They returned alone, quiet now, the house bathed in moonlight. Charlotte stepped inside first, kicked off her heels, and turned to find Alex closing the door behind them. He didn’t say a word—just crossed the room and kissed her.
Slow. Unhurried. Certain.
She smiled against his lips. “So… fiancé?”
He grinned. “Has a nice ring to it.”
She looked down at the diamond, then up into his eyes. “Everything after this,” she said, “is ours.”
Alex wrapped his arms around her, holding her like the world had finally stopped spinning.
And in that old house, once filled with grief, now echoing with new beginnings?—
they started their next chapter. Together.
The End
