Chapter 10 - A New EmpireThe tiny baby quieted almost instantly as he was laid against his mother’s chest, his tiny fingers curling into fists against the fabric of her hospital gown.
Celeste looked down at him, completely spellbound, overwhelmed by a love so fierce it hurt.
Then, she felt a heavy, warm weight settle beside her on the edge of the bed. She turned her head.
Rhett was sitting right there, leaning close, his gaze fixed not just on the newborn, but on her with a tenderness that defied every single thing the world thought they knew about him.
“He has your eyes,” Rhett whispered, his voice trembling slightly as he reached out and gently stroked the baby’s downy dark hair before sliding his hand over Celeste’s.
“He has your stubborn chin,” Celeste replied softly, a watery smile gracing her lips.
The door to the private suite slowly creaked open. This time, it wasn't Julian Vance or a corporate lawyer. It was Nurse Holiday, wheeling in a small cart holding a bottle of champagne and three crystal flutes, followed quietly by Celeste’s mother, Elaine, who had been flown in privately by Rhett’s security team hours earlier.
Elaine gasped, pressing her hands to her mouth as she saw her daughter and the newborn baby safely cradled by the most powerful man in America, who was looking at them like they were his entire universe.
“Mom,” Celeste whispered, her voice breaking.
Elaine rushed to the bedside, burying her face in her daughter’s shoulder as happy tears flowed freely.
Rhett stood up, walking over to the small cart. He picked up two of the crystal flutes, handing one to Elaine, and keeping the other. He turned back to the bed, looking down at the woman who had completely dismantled his walls and rebuilt his soul.
He cleared his throat, addressing the room, but his eyes never left Celeste.
“The board can vote me out tomorrow,” Rhett said clearly, a slow, breathtaking smile spreading across his face. “Blackwood Horizon can crash to the ground. Because today, I realized something far more valuable than any tech empire.”
He walked back to the bedside, dropping down onto one knee once again—not with a contract, not with demands, but with an open heart.
“Celeste Hart,” Rhett said, his deep voice ringing out with absolute certainty over the sound of the dying storm outside. “I never wanted a marriage. I never wanted a love story. But you rewrote every rule I ever lived by. Will you do me the absolute honor of letting me spend the rest of my life proving that I love you?”
Celeste looked down at her son sleeping peacefully in her arms, then up at the billionaire who had burned his own empire to the ground just to choose her.
May you like
“Only if you promise never to buy kale again,” she whispered, laughing through her tears.
Rhett’s rich, genuine laughter filled the room, drowning out the last whispers of the winter storm outside as the sun finally began to break through the Manhattan clouds, heralding the dawn of a brand-new world.
