Chapter 544

Chapter 544

An overseas airport.

Zoey stood at the gate, looking at the old man before her — white-haired, wearing a loose linen shirt that had seen better days.

"Come back with me," she said.

He smiled and shook his head. "Zoey, I've lived my whole life on my own terms. What would I go back for? So you can keep me in a gilded cage?"

Zoey said nothing.

He reached out and ruffled her hair, the way he used to when she was small. "But remember this — if you ever hit a rough patch, you come find me."

She looked up at him.

Those eyes still held the same easy, devil-may-care smile she'd always known. But she knew what lived underneath it.

"I won't hit any rough patches," she said.

He raised an eyebrow. "Oh? That confident, are we?"

Zoey glanced beside her at Alexander.

He was in the middle of saying something to Oliver, but the moment he felt her eyes on him, he turned. Their gazes met. His held a quiet question.

Zoey looked back at the old man.

"Because I found someone who'll protect me."

The old man went still for just a beat.

He studied Zoey's composed, unreadable face — and then he laughed, the kind of laugh that creased the corners of his eyes all the way.

"Alright. Alright." He gave her shoulder a pat. "That kid seems decent enough. I suppose he's just barely worthy of you."

Alexander walked over in time to catch that, the tips of his ears going faintly red.

He stood straight and met the old man's eyes, his voice steady and deliberate. "You have my word. I'll spend the rest of my life taking care of her."

The old man held his gaze for a moment, then nodded. "I believe you."

The boarding announcement came over the intercom.

Zoey took one last look at the old man, then turned and walked toward the gate.

Alexander's hand settled at the small of her back as he fell into step beside her.

The old man stood where he was, watching until their figures disappeared into the jetway. He let out a slow, quiet breath.

"Lily, your daughter found herself a good man."

He smiled to himself, turned, and walked away — his silhouette gradually swallowed by the crowd.

---

Sovereign City International Airport.

The moment the plane touched down, Zoey pressed her face toward the window and saw them — a line of sleek black cars parked in perfect formation on the tarmac.

And standing at the front of them all: Finn.

She hadn't expected that. Finn, coming in person.

She turned to Alexander. He was looking down at his phone, a faint curve at the corner of his mouth.

"You knew?"

He pocketed his phone and draped an arm over her shoulder. "Let's go."

They had barely stepped out of the jetway when Finn came forward to meet them.

He moved with the brisk, sure-footed energy of a man who had never really aged where it counted. The moment he saw them, a look of deep, quiet satisfaction crossed his face.

"Welcome back."

Zoey nodded. "Grandpa, why did you come yourself?"

Finn didn't answer. Instead, he reached into his breast pocket and produced a small, elegant box of dark wood, which he held out to Alexander.

Alexander looked at it. Something shifted in his expression.

He took it. Opened it.

Inside lay a single key — matte black, exquisitely made, engraved with the Garcia family crest.

Finn's voice was aged but carried weight. "From this day forward, the keys to the Garcia family are officially yours."

Alexander raised his eyes to meet his grandfather's.

"Grandpa..."

"None of that." Finn waved him off. "I'm old. It's time I rested. The Garcia family is in your hands now — yours and Zoey's."

Alexander closed his fingers around the key and gave a single, measured nod.

"I won't let you down."

Zoey stood at his side, watching, and felt something stir quietly in her chest.

This family — the one that had once felt so far out of reach — was hers now.

"Zoey!"

A bright voice cut through the moment.

She turned to find Tamsin bounding toward her, throwing both arms around hers.

"You two are finally back!"

Zoey looked at her, a small smile pulling at her lips. "Miss me?"

"Obviously!" Tamsin's eyes sparkled. She leaned in close, dropping her voice to a conspiratorial whisper. "But actually — Zoey, when are you and Alexander going to give me a little one to spoil?"

Zoey blinked.

A baby.

She had never really let herself think about that before. She'd been a daughter. She'd been a wife. But a mother?

Something fluttered loose inside her — warm and a little unsteady all at once.

Happy? Maybe a little.

Scared? A little of that too.

Alexander came up behind her and slipped an arm around her waist. He ducked his head close to her ear, his voice low and unhurried. "Don't let Tamsin put ideas in your head. If you want one, we'll talk about it. If you don't, it's just the two of us — forever. Your call. Always."

Zoey looked up at him.

Just like that, the fluttering settled.

She gave a small nod.

