Chapter 10 - Forever Home
One year later.
The sun was setting over the snow-capped peaks of the Swiss Alps in Zurich—the very city where our journey had truly begun two years earlier.
A soft, peaceful quiet rested over our private chalet overlooking the glowing lights of the valley.
Inside the living room, a warm fire crackled in the stone fireplace, casting a cozy orange glow over the plush rugs and dark wood beams.
I sat on the soft leather sofa, wearing a comfortable white knitted sweater, sipping a warm cup of decaf tea.
A gentle, kicking movement fluttered beneath my hands resting across my rounded stomach. I was seven months pregnant with our first child—a baby girl.
The heavy wooden front door opened, and Nolan stepped into the chalet, shaking snow from his wool coat.
He had just returned from a brief afternoon meeting with the Swiss logistics division—the very acquisition that had once almost torn our lives apart, now fully integrated and thriving under our joint company, Vane & Rivers Capital.
The moment Nolan saw me sitting by the fire, his tired face transformed into a gorgeous, warm smile.
He tossed his leather briefcase onto the entry bench, kicked off his shoes, and walked straight across the room toward me.
He didn't say a word. He simply knelt beside the sofa, wrapped his arms gently around my waist, and buried his face into the side of my neck, inhaling the sweet scent of my skin.
"Missed you, partner," Nolan murmured, his voice rough and warm against my neck.
"You were gone for two hours, Mr. Rivers," I teased softly, running my fingers through his dark hair.
"Two hours too long," Nolan replied, leaning back to look up at me.
He gently placed his warm palm over my rounded stomach. Right on cue, our baby girl gave a firm, energetic kick right against his hand.
Nolan’s eyes widened with pure wonder, a breathtaking, genuine smile illuminating his entire face—the same smile that had killed three years of icy coldness on that fateful morning in Zurich.
"She's going to be just as stubborn as her mother," Nolan laughed softly, kissing my stomach gently through the sweater.
"She's going to correct your financial models by age five," I countered with a soft laugh.
Nolan stood up, sat beside me on the sofa, and pulled me securely into his arms, wrapping a warm cashmere blanket over both of us. My head rested against his broad chest, listening to the steady, strong heartbeat that was my home.
Outside the panoramic glass windows, the snow fell softly over Zurich, covering the world in a quiet, pristine blanket of white.
There were no boardrooms to fight for, no corporate sabotages to fear, and no walls left between us.
Nolan tightened his arms around me, kissing my temple gently as the firelight danced across our ring-adorned fingers linked together over our baby.
"I love you, Maya," Nolan whispered into the quiet night.
May you like
"I love you, Nolan," I replied, closing my eyes, feeling his warmth wrap around my soul.
And in that quiet, perfect moment, wrapped in his arms beneath the winter sky, I knew that no storm in the world could ever cold us again.
