Chapter 10 - FOREVER AND ALWAYSThe snow of Christmas Eve felt like a lifetime ago.
On a crisp October evening, the sprawling Victorian estate in the foothills of the Rockies was illuminated by a thousand fairy lights strung across the wraparound porch. Inside, the house smelled of roasted garlic, cinnamon, and the sweet, chaotic energy of family.
Damon stood in the expansive, sunlit kitchen, wearing a flour-dusted apron over a simple black t-shirt. He was frantically trying to stir a pot of homemade marinara sauce while simultaneously attempting to keep two four-year-olds from dismantling the pantry.
“Luke, buddy, put the bag of flour down,” Damon pleaded, holding up a wooden spoon like a shield. “Your mother will kill us both if there’s a white explosion in the kitchen again.”
“It’s a snowstorm, Papa!” Luke giggled, brandishing a handful of white powder like a weapon.
“A snowstorm is exactly what we are avoiding,” a warm, amused voice echoed from the doorway.
Cassandra walked into the kitchen, wearing a sage green sundress, her hair tied back with a silk ribbon. She looked breathtaking—radiant, grounded, and entirely at peace. She took in the flour-dusted floor, the giggling twins, and the multi-billionaire tech mogul turned domestic chef looking utterly defeated by a bag of baking supplies.
Cassandra couldn't help the laugh that bubbled up from her chest.
“Need some help, Mr. Prescott?” she asked, leaning against the doorframe with her arms crossed.
Damon looked up, relief washing over his handsome face. He dropped the wooden spoon into the sink and held his hands up in total surrender.
“Rescue me,” he groaned good-naturedly. “I can manage a global tech infrastructure and build multi-state medical networks, but two four-year-olds are officially my Waterloo.”
Cassandra stepped forward, deftly scooping Luke up and setting him on the counter with a gentle wipe of his cheek. “That’s because you try to negotiate with them like they’re board members. You have to use tactical distraction.”
She pulled a container of fresh strawberries from the fridge and handed one to each twin. Instantly, absolute silence descended upon the kitchen as Luke and Violet fell into rapturous, berry-eating concentration.
Damon watched her, his expression softening into something raw, tender, and profound.
He stepped up behind her, wrapping his strong arms around her waist and pulling her back against his chest. He buried his face in the crook of her neck, breathing in her familiar scent of lavender and vanilla.
“What are you smiling at?” Cassandra whispered, leaning back into his embrace.
“Just realizing how lucky I am,” Damon murmured against her skin.
Cassandra turned in his arms, wrapping her own arms around his neck. Her dark eyes searched his green ones, finding only truth and unshakeable devotion reflected back at her.
“You earned this, Damon,” she whispered softly. “You fought for it.”
“I fought for us,” he corrected.
He reached into his pocket—not for an encrypted phone, not for a corporate restructuring folder, but for a small, velvet jeweler’s box he had kept locked in his desk for three years.
Cassandra’s breath hitched as he flipped the lid open.
Inside sat the very same diamond engagement ring she had thrown against their apartment wall three agonizing years ago—polished, repaired, and gleaming under the warm kitchen lights.
“You kept it,” she whispered, tears instantly blurring her vision.
“I kept every memory,” Damon said, his voice thick with emotion. He slipped the ring back onto her finger where it belonged. “Cassandra Hayes... you walked out of a cramped Denver apartment and left me with nothing but ghosts. Then you walked down the aisle of an airplane on Christmas Eve and gave me a family. Will you marry me? Properly this time? No boardrooms, no corporate noise, just us.”
Cassandra laughed through her tears, throwing her arms around his neck and pulling him down into a fierce, passionate kiss.
“Yes,” she breathed against his lips. “Yes, a million times yes.”
From the counter, Luke looked up from his strawberry, chewing thoughtfully, before pointing a sticky finger at them.
“Are you guys kissing again?” Luke demanded.
May you like
Damon and Cassandra pulled apart, laughing as they looked at their son, then at each other.
“Always, partner,” Damon smiled, pulling Cassandra back against his chest as the sun dipped behind the Rocky Mountains, painting the sky in brilliant shades of gold and fire. “Always.”