Alexander smiled. Then he cut a glance toward Tamsin, one brow lifting. "If you love kids so much, why don't you have one? Go ahead and marry Daniel already — give Zoey and me someone to spoil."

The color that flooded Tamsin's face was immediate.

"Alexander!"

From a few steps away, a tall man strolled over and pulled Tamsin into his side with an easy familiarity.

"Alexander's got a point." Daniel looked down at her, his expression unguarded, almost boyish in its warmth. "Tamsin — when are we doing this?"

Tamsin buried her face against his chest and refused to look up.

Zoey watched them, and her smile deepened without her meaning it to.

---

One month later.

Tamsin and Daniel's wedding stopped the entertainment industry in its tracks.

A newly crowned Best Actress marrying the most sought-after talent manager in the business — the press couldn't get enough of it. The ceremony was covered across every major outlet and live-streamed around the world.

Tamsin came down the aisle in ivory silk, and she looked like something out of a fairy tale.

Daniel stood at the altar and watched her walk toward him with an expression that made even the most cynical guest in the room go soft.

Zoey sat in the front rows, watching — and felt her stomach turn over.

She pressed her lips together and pushed it down.

After the reception, she slipped away and took a pregnancy test. The result stopped her cold. Not quite trusting it, she drove to her doctor's office the next morning and had it confirmed.

When the results were in her hands, she stood there for a long moment, just staring at the paper.

Pregnant.

---

She came home to find Alexander in his study, working through a stack of files.

She set the paper down in front of him without a word.

He glanced down at it.

And then he went completely still.

"This... is this..."

"Yeah."

Alexander shot to his feet so fast his chair scraped back and nearly toppled.

He looked at Zoey. Then at the paper. Then back at Zoey. His expression cycled through about four emotions in two seconds.

"You're — you're pregnant?!"

She nodded.

He pulled her into his arms and spun her once, twice — then set her down immediately and gripped her shoulders, scanning her face. "Are you okay? Do you need to sit down? Are you hungry? What do you want to eat? Tell me what you need—"

Zoey looked at him — this man who could run a billion-dollar empire without blinking — and laughed.

"Why are you so nervous?"

He stopped. Blinked. And then laughed too, a little helplessly.

"I don't know," he admitted. He took her hand, and his voice came down to something quieter. "I'm just... really happy."

Zoey looked at him.

"Me too."

---

After that, Alexander became a man permanently on the edge of a panic attack.

Two steps across the room — he tensed.

A single sneeze — he tensed.

One extra bite at dinner — he tensed.

One bite fewer — he tensed even more.

Zoey didn't know whether to laugh or be exasperated. Eventually she gave up trying to talk him down and just let him be.

---

Nine months later.

Outside the delivery room, Alexander paced. The tension radiating off him would have been alarming if anyone in the waiting area didn't already know him. He'd closed nine-figure deals without breaking a sweat — and yet here he was, unable to stand still.

Finn and Tamsin were both there. Neither one of them could get through to him.

Then the door opened.

A nurse stepped out, smiling. "Congratulations — a boy and a girl. Mom and babies are all doing perfectly."

Alexander was through the door before she finished the sentence.

Zoey was propped up against the pillows, her face pale but her eyes clear. The two babies lay bundled beside her, tiny faces scrunched, already fast asleep.

She looked at him. "Are you crying?"

He reached up and found that yes, his face was wet.

He crossed to her and took her hand, and when he spoke, his voice was rough at the edges. "No more. I mean it. Never again."

Zoey looked at him, eyes full.

"Okay."

---

Five years later.

In the garden of the Garcia Villa, two small figures tore across the lawn in opposite directions.

"Ryan, slow down!"

"You can't catch me!"

Zoey sat on the porch, watching them, and took a quiet sip of water.

Alexander came up behind her and settled in beside her, his arm finding its familiar place around her shoulders.

"What are you looking at?"

"Those two little menaces."

He laughed and pressed a kiss to her temple.

The afternoon light poured over them, unhurried and warm.

Out on the lawn, Anna finally ran out of steam. She turned back toward the porch and hollered, hands cupped around her mouth: "Daddy! Mommy! Who's faster — me or Ryan?!"

Alexander and Zoey exchanged a look.

Together: "Both of you."

In the distance, the sun eased below the horizon, spreading a wide, tender blush of orange across the sky.

The children chased each other through the golden grass, their laughter ringing out sharp and clear.

On the porch, Alexander and Zoey leaned into each other, and watched.

This was their home.

And this was the life they would cherish for the rest of their days.

(End)