Page 113 of Beautiful Ugly

This time, I was going to do it right. There were no doubts, no darkness—just a man I intended to wake up with for the rest of my life.

We had kept all the best parts of our relationship alive, the memories of the fun times, and shelved the darker ones.

“You fancy going out on the bikes this afternoon? Blow off some steam,” Reed suddenly asked. I grinned at him. After winning that motorcycle at the Save the Bay Charity Gala, Reed was teaching me to ride. We now went out on our bikes most weekends when the weather was good. I loved the sense of freedom it gave me, hitting the open road with my man by my side.

“Absolutely,” I replied.

Our world had finally settled into a rhythm that didn't feel like some crappy soap opera. I could be myself again. We were both living in my family home, but our weekends were now spent viewing properties near Newport, hunting for a place that would finally beours.

Reed’s contract with the Rhode Island Patriots was now official, and his aggression on the field was under control. No more headlines about locker room fights with the other players. Reed had become the heartbeat of the team, and I’d become the woman who finally understood what being in a real, happy relationship felt like.

The toxic weight of the past was gone. Jasper and Theo had gone back to Connecticut, silenced by a gag clause and the shame of their own deceit. Daddy could have destroyed them—nailed them to the wall—but he’d chosen mercy and forgiveness over drama and punishment. Dominic Summers had paid a generous sum of money to buy out Theo’s side of the business, ensuring they could do no further damage to its future.

Giving Jasper his wedding ring back had felt like strolling out of a jail cell after a life sentence.

As far as our family and friends, everyone’s lives seemed to be so much more on track.

Ma Sawyer was planning a Christmas wedding with her partner. Hudson and Molly were finally buying their own place, and in recent news, I found out I was going to be an aunt. Harper was pregnant, and she and Phoenix couldn’t have been happier.

As for me, my work as a sports psychologist felt more vital than ever. I was spending more time with Alex, Nix’s half-brother, helping him iron out the creases of a troubled childhood. I had also started teaching psychology at the college where Hudson worked as a Coach.

After everything that happened with the arrangement with the Remmingtons, my mother and father had become closer. Phoenix and I had relinquished our shares in Remmington Summers Consultancy, and Daddy had sold them as a bundle to one of the most respected board members, giving him more time to commit to his wife and other pursuits. Daddy now spent most of his time on the golf course with Reed and Phoenix or with his wife on vacation. To keep the coffers up, he occasionally undertook freelance work with his old company.

Everything was going in the right direction.

My hand tightened slightly on Reed’s knee. The four years we had been apart had been ugly, fraught, and painful, but something beautiful had grown from the wreckage. Reed and I decided not to dwell on those lost years anymore; instead, we used them as the foundation for the future we were building.

They say you don’t know what you’ve got until you’ve lost it. Well, I didn’t take a single breath for granted anymore.

And as for that future I mentioned. I couldn’t wait to see what the hell that looked like.

THE END