-CELINE POV-
(ONE MONTH LATER)
It has been one month.
<b>55 </b><b>vouchers </b>
One month since that night. One month since the hospital, since the ache that nearly swallowed me whole. One month of wing forward.
Life hadn’t magically healed, but somehow, in the quiet corners of our days, Hunter and I found ways to breathe again. Tough again. To live.
I sat on our bed that morning, sunlight pouring through the balcony doors like gold dust. I closed my eyes, letting it soak into my skin, imagining it seeping into the cracks of me that were still tender.
When I finally pulled myself up, I slipped into my robe and padded downstairs. The house had been calmertely, almost… content.
The new staff Hunter hired were professional and efficient.
Sally had retired atst, after decades of holding this house together, her wrinkled face glowing with joy when she told me her granddaughter had given birth.
Hunter had been reluctant to let her go, but he’d sent her off with a hefty retirement package and a grand farewell gift that made me tear up.
Now, Sally’s door would always be open, and mine would always be open to her.
The house smelled of… something. Something burnt. Something suspicious. I raised an eyebrow as I turned into the kitchen and froze.
Hunter stood at the counter, bare chest flexing as he flipped something on the pan, sweatpants hanging low on his hips. A sight sinful enough to be illegal.
Meanwhile, Caesar…..my sweet boy….was standing on a stool, trying to whisk batter with a frown of deep concentration. The counter was covered in flour, eggshells, and what looked like a crime scene involving strawberries.
“Oh my God,” I muttered. “What are you two doing?”
“Making breakfast,” Hunter said tly, without looking up, as if this disaster waspletely intentional.
“Helping Papa,” Caesar added proudly.
“Destroying my kitchen, more like.”
55 vouchers
Hunter finally looked over his shoulder at me, lips quirking. “Destroying? Woman, you wound
me.”
Before I could retort, Caesar hopped down carefully, his little hands immediately wrapping around mine. “Come, Mommy! Sit! We made breakfast for you!”
His excitement was impossible to resist. He pulled me into the dining room where he’d set the table, forks on the wrong sides, napkins folded like crumpled socks…..and stood in front of me with his chest puffed out.
“Wee, Madame,” he dered, struggling with the word, “to the Reids… Re–Re–sidence Res…taurant.”
I bit back augh, pressing my hand to my lips. “Wow. I’m honored.” He giggled when I bent to kiss his cheek, his little body wriggling under the attention.
“Hey!” Hunter’s voice rang from the kitchen. “No kissing the waiter.”
Caesarughed louder, leaning closer. “One more, Mommy.”
I kissed him again just to spite Hunter.
“Cheating!” Hunter appeared, bncing a tray, shaking his head in mock offense. “First thing in the morning and I’m already being cheated on in my own house.”
Caesar pped as Hunter set the tes down…pancakes, slightly lopsided, with strawberries piled on top. My stomach clenched nervously at the sight, but I forced a smile.
“Is it edible?<b>” </b>I teased.
Hunter narrowed his eyes. “Try it and see.”
I cut into one pancake, took a bite… and blinked. It was actually good. Not spectacr, but good enough to be edible. I grinned. “Wow. You’ve improved.”
He took a fork and bit into his own te, shrugging like it was nothing. “Vincent told me ke makes hers this way.”
I nearly choked. “Wait–hold on. You’re taking cooking advice from Vincent?…. Vincent?”
Hunter red at me, chewing slowly. “Don’t start.”
Iughed so hard my stomach hurt.
El 55 vouchers
We ate together, Caesar talking nonstop about cartoons and boats, while I kept sneaking nces at Hunter. For once, his jaw wasn’t clenched from stress. For once, his shoulders weren’t heavy with the world. He looked… happy.
“Don’t you have work?” I asked cautiously.
He leaned back in his chair, one arm resting on it casually. “I took the day off.”
“You’ve been taking a lot of days off.”
