Chapter 10 - Where Flowers Bloom
Six months later, spring arrived at Ashbourne Manor.
The gray stone walls were covered in creeping green ivy, and the sprawling gardens were an explosion of color. The flowerbeds where Annie and Flora had buried the dormant bulbs were now ablaze with thousands of white, pink, and golden tulips swaying in the warm Atlantic breeze.
The French doors of the grand dining room were thrown wide open to the sunlight.
There was no tension. There was no oppressive, suffocating silence. Instead, the manor was filled with the mouthwatering aroma of roasted rosemary chicken, fresh sourdough bread, and the sound of music playing softly from the sitting room.
At the head of the table sat Kieran Ashbourne.
He looked ten years younger. The severe, sharp shadows that had haunted his jaw for years had softened into genuine warmth. He was laughing, listening to Dr. David Harris debate the finer points of gardening with Mrs. Gable, who sat at the table as an honored guest, completely recovered.
Annie walked out from the kitchen carrying a crystal bowl of fresh strawberries dusted with powdered sugar. She wore a soft, yellow sundress that caught the afternoon sunlight, her hair falling in gentle waves across her bare shoulders.
She set the bowl down before seven-year-old Flora.
Flora didn't look at Annie's cheek with fear. There were no bruises. There were no shadows. The skin of Annie’s face was smooth, flawless, and flushed with health and happiness.
Flora looked up at her, beaming. "Can I have three strawberries, Annie?"
Annie smiled, leaning down to kiss Flora’s forehead. "You can have as many as you want, sweetheart."
Kieran rose from his chair.
He didn't move with the cold, predatory intensity of the past. He moved with the quiet grace of a man who had found his harbor. He stepped beside Annie, his hand resting naturally, possessively, and tenderly on the small of her back.
"Flora," Kieran said, his dark eyes sparkling with a secret joy. "Do you have the box?"
Flora’s eyes went wide. "The box! Yes!"
The little girl scrambled down from her chair, ran to the antique sideboard, and brought back a small, velvet-lined mahogany box. She handed it to her father with both hands, practically bouncing on her heels with excitement.
Annie looked at Kieran, confused. "Kieran? What is this?"
Kieran turned to face her.
In front of Dr. Harris, Mrs. Gable, Vance standing by the terrace doors, and his daughter, the most powerful maritime tycoon in the country slowly dropped to one knee.
Annie gasped, her hands flying to her mouth, tears instantly springing to her eyes.
"Annie," Kieran spoke, his deep voice rich with emotion that made the air in the dining room shimmer. "Seven months ago, this house was a tomb. I was a man who knew how to build ships, but I had forgotten how to live. You bled for my daughter. You stood between her and darkness, and you taught us both how to step into the light."
He opened the mahogany box.
Inside lay a ring of breathtaking beauty. It was not an ostentatious diamond designed for society galas. It was a custom, radiant-cut sapphire the exact color of the ocean at dawn, flanked by two delicate diamonds carved into the shape of tulip petals.
"You are the heart of this house, Annie Mercer," Kieran whispered, looking up at her with complete, unreserved devotion. "You are my peace, my home, and my greatest love. Will you do me the absolute honor of becoming my wife?"
Annie looked at Kieran, then down at Flora, who was clutching her apron strings, looking up with big, hopeful hazel eyes.
"Please say yes, Annie," Flora whispered, her little voice filled with pure joy. "I want to call you Mommy. For real."
A broken, beautiful sob broke past Annie’s lips. She dropped to her knees on the parquet floor, throwing her arms around Kieran’s neck.
"Yes," Annie wept against his neck, laughing through her tears. "Yes! A thousand times, yes!"
Kieran’s arms wrapped around her, lifting her off the floor as he stood, spinning her in the bright spring sunlight streaming through the windows. The room erupted into cheers. Dr. Harris raised his glass of champagne, Mrs. Gable clapped her hands with joy, and Vance smiled a rare, broad smile from the terrace.
Kieran slid the sapphire ring onto Annie’s finger. It fit perfectly.
He cupped her face in his large, warm hands—the very cheeks that had once borne the bruises of cruelty—and pressed his lips to hers in a deep, passionate, reverent kiss that erased the final ghost of the past.
When he pulled back, Flora threw her arms around both their legs, squeezing with all her might.
Kieran and Annie leaned down together, scooping the little girl up between them. Outside, across the rolling lawns of Ashbourne Manor, the tulips swayed in the warm breeze under an unbroken, clear blue sky.
May you like
The count had ended at ten.
But their love, forged in the darkest storm, would bloom forever.
