Chapter 19 - The Horizon of the Canvas
The penthouse was dark and blissfully quiet when we returned, the frantic noise of the auction and the flashing lights of the city far below us, reduced to a soft, glittering carpet of golden stars stretching across the Manhattan skyline.
I kicked off my heels, letting out a long, slow breath that seemed to shed the last remaining weight of the past year. My shoulders felt lighter, my mind clear and expansive.
In the nursery down the hall, Liam was sleeping peacefully, his tiny chest rising and falling in a steady, serene rhythm. I checked on him first, pressing a gentle kiss to his soft forehead before walking back out to the main studio where my drafting table sat waiting.
Arthur had left the final legal documents of the Grand Meridian acquisition on the edge of the table, alongside a bottle of rare vintage champagne and two crystal flutes.
Marcus poured the wine, handing me a glass before wrapping his arms gently around my waist from behind, resting his chin softly on my shoulder as we looked out the massive glass wall toward the horizon where the first faint streaks of dawn were beginning to paint the sky in shades of pale violet and gold.
"What’s next, Evelyn?" Marcus whispered against my hair, his breath warm and steady. "You own the building. You own the gallery. You’ve rewritten the rules of this city."
I took a slow sip of the champagne, watching the sun crest over the East River, turning the steel and glass of skyscrapers into shining pillars of light.
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"I’m just getting started," I murmured, a quiet, absolute conviction in my voice. "There are other galleries in Paris. Other museums in London. And the world is full of blank canvases waiting for someone brave enough to mark them."
Marcus chuckled softly, tightening his embrace. "God help anyone who tries to stand in your way."
