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“Yes you are. I’ve already canceled the reservation for the chalet.”
“Then I’ll leave the chalet, but I’m not going with you.”
Out of the corner of my eye, I see Hawk’s smile grow.
“Are you stupid, Lavender? I said we’re going. So we’re going. Get dressed properly, and go get in my car. We have a flight to catch.”
“No, Mom. I’m not going with you. I’m never going with you again.”
Her rage grows. “This isn’t a decision for you to make.”
“I am an adult in the eyes of the law. I can do whatever I please within that law. And nothing about that law demands that I have to leave with you, Mom.”
“I am your mother. You live under my roof. You benefit from my money. You will follow my orders.”
“Then take all of that and shove it up your ass. The only way I’m getting in your car is if you physically wrestle me down and force me into it, and I don’t think you have that in you, Mom.”
Her expression is intense, and a bit priceless. “You insolent little bitch. I have no daughter.”
“Then I have no mother either.”
She hesitates. She’s not used to not getting her way. Eventually, though, she relents.
She heads for the door to her car. Then drives out of my life.
I let out a huge breath. I’d just gotten up, and I’m already exhausted.
Hawk wraps his arms around me. “I’m so proud of you, Lavender.”
“I can’t believe I told her off like that. She’s been the biggest fear in my entire life. The source of most of my pain, most of my anxieties. It’s going to take a long time to believe that she’s truly gone.”
“You planted your feet. You severed her from your life. You did what you could, and whatever comes next, I will be behind you.”
Hawk drops to his knees in front of me. Something is in his hand; he must have grabbed it as he was getting up.
“I was going to wait until you officially chose Evergreen Valley, my family, and me over the life that made you so unhappy. But if your mother is going to rush up and make you choose now, then I guess I’m not going to wait either. You made me appreciate all the goodness I have in my life, Lavender. And you’ve brought so much more on top of it. I need to make sure you’re beside me for the rest of my days. Marry me, Lavender. Be my wife, and I promise to be there and build a wonderful new life with you, one that we can both truly be proud of.”
There was never any doubt. As soon as I threw off the shackles my mother tried to put on me, I knew what I was going to do.
If he didn’t ask first, I may have done it myself within the week.
“Yes, of course. I love you, Hawk. You’re the best thing to ever happen to me.”
He slips the ring on to my finger, stands up, and kisses me, sealing our commitment to one another.
I can’t change what I came from. A lot of pain, a lot of bad lessons, a lot of mistakes.
But I can change my future. That will be nothing but joy, good memories... and probably still plenty of mistakes.
That’s just part of life. I’ll laugh through all of them, with Hawk by my side.
epilogue
LAVENDER
I’d been to a lot of high-society weddings. Huge churches, hundreds of people. Everyone in tuxedos or dresses made by a French designer. A place almost more for networking rather than any sort of celebration of romance, because the marriage may well be one of convenience, where love is completely optional.
Thank God, it's not the case with Hawk and I.
