We landed in Bora Bora just after sunrise.
I pressed my face to the window as we descended, watching the island emerge from turquoise waters like something from a dream. Overwater bungalows dotted the lagoon, palm trees swayed in the breeze, and the water was so clear I could see coral reefs from the air.
"It's beautiful," I breathed.
Adrian leaned over to look, his chin resting on my shoulder. "Not as beautiful as you."
"That's so cheesy."
"But true." He pressed a kiss to my temple. "Ready for two weeks of absolutely nothing?"
"God, yes."
A car waited to take us to the resort a place called Four Seasons, perched on its own private island. The drive was short but stunning, winding through lush vegetation with glimpses of crystal water at every turn.
Our bungalow sat at the end of a long pier, private and perfect. The main room opened onto a deck with stairs leading directly into the lagoon. Through the glass floor panels, I could see tropical fish swimming below.
"This is insane," I said, spinning slowly to take it all in. "Adrian, this is too much."
"Nothing is too much for you." He came up behind me, wrapped his arms around my waist. "Besides, blame my grandfather. He picked the place."
"Remind me to thank him when we get back."
"Or we could just stay here forever. Never go back."
I laughed. "Tempting. But we'd miss Margaret. And Lucas would hunt us down."
"Fair point." He nuzzled my neck. "So what do you want to do first? Swim? Explore? Sleep?"
I turned in his arms. "How about we unpack, shower off the flight, and then see where the day takes us?"
"Practical and spontaneous. I like it."
We unpacked quickly Adrian had been right, I'd brought too many clothes and I headed for the outdoor shower. Yes, outdoor. The bathroom opened to a private garden, completely secluded but open to the sky.
"This is decadent," I called as warm water cascaded over me.
Adrian appeared in the doorway, already stripped down. "Mind if I join you?"
"I was hoping you would."
He stepped under the spray, and for a moment we just stood there, water pouring over us, holding each other.
"I can't believe we're actually here," I said softly. "A month ago, I was planning a wedding to Ethan. Now I'm on my honeymoon with you."
"Best month of my life."
"Mine too." I looked up at him. "Even with all the drama the trials, the confrontations, everything I wouldn't change it. Because it brought me here. To you."
"To us," he corrected, then kissed me.
The kiss deepened, turned heated. His hands slid down my wet skin, and I forgot all about unpacking and exploring.
Some things were more important.
Later much later we finally made it out of the bungalow.
The resort had a small beach, nearly empty this early in the morning. We claimed two lounge chairs and a umbrella, and I stretched out with a satisfied sigh.
"This is perfect."
"Agreed." Adrian settled beside me, reaching for my hand. "No phones, no meetings, no emergencies. Just this."
"Just this," I echoed.
We spent the morning doing absolutely nothing. Swimming in water so clear it felt like flying. Reading books we'd brought but kept abandoning to nap. Eating fresh fruit delivered by smiling resort staff.
Around noon, Adrian's stomach growled loudly enough to make me laugh.
"Okay, maybe we should find lunch."
The resort's restaurant sat over the water, open-air with views that made it hard to focus on the menu. We ordered local fish and tropical drinks that came with absurd amounts of fruit and tiny umbrellas.
"I could get used to this," I said, sipping something that tasted like paradise and sunshine mixed together.
"Good. Because we have thirteen more days of it."
"Thirteen more days of what?" a voice said behind us.
We both turned. A woman stood there, elegant in a flowing cover-up, her dark hair pulled back. She looked vaguely familiar, but I couldn't place her.
Then she smiled, and I remembered.
Catherine Sterling. Marcus Sterling's ex-wife. The woman who'd helped us bring him down.
"Catherine?" I half-stood. "What are you doing here?"
"Same thing you are, I imagine. Escaping." Her smile was warm but tired. "I'm sorry, I didn't mean to intrude. I saw you from across the restaurant and wanted to say hello. And thank you."
"Thank us?" Adrian gestured to an empty chair. "Please, join us."
Catherine sat, looking grateful. "Yes, thank you. For helping me get away from Marcus. For believing me when I came forward. For.." her voice caught slightly, "..for giving me a chance at a new life."
"You're the one who was brave enough to testify," I said. "We just provided the opportunity."
"Still. Without you two, I'd still be trapped in that house. Afraid. Alone." She looked out at the water. "Now I'm here. Free. Starting over."
