b302 /bbThe /bCliffside Promise

    bMara /b

    +8 Points

    Darian and Tiffany’s wedding was nothing short of breathtaking. What had been nned as a modest, intimate gathering transformed into something grand under Martha’s direction. She spared ino /iexpense, and though extravagance wasn’t what the couple had envisioned, the result was beautiful, wless in every detail. Friends, family, and well–wishers filled the hall, their joy spilling into every corner.

    I had never seen Darian so radiant. He and Tiffany glowed, not just with love, but with the hard–won happiness they had fought for together. Watching them, I felt an unexpected swell of gratitude. Life had not been kind, but somehow, in its twisted way, it had led each of us to where we belonged. iIndeed/i, iwe /iwere with the people the stars had always meant for us, and for that, I was thankful.

    A weekter, the memory of their wedding still lingered, but I woke up feeling sluggish, my body unwilling to move, my spirit craving stillness. The idea of paperwork or meetings made me sink deeper into the pillows.

    “Let’s spend the day on the cliff,” Lucian said, his voice low and warm, the kind of tone that always seemed to

    undo me.

    I turned my head, smiling at him. He didn’t have to exin, the thought alone felt like a blessing. A break. A stolen day, just for us.

    I’d love thati, /iI linked back, and the way his face lit up made my chest ache with tenderness.

    “Perfect,” he said, his grin wide. “Your mother’sing over to watch the children while we’re gone.”

    It felt like a gift dropped straight into myp. A chance to be only Mara and Lucian again, not leaders, not parents, not guardians of duty, but lovers.

    Of course, Martha and Vander were impossible to ignore in those days. Their endless affection filled the

    house like music,ughter and kisses echoing through the halls. Vander was making up for lost time, and

    though it was sweet, it was also relentless. There were times I longed for our offices to be moved into a

    separate wing, far from their yful whispers. But that part of the house had be theirs, and I had no

    heart to change it.

    After breakfast, as Lucian and I made our way back to our bedroom to prepare, we stumbled across Aunty

    Lydia in the corridor.

    “You missed breakfast, Aunty,” Lucian remarked lightly.

    She avoided his gaze, and that’s when I saw it, a faint mark on her neck, fresh and unmistakable. Her hand flew up to cover it, but not quickly enough. My lips twitched.

    Before Lucian could probe further, I cut in smoothly, “Aunty Lydia can join breakfast whenever she pleases.”

    Relief softened her face, and she gave me a grateful smile. As we passed, I slipped her a cheeky link: iI /ihope

    he’s hot.

    Herughter followed us down the hall, light and bubbling, and I couldn’t help but grin. After all the shadows she had lived under, it was wonderful, no, it was healing, to see her daring to step into joy again.

    The mansion, once a hollow monument to grief, had blossomed into something entirely different. Where silence had once pressed against the walls,ughter now filled the rooms. The halls echoed with footsteps

    302 The Cliffside Promise

    +3 Points b /b

    that did not hurry, voices that did not tremble, and the warmth of a family that had found its way back to one

    another.

    Breakfasts had be sacred. Once avoided, now they were the thread that tied ius /itogether, a ritual that no one wanted to miss. We gathered not just to eat but to share stories, to tease andugh, to lean into thefort of belonging. Vander’s tales of the past, often peppered with wit and unexpected wisdom, had be our favorite part. From them, I learned to believe that, yes, our time was better than what had been

    before. We were whole in ways that history had never allowed.

    It was at breakfast that Lucian leaned toward me, his voice pitched low so only I could hear.

    “Father and Martha are leaving for Mistwood,” he said.

    A small pang tightened my chest. I would miss Vander’s spark at the table, his joy that seemed to set the tone for all of us. And Martha, I would miss herughter, herpanionship, the mischief we shared both within these walls and in the fight clubs we adored. But they deserved this peace, this chance to live freely and love openly, after everything they had endured.

    And so did we.

    Later that morning, Lucian and I set out for the cliffs. Even before we reached the edge, I felt the anticipation humming through me. The air smelled of salt and earth, clean and bracing, and my heart lifted with every step. The cliffs had always been my sanctuary, but since Lucian purchased thend and made it ours, they had be something greater, a ce untouched by politics, by expectation, by war. A piece of forever carved out just for us.

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