Chapter 10 - The Horizon
Autumn had returned to the high cliffs of Valberg once again.
I stood on the glass balcony of our private residence overlooking the vast, quiet fjords, holding a warm cup of coffee as the morning sun painted the sky in shades of gold, rose, and amber.
Inside the cozy living room behind me, a stone fireplace crackled softly. My father was sitting in an armchair, reading a storybook to my three-month-old daughter, Catherine, who was gurgling happily in his arms.
Alexander walked out onto the balcony, wrapping his arms around my waist from behind and resting his chin gently on my shoulder.
"She has your eyes, you know," Alexander murmured, watching our daughter through the glass.
"And her grandmother's name," I smiled, leaning back against his warm chest.
My encrypted tablet sat on the balcony table beside my coffee. A brief news alert flitted across the screen:
FINAL AUCTION OF FORMER CALDWELL ASSETS COMPLETED IN NEW YORK; BROOKE CALDWELL FINDS EMPLOYMENT AT A LOCAL RETAIL STORE; GRANT CALDWELL DECLARES INDIVIDUAL BANKRUPTCY.
I glanced at the screen for two seconds, then swiped the notification away forever.
They were ghosts of a past that had no power over my life anymore. Their cruelty had tried to lock me in the dark, but it had only forced me to discover the radiant light of who I truly was.
Alexander kissed the side of my neck softly, turning me around in his arms to face him under the golden morning light.
"What are you thinking about, my Princess?" he asked gently.
I looked at my husband, at my father playing with my daughter inside, and out at the vast, peaceful sovereign land that was now my home.
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"I’m thinking," I smiled, wrapping my arms around his neck, "that when someone locks you outside in the rain... it's just the universe making sure you're outside when your helicopter lands."
Alexander laughed, a rich, joyful sound that echoed across the fjords, and pulled me into a kiss under the clear, endless sky.