"Are you here alone?" Adrian asked carefully.
"Yes. The divorce was finalized last month. Marcus's assets were seized, so I walked away with nothing except my freedom." She laughed, but it sounded sad. "Turns out freedom is worth more than money anyway."
"I'm glad you got out," I said sincerely. "You deserve peace."
"So do you both. From what I understand, you've been through quite an ordeal." Catherine's gaze moved between us. "Newly married?"
"Three weeks ago."
"Congratulations. You two are good together. I could see that from the beginning the way you looked at each other during those planning meetings. Like you'd fight the world for each other."
"We have," Adrian said quietly, squeezing my hand.
"And you won. That's rare." Catherine stood. "I'll let you enjoy your honeymoon. But if you ever need anything if there's anything I can do to repay the help you gave me please don't hesitate to ask."
"Just be happy," I said. "That's repayment enough."
After she left, Adrian and I sat in silence for a moment.
"That was unexpected," I finally said.
"Life is full of surprises." He raised his drink. "To unexpected encounters and new beginnings."
"To new beginnings," I echoed, clinking my glass against his.
The afternoon passed in a blur of sun and salt water and stolen kisses. We snorkeled in the lagoon, watching tropical fish dart between coral formations. We kayaked to a small island and had it entirely to ourselves for an hour. We did nothing and everything, and it was perfect.
As the sun began to set, painting the sky in shades of orange and pink and purple, we found ourselves back on our private deck.
"I don't want this to end," I said, leaning against the railing.
"It doesn't have to. We can come back. Every year, if you want."
"Every year?"
"Every year." Adrian moved behind me, wrapped his arms around my waist. "This can be our place. Where we come to remember what matters. To reconnect. To just be us."
"I like that idea."
"Good. Because I'm making it official." He turned me to face him, and I was startled to see nervousness in his eyes. "Sophia, I know we've only been married three weeks. I know this is fast, even by our standards. But there's something I need to say."
"Adrian, you're kind of scaring me.."
"Don't be scared. This is good. I hope it's good." He took both my hands. "When we got married, it started as a contract. A business arrangement. And we promised each other one year, with the option to extend or end by mutual agreement."
My heart started pounding. "Right."
"I want to tear up that contract."
The world tilted. "What?"
"The contract. The one-year timeline. The exit clauses. I want to get rid of all of it." His grip on my hands tightened. "Because Sophia, I don't want one year. I don't want an option to end this. I want forever. Real, permanent, no-escape-clause forever."
"Adrian.."
"I know it's soon. I know we're still figuring things out. But I've never been more sure of anything in my life." His voice was raw with emotion. "You're it for me. The only woman I'll ever love. The only future I want. And I don't want there to be any doubt, any uncertainty. I want you to know that I'm all in. Completely, permanently, irrevocably in."
Tears blurred my vision. "You want to tear up the contract."
"Yes."
"The one that gives us both an easy out."
"Yes."
"Because you want to be stuck with me forever."
"Not stuck. Blessed. Lucky. The luckiest man alive." He brushed away a tear that had escaped. "So what do you say, Mrs. Blackwood? Want to make this permanent?"
I laughed through my tears. "You're insane. We barely know each other. We got married after knowing each other less than a month. By all logical reasoning, this should be a disaster."
"But?"
"But I love you. Crazy, illogical, completely unreasonable love." I cupped his face. "And yes. Yes, I want to tear up the contract. Yes, I want forever. Yes to all of it."
Relief and joy flooded his face. "Yeah?"
"Yeah." I kissed him, tasting salt water and sunset and future. "Forever. No exit clauses. Just you and me against the world."
"Best deal I ever made," he whispered against my lips.
"Best decision I ever made."
He pulled back suddenly. "Wait here. Don't move."
"Adrian, what.."
But he was already gone, disappearing into the bungalow. He returned moments later with a folder the contract, I realized. The one we'd signed three weeks ago that had started all of this.
"Ready?" he asked.
"Ready."
Together, we tore it in half. Then quarters. Then eighths. We threw the pieces into the lagoon and watched them float away on the current.
"There," Adrian said with satisfaction. "No more contract. No more timeline. Just marriage."
"Just marriage," I agreed.
He swept me up into his arms, carrying me back into the bungalow.
"Adrian! What are you doing?"
