Maya
It has been an emotional day. It was my last shift at the B&B. I had to say goodbye to everyone there and the café. It wasn’t easy. They all gave me gifts, beautiful flowers, chocolates and a pretty charm bracelet. They made me promise to keep in touch. I will; they have become a massive part of me over the last few months. I have loved this place and will miss it like crazy, but I am ready for home. I am ready to get back to normal without worrying about Callum. He is still being held, thankfully.
We will be home a week before his court date. I am dreading it but ready for it because it means I will be rid of him for a long time. I am eager to get back to New York and our place. I plan to re-enrol back into college this year, too. I am determined to finish. It is time to get my life back on track. I want to get my degree, marry the love of my life, and eventually have a family. I have been to hell and back; now, all I want is my happy ending and to build a great life with Conrad.
I am packing my things. I don’t have too much. We have a flight home tomorrow in the early evening. Conrad is outside on a phone call. I have no idea who, too, probably works.
I feel the tears run down my cheeks. They are a mix of happy tears because I am going home and sad ones because I am leaving everything and everyone behind here. I quickly wipe them away. I will be fine once I am settled back in. I sigh and close my case over, sitting on the bed. It is all a little bittersweet. I will miss this little cottage, too. It has been a perfect place, warm and cosy.
I hear Conrad coming back to the bedroom.
“Hey, beautiful, are you okay?” he asks, kneeling before me.
I glanced up at him, “Yes. It has been an emotional day. I will be sad to leave, though. I am excited to get back home with you.”
He wipes my tears away, “It is okay. I understand. I also have some good news.”
“Good news? What kind of good news?”
He smiles brightly, “I am buying the cottage. I will rent it out for most of the year, but it is here for any time you want to come back.”
“What? How did you manage that? I thought they only wanted to rent?”
“No, they want to sell it now. It is ours. I need to nip into the office to go over some details, but I can sort everything else from New York. The place should be ours officially in the next month or so.”
I grin, “You are incredible, Conrad! I can’t believe you did that. Thank you.” I gush, kissing him over and over.
“I know how much you love the cottage, the Island, and the people, too. Now, we can come any time we want.”
“Amazing. I love you so much.” I coo.
“I love you too. It will be a great place to come, even for a couple of weeks in the summer. You can catch up with everyone. I know they will all miss you, too,” he says, kissing my forehead.
“You are the best.”
“Anything for you. I am going to head over now while I have time. Do you want to come?” he asks.
I shake my head, “No, you can go. I will finish up here. I still have a few things to do.”
He kisses me softly and heads out. I can’t believe we have a home here, too, now. I know he bought it for my sake. He is selfless when it comes to me. Everything he does, he is thinking of me. It makes me love him more—as long as he remembers to put himself first sometimes, too. I don’t want his every move to be for me.
I concentrate on finishing up. I don’t want to be running around at the last minute. Thankfully, we don’t need movers to transport things back to New York. We have two big cases with everything we need—the upside of disappearing and leaving everything behind.
****
Conrad and I were sitting outside, wrapped in a blanket, and enjoying some hot chocolate. It was late and dark, but we were content. The stars were shining brightly in the sky, and we could hear the waves crashing. It was perfect.
I rest my head on his shoulder, “I will miss the peace and quiet of this place, especially at night when we are back home.”
The streets of New York are always noisy.
“Me too. It will take time to adjust to the noise again.” He replies and kisses the top of my head.
We should really be heading to bed. We are up at six tomorrow because our ferry leaves at eight-thirty and it is a four-hour trip. It is already nearly two in the morning.
I sigh, “We should get some sleep, my love. We have a long day of travel ahead of us tomorrow.”
He offered to get us the company jet, but I told him no. I am fine with a normal flight, and the ferry ride is beautiful. I want to see everywhere one last time until we come back. We have no idea when that will be. We only know it will happen eventually.
“Yes, we should.”
He is sad and disappointed to be leaving, too. If it wasn’t for his family and business, he would probably be happy to stay here for good. I would, too. But he has things back home, and we also have the court case coming up. We are needed too much back in New York.
We hesitantly get to our feet and head inside. I don’t even know if I will sleep. Before heading to the bedroom, We ensure everything is organised for tomorrow morning.
“Please, don’t be sad, sweetheart.” He says softly as we climb into bed.
“I will be fine once we get home. There has just been a lot of change over the last few months. I need time to readjust again.”
He kisses me softly. “I understand. There has been a lot recently. Once we return, we can settle again and not have to worry about anything. We don’t need to be careful, hide, or go to another place.”
“I look forward to it,” I reply with a bright smile.
I snuggle into him. He kisses the top of my head, “I love you.”
“I love you too, Conrad.”
Tomorrow is another new day and a fresh start for us. We can finally live the life that we want. I am more than ready for it, and I know Conrad is, too.