“I own the damnpanies, Celine. If I decide to take a year off, every single employee under my name will smile and say yes, sir, or they can quit. Or get their sries cut.”
I rolled my eyes, spoon–feeding him a bite of strawberry just to shut him up. “Ruthless Mr. Reid.” His lips curved, and before I could pull away, he captured my wrist and kissed me….slow, hot, leaving me breathless.
“Consider it apliment, Mrs. Reid,” he murmured.
“E.” Caesar scrunched his face, covering his eyes.
I burst outughing.
“Okay, okay,” I said, pulling back from Hunter, though his smirk told me he would have gone further if Caesar wasn’t sitting right there. “So, what’s the n for today?”
Caesar’s eyes lit up as if he’d been waiting for this moment. He jumped up from his chair. “We’re going sailing!”
I blinked. “We’re what?<b>” </b>
He bounced on his toes, his curls flying. “Papa said we’re going sailing today!”
I turned to Hunter slowly, one eyebrow raised. “Are you
serious?<b>” </b>
Hunter stood, making his way towards the kitchen to get syrup before walking toward me, and cupped my face with his hand.
His thumb brushed my cheek, and his eyes sparkled with that dangerous mix of confidence and mischief that had once undone mepletely.
“Yes,” he said simply. “We’re sailing.”
My mouth parted. “Since when do you have a yacht?” His smirk widened, leaning closer until his lips brushed the corner of mine.
“Since always, sweetheart.”
13:16 Mon<b>, </b><b>Sep </b><b>22 </b>
57
<b>55 </b>vouchers.
The first thing I noticed when we pulled up to the harbor wasn’t the sunlight bouncing off the water like melted gold. It was the size of the yacht waiting for us….white, sleek, towering like something out of a dream.
“You have got to be kidding me,” I murmured, clutching Caesar’s small hand as he bounced beside me.
Hunter, of course, looked smug. His shirt was rolled up to the elbows, his sunsses catching the light, his whole presence screaming ‘I–own–the–sea–too‘.
He slipped the keys into his pocket, leaned closer, and whispered like he’d been waiting for this moment all morning.
“You never asked,” he said.
“I didn’t think to,” I shot back. “It’s not exactly normal to casually ask someone if they happen to own a yacht.”
Caesar tugged at my arm, practically dragging me forward. “Mommy, look! It’s like a hotel on the water. Can we live here? Please?”
Hunter smirked. “Careful, buddy. If you ask her sweetly enough, she might say yes.”
I rolled my eyes but couldn’t fight the smile tugging at my lips. The truth was….it was breathtaking. And for the first time in weeks, my chest didn’t ache quite so much.
The crew greeted us, but Hunter waved them off quickly. “We’ll manage.”
‘Of course we will,’ I thought. The man could take over empires; surely, he could handle a yacht.
Once on deck, Caesar darted around like an explorer, his giggles carried by the wind. I followed, my zer brushing against my legs, until the sea stretched out before me, endless, shimmering, alive.
Hunter came up behind me, close enough that I felt his warmth even with the salty air brushing over my skin. His hand slipped against my lower back, grounding me.
“Well?” he asked, voice low. “Do I get to keep my bragging rights, or are you unimpressed?”
I nced at him over my shoulder, arching a brow. “I’ll admit… It’s a little better than your pancakes.”
His lips curved, wicked. “I can think of other ways to impress you.”
55 vouchers
“Hunter,” I warned, but the corner of my mouth betrayed me, twitching into a smile.
We spent the next hour watching Caesar discover every corner of the yacht. Hunter let him “steer” with the captain, his little hands on the wheel, his voice bubbling with excitement.
I watched them from a distance, my heart folding over itself at the sight–Hunter, powerful and untouchable in boardrooms, looking so undone by a boy with his same blue eyes.
Eventually, Caesar ran off with one of the crew to look for dolphins, leaving Hunter and me alone on the deck. The silence felt different then.