"Re-consummating our marriage. Now that it's permanent, we should celebrate properly."
I laughed, wrapping my arms around his neck. "We celebrated this morning. And last night. And.."
"I plan to celebrate every day for the rest of our lives. Problem?"
"No problem at all."
He laid me down on the bed, and as the last light of sunset filtered through the windows, we celebrated our forever.
The next morning, I woke before Adrian.
Rare, but he'd worn himself out with all that celebrating. I smiled at the memory and carefully extracted myself from his arms.
Outside, the lagoon was perfectly still, reflecting the early morning sky like a mirror. I sat on the deck with coffee Margaret had somehow arranged to have waiting for us, and opened my mother's photo album.
I'd been working my way through it slowly, savoring each picture, each glimpse into her life before me. This morning, I found one near the back that made me pause.
My mother, maybe thirty years old, standing in front of a building with a sign: Hart Technologies. The company she'd built. The one that was now mine again.
She looked so proud. So happy. So full of life.
"She'd be proud of you, you know."
I turned to find Adrian standing in the doorway, shirtless and sleep-rumpled.
"You think?"
"I know." He came to sit beside me, looked at the photo. "She built something from nothing. You did the same. She faced people who tried to tear her down. You did the same. She found love.." he kissed my temple, "..and so did you."
"I hope she knows. Wherever she is. I hope she knows I'm okay. That I'm happy."
"She knows." Adrian's arm came around my shoulders. "And she's probably laughing at how you ended up marrying the Devil CEO everyone warned you about."
I laughed. "She always did say I had terrible taste in men."
"Hey!"
"I'm kidding. You're perfect. She would have loved you."
"Even the obsessive part that investigated your ex for two years?"
"Especially that part." I leaned into him. "Thank you."
"For what?"
"For loving me. For saving me. For giving me this life."
"Sophia, you saved yourself. I just provided backup."
"Good backup, though."
"The best." He kissed the top of my head. "What do you want to do today?"
"Honestly? More of yesterday. Swimming, sunbathing, doing nothing productive whatsoever."
"Perfect plan. I approve."
We sat there as the sun climbed higher, warming the deck, the water, us. No agenda, no schedule, no pressure.
Just peace.
Just love.
Just forever.
The days blurred together in the best possible way.
We explored the island, finding hidden beaches and secret coves. We went diving and saw manta rays and sea turtles. We ate incredible food and drank too many tropical cocktails. We made love under the stars and woke up tangled in each other.
We talked for hours about nothing and everything. Our childhoods, our dreams, our fears. The life we wanted to build together. Kids, maybe. More than one. A dog. Renovating the mansion's third floor into a family wing.
"How many kids are we talking?" Adrian asked one night over dinner.
"I don't know. Two? Three?"
"Three sounds good. Lily, James, and Grace."
I blinked. "You've already named our hypothetical children?"
"I've been thinking about it." He looked almost embarrassed. "Is that weird?"
"It's adorable. You're adorable."
"I'm a ruthless billionaire. I'm not adorable."
"You're my ruthless billionaire. That makes you adorable."
He groaned. "You're impossible."
"You love it."
"Unfortunately, I do."
On our last night in Bora Bora, we sat on the deck watching the stars.
"I don't want to go back," I admitted.
"Me neither. But we have to eventually."
"I know. Real life awaits. Work, responsibilities, probably more drama we haven't anticipated yet."
"Probably." Adrian pulled me closer. "But Sophia? Whatever comes next, we face it together. That's not changing."
"Forever together."
"Forever together," he agreed.
I looked up at the stars, so bright here away from city lights, and sent a silent thank you to my mother.
Thank you for the second chance. Thank you for this life. Thank you for him.
And somehow, impossibly, I felt her answer on the breeze.
*Be happy, baby girl. You've earned it.*
I was. I finally, truly was.
Happy. Loved. Home.
Not home in a place, but home in a person.
In Adrian. In us. In the life we were building together.
And as we sat there under a blanket of stars, the future stretching out before us like the endless ocean, I realized something profound.
I'd been given a second chance at life.
But this right here, right now, this moment and every moment like it.
This was worth living for.
Not just surviving. Not just getting revenge or finding justice.
But living. Truly, deeply, completely living.
With the man I loved.
For all the days to come.
Forever.
END CHAPTER 12