Chapter 105 Chapter 105
“Good, that means it matters. I just want the best for you, Tess,” he said, and that hit deeper than he meant it to.
“You’ll finally have your garden, a real space.”
He went quiet for half a second. “Yeah,” he said softer. “That part I’m excited about,” he said. We talked logistics. Moving days. What he wanted was brought first. Seeds, actual seeds, were on his priority list. Only my dad would move into a multi-million-dollar estate and ask about tomato spacing. When I hung up, Zaiel was standing in the doorway watching me.
“You’re smiling,” he said.
“My dad is planning crop layouts already.”
“He’ll have room; I had soil tests done yesterday,” he said, coming over to me and taking my mouth, kissing me, and I could feel his hesitation.
“You’re holding back,” I said quietly. He looked down at me. “You’re rethinking this?” I asked. He caressed my face and looked at me.
“Rethinking, yes, but not about you. I want you, Beauty its not about kids, but I don't want to hurt you. What happened with your birth control?” he asked. I let out a sigh.
“My time was due, and with everything that happened, I forgot I needed to go back to the clinic. I just...I’m scared.” He held me tighter.
“Don’t be. I’m not forcing you; I’ll never force you to do anything you don't want to do, Beauty. Just take care of yourself,” he said.
“Okay,” I said quietly.
“The movers come tomorrow. Today we do a first pass,” he said.
“First pass of what?”
“The house, and maybe christen it,” he said with a whisper, and that sent a weird little thrill through me.
The estate looked even bigger the second time. The gates opened slowly, iron and heavy, and the drive curved through trees that filtered the sunlight into broken gold. I pressed my hand to the window like a kid.
“I still can’t believe this is real,” I said.
“It is real,” he said.
“That doesn’t help.”
We pulled up in front and got out. The air smelled like leaves and earth instead of glass and traffic. Quiet felt different here—not sealed, but open. I turned slowly in a circle.
“This feels like memory space,” I said.
He watched me instead of the house. “Good.”
Inside, the doors echoed when we walked. Not empty, just waiting. Covered furniture. Sheet-draped shapes. Light stretching across old floors. I walked room to room touching things like I was introducing myself. The kitchen was warm and huge; there were windows everywhere. I could see morning coffee here. Messy counters. Real living. Then the library wing. I actually stopped in the doorway. Two floors. Shelves. Ladder rail. Tall windows. Dust floating in sunlight.
“You got your ladder,” Zaiel said from behind me. I turned and hugged him without warning. He caught me easily.
“This is my favorite room,” I said into his chest.
“I know,” he said.
“How?”
“You talked about it three times,” he said with a chuckle.
I laughed. “Shea, Andrew, and Daliah know too.”
When we walked into the master bedroom, he grabbed me and pinned me against the door, my legs wrapped around his waist. He took my mouth, kissing me. His lips on mine made me shiver, his hands tightened in my hair, and I moaned. He pulled away and looked at me.
“Let’s go. We can christen it later,” he said, setting me on the floor.
“Okay.”
We spent the rest of the hours walking around, measuring and planning out loud. His office. Guest rooms. Dad’s garden zone. Where holiday tables would go. It felt domestic in a way our apartment never did. Bigger, yes, but also more personal. Around mid-afternoon, a black SUV rolled slowly past the front gates outside the property line. I only noticed because it passed twice.
“Do you know them?” I asked.
Zaiel glanced out the window briefly. "Its just the security scouting.”
“Okay.” Of course he had. Still, something in my stomach tightened not fear exactly, just awareness. This house was beautiful and exposed.
That night, we sat on the back steps eating takeout out of paper boxes like teenagers who broke into somewhere they weren’t supposed to be.
“This is our backyard,” I said.
“Yes,” he said.
“That’s insane.” I leaned against him. “Thank you.”
He looked down at me. “For what?”
“Building a future I didn’t know I was allowed to have.” His expression shifted subtly but deeply. He kissed my temple once, firmly.
“Get used to it,” he said. The wind moved through the trees behind us. For a moment, everything felt steady. But I still couldn’t shake the feeling that we weren’t the only ones thinking about this new address.
Moving day was loud before it even started. I woke up to my phone vibrating like it was under attack. Messages stacked one over another: Shea, Michelle, Kevin, three from Daliah, one voice note from Damon that was just yelling, and Andrew sending a thumbs-up like that explained anything. I groaned and rolled over.
Zaiel was already awake, sitting on the edge of the bed, pulling on his watch. Of course he was.
“You were supposed to wake me,” I said.
He leaned over and kissed me. “You needed sleep,” he said.
“But it’s moving day. It’s a big day.”
“I’m sorry,” he said, kissing me again.
“You’re not dramatic enough about it.”
He looked at me and smiled. “Six trucks arrive in forty minutes. Is that dramatic enough?” he asked.
“Okay, that’s dramatic.” I sat up fast after that.
The apartment already looked half erased. Boxes stacked. Labels printed. Color tags. Zaiel didn’t just organize; he commanded objects into obedience. I brushed my teeth while answering messages.
Shea: I’m bringing coffee and chaos.
Michelle: I made a moving playlist.
Kevin: I stole dollies from work.
Daliah: I baked. Don’t question it.
Damon: WHY ARE WE AWAKE?
Andrew: 👍
I laughed into the sink. “This is going to be a circus,” I said. Zaiel hugged me from behind.
“Your cousins are coming,” I said, looking at him in the mirror.
“Okay so its controlled chaos.” he said making a face.
They arrived in waves. Shea came first, with her sunglasses, two coffee trays, and zero indoor voice. “Moving day!” she yelled the second the door opened.
“People live here,” I laughed.
“Not for long,” she said and walked in like she owned the place. Michelle followed with printed checklists. Real ones. Laminated, and I respected it. Kevin and Damon showed up arguing about straps and weight limits like they were about to move a tank. Daliah brought three containers of food and hugged me before she even put them down. Andrew nodded at Zaiel like they were about to conduct a heist.
The movers themselves came in right after, uniformed, efficient, and slightly stunned by how many “helpers” we had. I clapped my hands once. “Okay, nobody touch the red labels. That’s office stuff.” Kevin immediately reached toward a red label.
“Kevin.”
“I wasn’t going to,” he said, already touching it. Shea smacked his arm. Packing turned into storytelling fast.