The waves kissed the shore with a gentle hush, a rhythm as ancient as time itself. The private island Liam had flown them to was paradise untouched , white sands, sapphire water, and silence broken only by the soft rustle of palms overhead,.
Grace stood at the edge of the infinity pool, one hand resting on her barely-there bump. The silk wrap around her swayed in the breeze, sunlight catching the gold in her hair and the unmistakable glow of a woman deeply in love… and thoroughly at peace.
"You're staring again," she said, not turning.
Behind her, Liam leaned against the doorframe of their villa, shirtless, tanned, and impossibly content "I married the most brilliant woman alive and now she's carrying our child. Damn right I'm staring"
She turned slowly, smiling at him
"Still arrogant, I see"
"Only about you"
He came to her, wrapping his arms around her from behind, hands splaying over her stomach with reverent gentleness. It was a side of Liam the world never saw , the man who whispered to her belly every night, the man who brought her coconut water like it was holy, the man who'd stopped the world just to hear the heartbeat of their child.
"You were made for this" he murmured into her neck.
She leaned into him, her fingers lacing with his "I was made for us, for building things that last"
And they had.
The city project they'd co-founded had just won an international award for sustainable innovation. Her firm had gone global. His company had transformed from tech empire to philanthropic powerhouse. And through it all , they'd stayed each other's center.
Liam kissed her shoulder, then her jaw. "Tell me again what you're thinking."
She chuckled "That our board might implode without us"
"They'll survive"
"And that you still owe me a rematch in chess"
"Careful, you're married to a man who plays to win"
She turned in his arms, playful fire in her eyes. "So am I."
He laughed, low and deep, before scooping her into his arms. "Come back to bed, Mrs.Vale."
"Trying to distract me?"
"Absolutely."
He carried her across the villa, setting her gently onto the bed surrounded by sheer white curtains billowing in the ocean breeze. There, wrapped in sun-warmed sheets, their love was a quiet, endless vow.
Later, as dusk painted the sky in pink and firelight glowed across their skin, Grace curled into his side, their hands resting over the life they'd created.
"I didn't think it could ever be this good," she whispered.
Liam kissed her forehead, his voice rough with truth. "It's only the beginning."
And so it was,the governor's daughter,the billionaire rebel,the empire they built,the family they'd become and forever wasn't a fairytale.
It was theirs.