Watching her find her own happiness, while he pursued his own dreams-each on their separate paths, never interfering with one another-he realized this was the best ending either of them could hope

    for.

    His voice was gentle, carefully hiding all his tangled emotions. In this moment, he was nothing more than a quiet observer to her joy, offering his blessings in the only way he could.

    The wedding finally came to an end, and Ste managed to achieve her dream of holding both a marriage certificate and a diploma in her hands-her smile said it all.

    After graduation, everyone except Esme Godfrey chose to stay behind for the summer. When it was time for Esme to catch her flight home, she wept openly, hugging each of them in turn and making them promise they’d all get together again the following year.

    Once that chapter closed, Alessia set out with the university’s outreach team to a remote vige, where she’d spend the next semester as a

    volunteer teacher.

    Brendan Morton and the others were worried about her, but they respected her decision. They tried to pack her entire world into a single 24-inch suitcase, and before she left, they slipped a thick envelope of cash into her hand, just in case her cards didn’t work out there.

    On the day of her flight, everyone wanted to see her off, but Alessia thought a big group would draw too much attention. Instead, after a simple dinner with friends, Cole drove her to the airport.

    As they stood by the terminal, Cole looked reluctant to let go, his fingersced tightly with hers.

    “It’s only three months,” Alessia tried to reassure him, letting out a soft sigh. “I’ll be back before you know it.”

    “Three months is almost half a year,” Cole muttered, his voice tinged with

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    grievance. “And you still won’t let mee with you.”

    “There’s so much going on at Whitley Group right now, and the cell signal out there is spotty at best. If we run intomunication problems, you’ll just end up shuttling back and forth. I’ll be back soon, so just be good for me, okay?”

    She spoke to him as if he were a stubborn child, cupping his face in her hands and giving him a gentle kiss. But Cole wasn’t satisfied with just that—he pulled her close by the back of her head, and, in a burst of mischief, yfully nipped her on the lips.

    “Ow!” Alessia gasped, then mussed up his hair in retaliation.

    At that moment, they looked nothing like high-powered executives, but simply a pair of young lovers, childish and reluctant to part.

    “I’m going now,” Alessia said softly, ncing at the clock.

    “I’lle visit as soon as I wrap up my projects,” Cole promised. “If you need anything out there, just tell me I’ll have it flown to you. If you run into problems, call me. And if you get too tired, juste home. Don’t push yourself too hard.”.

    He knew that once Alessia set her mind to something, no amount of hardship would make her turn back. She was never a delicate flower locked away in a greenhouse-she had her own sky to fly in and never needed to lean on anyone else.

    It was him, in fact, who couldn’t bear the thought of being without her.

    Cole twirled a strand of Alessia’s hair around his finger, his eyes full of longing.

    “Even if there’s nothing wrong, call me anyway,” he added as she shouldered her bag.

    Alessia’s eyes crinkled with a smile, and she nodded.

    “Just be good, and wait for me.”

    This trip was her chance to teach for a semester in a rural vige-a

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    project she’d always found meaningful. She wanted to see the reality up close, maybe eveny the foundation for future work, ensuring that help would genuinely reach the children who needed it most.

    She hated to leave, but she knew Cole would ultimately ept her decision.

    As Queenie had once teased, “Sometimes I wonder if you even like Cole. Look at Ste and Justin-they’re glued together twenty-four-seven.”

    Alessia justughed. “It’s because I love him so much that I want to walk side by side with him. Love shouldn’t hold you back. It should give you the courage to chase your dreams.”

    The ne, atst, lifted off without a hitch. Left behind in the terminal, Cole watched the sky through the windows and let out a long, heavy sigh.