dinner was quiet at first with Iohannes inquiring about the state of affairs in the western hemisphere but was the food and alcohol began to settle in, the dinner discussion became boisterous as Evan and Jax began bartering with Rex throwing shady looks whenever Jax or Evan over-exaggerated a story and Alianna adding her own comments taking both men down a peg or two. She occasionally glanced at Iohannes and she swore she saw him smiling quietly as the night wore on. After dinner, Iohannes retired to bed as the day's travels caught up with him, shocking everyone when he returned Alianna's "Good night". Evan and Rex left after a couple games of pool in the lounge. This left Jax and Alianna talking to themselves on the loveseat. Jax was pressing Alianna for any details of what she and his father had talked about but Alianna stayed tight lipped.

"I will tell you in due course Jax," she smiled kissing him as consolation, "but I will say this; give your father a chance."

Jax snorted lightly, "That's definitely the wine talking," he murmured making Alianna laugh. She looked over at the clock.

"We should be in bed," she stretched but there was a mischievous light in Jax's eyes made her ignore the call to sleep. "What are you thinking?"

Jax smiled, "I was hoping you would go to bed with me, but not here, somewhere else."

Alianna raised an eyebrow as they started wandering through the halls. It was early in the morning and the world was quiet and dark as they stepped outside. Alianna gasped as she saw the yacht docked at the jetty. "Jax?"

"I said I wanted to show you it someday," Jax grinned as Alianna all but pulled them to the jetty. Scott was waiting, ready to assist as Alianna and Jax boarded. "Welcome aboard the Rosanna," Jax smiled as he gave her a quick tour of the vessel before heading up to the captain's quarters. Alianna stood at his side as they started off into the middle of the calm bay behind their home. She became so entranced by the lights of the city's skyline that she did not notice when Jax dropped the anchor.

"Come on," he said, "the view is better at the bow." He was right indeed and the couple stood there, Alianna nestled safely in Jax's arms as their gaze shifted from the city lights to each other as they were bathed in the glow of the deck light.

"Rosanna, what that your mother's name?" Alianna asked quietly.

Jax tensed but pressed a kiss to her hair, "Yes."

Alianna held out her left hand where the lotus ring sat on her middle finger. "And this was her ring?"

"Her engagement ring to be precise," Jax murmured into her ear. "And this, could be yours."

Alianna's heart stopped as Jax held up a black velvet box. Nestled inside was a ring, its band rose gold and studded with smaller diamonds but in the middle of rose gold petals and leaves was a beautiful pink stone.

"Jax," Alianna breathed in shock, unable yet able to process what was happening. Jax released Alianna as she spun around to face him and dropped to one knee, taking her hand in his.

"Alianna," he looked up at her, his heart pounding so loud he was sure that she could hear it. "From the first time I saw you, I knew we were meant to meet. I felt like the Earth drawn to the Sun. What I did not cater for was falling in love with you, falling so fast and so deep. You are different, yes I know, but that's why I love you. You are so worthy of love and it pains my heart when you can't see it. You are worth every risk I took and every battle I won...and lost. You are worth the fight. And now, I cannot guarantee it will be smooth sailing from here but I can guarantee you that I will be by your side and will put my life on the line all over again if I have to. I am yours Alianna, so I only ask; will you have me?"

For a moment, all that could be heard was the lapping of the water on the sides of the yacht until Alianna's reply floated on the breeze.

"Yes."