It was heavy, but not hard to bear. The sea had a way of making people share their truths.
I leaned against the railing, eyes on the horizon. “You nned this, didn’t you?”
“Guilty,” he said,ing to stand beside me. His arm brushed mine. “I thought… maybe you needed something else to hold onto. Not just the house. Not the therapy rooms. Something that feels alive.”
I swallowed, the sea blurring in front of me. “Hunter…”
“Don’t.” His voice was gentle, almost a plea. “Don’t tell me thank you. Just… breathe with me.
For once.”
I took a deep breath of the salty air and listened to the waves. For a moment, I felt calm and rxed. I didn’t feel like I was falling apart anymore.
<b>*** </b>
When I finally turned to him, I found his gaze already locked on me. Not hungry. Not demanding. Just watching, like he was memorizing the way the wind tangled in my hair. <fn8137> This text is hosted at FindN0vel</fn8137>
“You’re scaring me,” I whispered, half–teasing, half–not.
His jaw tightened. “I’m scaring myself.”
I blinked. “What do you mean?”
He leaned against the railing, head tilting toward me. “I’ve built my whole life around control. Everything. Everyone. If I wanted something, I made it mine. If something threatened me, I destroyed it. But you…” He exhaled sharply, almostughing at himself. “You’re the one thing I can’t grip too tightly, or I’ll lose you. And I….”
His voice cracked, just enough that I felt it in my chest.
“Hunter…” My hand found his without thinking, fingers threading through his.
youchers
He looked down at our joined hands, then back at me. “I don’t want to lose you. Not again. Not to grief, not to distance, not to your dreams–hell, not even to yourself.”
I felt something change inside me. For weeks, I had been holding myself together with willpower. But here, with the sea around us and Hunter’s words hitting hard, something shifted.
I reached up, cupping his face. “You won’t lose me,” I said, though my voice trembled. “But you can’t cage me either. I need to breathe too.”
His eyes searched mine, stormy, unreadable. “Then we’ll learn together.”
And before I could reply, his mouth was on mine, deep, desperate, salt and heat blending until the world narrowed to just him. We only broke apart when a small voice yelled from the other side of the deck.
“E! Gross<b>!</b><b>” </b>
Hunter groaned against my lips, forehead dropping to mine. “He’s going to be the death of me.”
Iughed, breathless, turning to see Caesar clutching a juice box, scrunching his face in mock disgust.
“No muah–muah allowed!” he dered.
Hunter straightened, ring yfully. “That’s it. No more cartoons for a week.”
“Papa!” Caesar squealed, running before Hunter could scoop him up.
I covered my mouth, trying not tough too hard as Hunter stalked after him, pretending to be far more serious than he was. For the first time in what felt like forever, our little family sounded alive again.
Later, as the sun began to dip, Hunter returned to my side, a shadow of a smile on his lips. His arm slid around my waist, pulling me into his chest.
“You know,” he murmured against my hair, “I was going to wait until tonight to tell you.”
“Tell me what?<b>” </b>I asked, suspicious.
“That this yacht isn’t just for me.” He tilted his head, eyes catching the fading light. “It’s ours. Yours. Caesar’s. A ce where we leave everything else behind. Where it’s just us.”
I blinked, stunned. “Hunter…”
He smirked. “So? Still think it’s not impressive?<b>” </b>
13:17 Mon<b>, </b>Sep 22
…
57
EX 55 vouchers
I hit his chest, but my throat hurt. For the first time, I understood something scary….he wasn’t just fighting for me. He was creating a future for us.
And I wasn’t sure if I was ready… but God, I wanted to be. Hunter kissed the side of my head, his voice low and certain.
“Tonight,” he said, “I’m going to show you the rest of my surprise.”
I turned to him, heart thudding. “You’re unbelievable, you know that?”
He only smiled, the kind that promised trouble.
IL