Chapter 9 - The Harbor of New Beginnings
One year later.
The summer sun glittered across the deep blue waters of the Long Island Sound as our private yacht glided smoothly through the calm waves.
I sat on the sun deck, wearing a white linen dress, a sun hat resting on my lap. My hand rested gently over my rounded, seven-month pregnant belly.
Dr. Harrison’s forged diagnosis was a distant, laughable memory. After a simple, routine surgical procedure performed by top specialists at Mount Sinai six months after our wedding, my endometriosis was completely managed. Today, I was carrying a healthy, thriving baby girl.
Dominic walked out onto the deck carrying two fresh fruit smoothies. He looked relaxed, his silver-threaded dark hair slightly tousled by the sea breeze, his sharp suit replaced by casual dark trousers and an unbuttoned linen shirt.
He set the drinks down on the wooden table and knelt beside my lounge chair, laying his large hand gently over my belly.
As if on cue, our baby girl gave a firm, energetic kick against his palm.
Dominic’s face lit up with that rare, radiant smile that he reserved only for me. "She’s strong today."
"She takes after her father," I chuckled softly, running my fingers through his hair. "She’s stubborn, persistent, and refuses to sit still."
"She takes after her mother," Dominic countered gently, kissing my palm. "She’s a fighter who’s going to rule this city one day."
We looked out over the sparkling water toward the Manhattan skyline in the distance.
My father was currently serving his twelve-year sentence in a state penitentiary, doing hard labor in the facility library. My mother lived quietly in Pennsylvania, completely ignored by the high-society circles she had once lived to impress. Arban Hoxha’s syndicate was entirely dismantled by federal authorities.
The ghosts of the past were gone. The wreckage had cleared.
"Do you ever think about that night in Queens?" I asked softly, looking down at the emerald ring sparkling on my finger.
Dominic looked up at me, his eyes filled with infinite warmth.
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"Every day," Dominic replied softly. "I think about the night I walked into a dark room expecting to find a tragic debt... and found the love of my life instead."
He leaned up and kissed my lips, sweet, warm, and lingering, as the sea breeze carried us forward into the endless blue horizon.
