LOGINSerenaConall and I exit the courthouse, relieved. The past six months were hell—the longest of our lives. As soon as we step outside, media flood us with flashes and questions. It's been nonstop, but now it's over. We keep our heads low, ignoring them, and make our way to the car. I lean back in the seat. “Thank goodness that's finished." The sentences for each of them weren’t what we wanted. We expected more, but at least they got something. Henry has been sentenced to six years, two for the assault, but could be out in four. His father received four years and could be out in three. Henry’s mother received nothing except house arrest for one year. It was disappointing, but it could have been worse. All of them could have received nothing. The others involved were sentenced as well. I wish it were longer. I don’t care what anyone says, they didn’t get longer sentences because of who they are. If they weren’t so powerful and rich, they would have received double that. “Now, we can
ConallI rush inside without even knocking. I am sure Eric won’t mind, since he knows I am worried about my mom. I call for her, and you can hear the panic in my voice.“Conall, I am fine. Don’t sound so worried.” She calls back.I follow the sound of her voice. I find her and Eric in his living room, sitting on the sofa, having a drink. “Mom, are you okay? What did they do? What did they say? I swear, if they said or did anything hurtful, I will kill them with my bare hands,” I hiss.She gets up from the sofa and comes over to hug me. I hug back without hesitation. “I am fine, my boy. I promise. I didn’t give them a chance to say or do much. The second I saw them gathering, I jumped in my car and came here. Eric said I can stay with him for now. Please, stop stressing. You don’t need to kill anyone. I am okay.”Sighing, I relax, knowing she is okay and doesn’t seem too worried about it all. The hug lasts longer than it should before we part.“I am sorry, Mom, that this is coming dow
SerenaAs we exit the airport and turn on our cells, we get loads of notifications. We glance at one another, confused, checking what it is, freezing when we see it.“It has finally happened,” I whisper.On the screen was breaking news that they had all been arrested and taken into custody, including Henry, his mother, his father, and some of the other people who work for them, who clearly helped them in their crimes. “I can’t believe it. Part of me thought they would find a way out of it.”“Me too, but it is official. It will be over soon enough,” I reply.“Well, not soon, because there is still a long way to go, but we are one step closer,” he replies, kissing me softly.He is correct; we still have a long journey ahead. The media will have a lot to say, and I understand we'll all be involved. Plus, there’s the court case, which may drag on for months. I can't help but sigh when I think about it. I wish there was a way to speed things up, but unfortunately, there isn't. “True. We
ConallThe past few weeks have been hectic, but we've visited some amazing states and properties. We haven’t decided yet, but we need to do so soon before someone else claims them. If someone else does, it's okay — I'll build us a new place. We were on our way to the airport to return home to New York, exhausted from travelling, but it was great to see all these places and spend some quality time just the two of us. I believe I want to own a ranch because I really love horses. I’d love to turn it into a rescue center for various animals such as cows, sheep, goats, and others. I don’t want to use any of them for food; that would be awful, but it would be a safe sanctuary for them. We could also grow fruits and vegetables, and maybe Christmas trees—though it depends on the location we select.” Serena says randomly as we sit in the back of the car, going to the airport.“You can have whatever you want, angel. Though it will be a lot of hard work. We will need to hire ranch hands to help
SerenaConall and I sit on the back porch, cuddled on the sofa beneath the starry night, listening to the waves crash. The others went to bed an hour earlier. It had been a wonderful day filled with good company, delicious food, and plenty of laughter. For just one day, it felt like all our worries and stresses disappeared. We're relaxing with a glass of wine and some snacks. “It really is stunning here, isn’t it? Peaceful, too.” I smile and glance up at him.“It really is. Could you see yourself living here permanently?” he asks, caressing my cheek.I close my eyes and respond to his touch. “No. Perhaps we could buy a summer house? Rent it out for the rest of the year? Honestly, I’d prefer to be farther from New York than we are now.” “Good point, but yes, we could buy a place for the summer," he agrees and kisses me softly.Tomorrow will be our last day here before we head to our next stop. It was nice to take a couple of extra days. It has given us time to de-stress and get to kn
ConallWe were enjoying our time in Maine. The places we have seen here and in New Hampshire have been beautiful, but we aren’t making any decisions until we have seen them all. We changed our hotel booking here to renting a beach house and decided to stay a couple of extra days, along with my mom and Eric. Serena and I changed our flights too, so we could stay longer.“We will be back soon.” I smile, kissing Serena softly.Serena and my mom are staying at the house to enjoy the sun and pool while Eric and I go out to pick up some essentials. Since the weather is so beautiful, we've decided to have a BBQ, but we don’t have any supplies. We need everything, from food and drinks to a BBQ grill, which my mom and Eric can take back with them. We are going to drive for the sake of the trunk to put everything in, rather than carrying it all back. We exit the house and hop into the car for the short drive.“Thank you for letting me join you all. I know that couldn’t have been easy for you,
ConallI am eager to finish and go to Serena’s place to see what happened today. I did offer to go with her. It was probably a good thing she said no because I had meetings outside of the office. I haven’t had the pleasure of running into Henry today, thank God. He better not have acted like an ass
SerenaI stroll into the office building, where both Conall and Henry are working today. I’ll be back here tomorrow for my meeting. Today, I am here to meet Conall. He is taking me for lunch before I drag him shopping with me. I am on the lookout for the perfect power suit and killer heels for my m
Conall “Serena, it is time to stop. Everything is done. It is late, and you need to sleep.” I sigh for about the fifth time within the last hour.I have helped her with her proposal, but she keeps changing it. She is stressing herself out. I understand she needs it to be perfect because it is part
SerenaI sneaked out of Conall’s place while he was still asleep. I didn’t want to be there when he woke up in case he started asking more questions about our conversation last night. I told him more than I should have. It isn’t the only reason, though. I have an important business meeting to prepa







