Chapter 10 - Forever Mine
The gala ended past midnight, but for Daniel and me, the night was only beginning.
Instead of returning directly to Mercer Manor, Daniel surprised me with a private helicopter waiting on the downtown rooftop helipad. Within twenty minutes, we were soaring high above the glittering lights of Seattle, crossing the dark waters of Puget Sound toward a private island estate Daniel had secretly acquired weeks ago.
The helicopter touched down gently on a lighted pad surrounded by whispering pines and the distant, rhythmic crash of ocean waves against a rocky shore.
As we stepped out into the crisp night air, Daniel wrapped his heavy wool overcoat around my shoulders, pulling me close against him as we walked toward a magnificent modern glass villa perched dramatically on a cliff overlooking the Pacific.
Inside, a roaring fire crackled in a massive stone fireplace, casting a warm, golden glow across the minimalist, luxurious interior. A bottle of vintage Dom Pérignon sat chilling in a silver ice bucket on the kitchen island.
Daniel popped the cork with a soft hiss, pouring two crystal flutes before handing one to me. He raised his glass, looking deep into my eyes.
“To my wife,” Daniel said softly, his voice rich with emotion. “The brilliant legal mind, the fierce survivor, and the absolute love of my life. May every chapter from here on out be entirely ours.”
“To us,” I replied, clinking my glass against his. “No shadows. No secrets. Just us.”
We walked out onto the expansive glass balcony, standing side-by-side as the cool ocean breeze washed over us. Far in the distance, the lights of the mainland twinkled like a constellation of fallen stars.
I leaned my head against Daniel’s shoulder, feeling the solid, steady beat of his heart beneath his shirt. I thought about the frightened girl who had hit the marble floor of the Grand Horizon Ballroom just months ago, covered in champagne and bruised by a father who thought she was nothing.
And then I looked at the man beside me—the billionaire who had walked through those doors, turned their laughter into terror, and handed me the world not as a prize to be won, but as an equal partner to share.
May you like
The past was gone. The debt was settled. The empire was ours.
And as the ocean waves rolled endlessly against the shore below, I knew that for the first time in my life, I was exactly where I belonged.
