Chapter 10 - The View from the Porch
Later that night, after the dishes were cleared, the guests had gone home, and three tired seven-year-olds were fast asleep in their rooms, Ethan and I walked out onto the wide wooden front porch.
The night air was crisp, carrying the sweet scent of pine and blooming jasmine from the garden.
I leaned my head against Ethan’s shoulder as we stood side-by-side, looking out over the quiet, moonlit lawn.
“Do you ever think about what would have happened if I hadn’t gone to the wedding?” Ethan asked softly, wrapping a warm arm around my waist.
“I would have kept building my company, raising my boys, and living a perfectly happy life without ever looking back,” I answered honestly.
Ethan chuckled, pressing a soft kiss into my hair. “And the Montgomery dynasty would have collapsed under the weight of its own arrogance.”
“That too,” I smiled.
I reached up, touching the simple platinum ring on my finger.
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We hadn't inherited a happily ever after on a silver platter. We had built it out of the ruins of secrets, lies, and corporate greed. We had torn down the old-money walls, thrown away the conditional charters, and built something real, durable, and entirely our own.
As a cool breeze rustled the oak trees overhead, I knew with absolute certainty that no matter what storms tried to roll in from the past, our foundation was completely unshakeable.
