Chapter Ninety-Nine: Home is You.
Chapter Ninety-Nine: Home is You.
The Calloway Agreement.
Oliver stared at the scanned document on Marcus’s tablet.
Every instinct told him to open it immediately.
Every answer he had been searching for…
…might be inside.
But instead…
He closed the screen.
Marcus blinked.
“You don’t want to read it?”
“I do.”
Oliver looked toward the prison entrance.
“But not today.”
Marcus frowned.
“We’ve been chasing this for weeks.”
“I know.”
“Then why wait?”
Oliver’s gaze drifted to the parking lot.
Where Nuella stood talking quietly with Sophia.
Because for the first time in days…
He noticed how exhausted she looked.
Dark circles beneath her eyes.
Her smile…
Forced.
His investigation had become everyone’s burden.
Especially hers.
Oliver slipped the tablet back into Marcus’s hands.
“Have the FBI authenticate every page.”
Marcus nodded.
“And you?”
Oliver smiled faintly.
“I’m taking my fiancée home.”
The drive back to Manhattan was unusually peaceful.
Sophia had fallen asleep in the SUV beside one of the FBI agents.
Marcus was buried in paperwork.
For once…
No phones rang.
No emergency meetings.
No breaking news.
Just silence.
Nuella rested her head against Oliver’s shoulder.
“I forgot what quiet sounded like.”
Oliver kissed the top of her head.
“So did I.”
She smiled.
“I missed you.”
His fingers intertwined with hers.
“I’ve been right beside you.”
“You’ve been physically beside me.”
She looked up.
“But your mind has been somewhere else.”
He couldn’t deny it.
She was right.
Every conversation.
Every meal.
Every sleepless night…
His thoughts had been consumed by Richard.
By Victor.
By lies that had begun decades before he was born.
“I don’t want to lose you to this.”
Her words were soft.
But they struck harder than any accusation.
Oliver turned toward her fully.
“You won’t.”
“You can’t promise that.”
“I can.”
She searched his eyes.
“Oliver…”
“I already lost years because of my father’s decisions.”
He gently brushed a strand of hair behind her ear.
“I’m not going to lose our future too.”
That evening…
Oliver did something no one expected.
He turned off his phone.
Marcus called twice.
Ignored.
Three board members called.
Ignored.
Even the FBI.
Ignored.
Nuella raised an eyebrow.
“The world is ending.”
“It can wait until tomorrow.”
She laughed.
“The Oliver Haywood I know would’ve answered by the second ring.”
“I’m trying something new.”
“And what’s that?”
He smiled.
“Choosing you.”
Her heart skipped.
They walked through Central Park as the sun began to set.
Without bodyguards.
Without cameras.
Just the two of them.
For the first time in weeks…
They looked like an ordinary couple.
Children chased pigeons across the pathways.
A violinist played near the fountain.
An elderly couple danced slowly to music only they seemed to hear.
Nuella watched them.
“I want that.”
Oliver followed her gaze.
“What?”
“Growing old.”
She smiled softly.
“Not just being alive.”
“I want wrinkles.”
“I want gray hair.”
“I want to argue over which movie to watch.”
“I want grandchildren who interrupt our naps.”
Oliver laughed.
“You’ve planned our retirement already?”
She nodded proudly.
“Someone has to.”
He stopped walking.
“So…”
“If we survive this madness…”
She frowned playfully.
“When we survive.”
He corrected himself.
“When we survive…”
He reached into his pocket.
Nuella looked confused.
“What are you doing?”
Oliver pulled out a small velvet box.
Her eyes widened.
“You…”
“I know I already proposed.”
He smiled sheepishly.
“But that happened in front of cameras.”
“And reporters.”
“And chaos.”
He opened the box.
Inside…
Was the same engagement ring.
“I wanted to ask you again.”
His voice trembled.
“No scandals.”
“No secrets.”
“No audience.”
“Just me.”
He slowly lowered himself onto one knee.
People walking by slowed.
Some stopped.
Oliver ignored them.
“Nuella.”
“You’ve stood beside me through lies you didn’t create.”
“You believed in me when even I questioned everything.”
“You remind me every day that love isn’t built on perfection.”
“It’s built on choosing each other.”
His eyes glistened.
“So…”
“Will you marry me?”
Nuella burst into tears.
Happy tears.
She laughed through them.
“You billionaire.”
“You really proposed twice?”
“I’ll do it a third time if necessary.”
She nodded repeatedly.
“Yes.”
“Yes.”
“Always yes.”
Oliver slipped the ring back onto her finger.
The small crowd around them erupted into applause.
Someone whistled.
An elderly woman wiped away tears.
Nuella threw her arms around Oliver.
“I love you.”
He held her tightly.
“I love you more.”
For one perfect moment…
The world disappeared.
No Victor Sloan.
No Richard Haywood.
No hidden agreements.
Just two people…
Choosing each other.
Several hundred yards away…
A man lowered his camera.
Click.
Another photograph.
Not for blackmail.
Not for the media.
He smiled as he sent the image to an encrypted number.
Oliver Haywood is distracted.
The reply came almost instantly.
Good.
Tomorrow… we take everything from him.