Chapter 106
Chapter 106
Three months later
The conferences, the excess in meetings, they didn't stop happening. Which was part of being a CEO, and she
knew that better than anyone else at Ross Corporation did, apart from the man himself. But this military contract
was draining
It felt like she was in a long-distance marriage, more often than not the last few months. She kept busy where
she could, and she was grateful for the responsibilities that cwith being muid of honor to Aaron and Maine.
But she wasn't happy. She didn't feel. Seuled.
She knew Kylan didn't want to leave her so often, but during her three and a half years as his assistant, she had
never known him to go on this many trips so close together. And she would know, since she booked each one of
his trips during that time.
He had been gone for another week, and she was tired. Tired of video chatting, tired of texting tired of hearing
his voice through a phone instead of in the sroom as her
Aaron and Maine were getting married in three days, and their joint bachelor party was set to be that night.
Kylan would be meeting her there after his flight landed, and she pretended that didn't sour her already dwindled
mood.
She dressed herself in her favorite pair of jeans and a comfortable sweater and a light jacket. It was mid-
October, and it was rainy. Which was fitting for how she was feeling
But the night wasn't about her, and she was determined to shower her friends with the love and attention they
deserved. It wasn't their fault she was grumpy about her husband never bring hanymore.
She drove to the bar they picked out, her windshield wipers working double tto combat the rain that
continued to fall. She hoped Kylan's flight hadn't been delayed or canceled again. The private jet she normally
thought was a gross display of money, didn't sound so outrageous anymore.
It took her a while to find parking, but once she finally did, she ran to the entrance of the bar, slipping inside and
shaking off the water that drenched her hair and clothes.
She could hear her friends before she could see them. Aaron's booming laugh, Maine's softer chuckle, Harry's
loud
d voice and Max's careful one. All of them were seated around a table that was already filled with drinks, both
empty and full, and she found herself smiling at them while she walked over to join them
"Katrina The maid of honor has arrived, gentlemen" Aaron was clearly drunk, and she laughed when he pulled
her into a hug. of cheap beer and peanuts, and she loved it. She really loved it, really loved him.
His breath smelled
anyone
coming!" She shook out of his arms and took off her jacket, draping it over her arm whale they all shifted to
make room for her at
the table.
"Just your husband." Jean slurred and she smiled, checking the ton her phone.
"He should be here soon." She accepted the fresh bottle of beer Harry pushed her way and took a sip, wincing as
the bitter liquid traveled down her throat.
The next hour passed quickly, and she had another beer, along with a shot or two. She allowed herself to let
loose, to have fun while she waited for Kylan to arrive
When he finally did, when she saw him enter the bar, she was ecstatic.
He was wearing a white button down, his black suit jacket open, his belt looped and done atop his slacks that
hugged his hips sinfully. He looked like a dream. Her dream. Her favorite one.
Her head was pleasantly fuzzy, and she hugged him tightly as soon as Maine moved so he could sit next to her.
She pressed a wet kiss to his check and smiled at him. "Kylan, my Kylan. You're finally here," she sighed,
pressing her face into his neck, smelling his Kylan smell. Maybe if she could learn how to bottle the unique stent,
she wouldn't miss him so much when he was gone.
Kylan allowed her to hang all over him, and she was grateful. "Letget you swater, Katrina," he said
quietly, kissing the top of her head.
f you take a shot, maybe," she bargained with him.
"One shot. | have a feeling I'll be driving us htonight, Kylan replied, wrapping an arm around her shoulder to
pull her into his side.
Kylan indeed only had one shot, and she had way too many. She didn't care, though. Tonight, was special.
Tonight, was about her friends and their love.
So shel
laughed with them, she reminisced with them, and she celebrated them.
Well into the night, Harry and Max were both chanting for her to give a speech, and though she was more than
buzzed, she couldn't refuse. So, she held up her next boule of beer, and she cleared her throat
"Aaron and Maine, you're my best friends. You have been for years. I'm so happy you're getting married. Even if
you rook so long being engaged. I'm so happy you found solace in each other. | know you'll be great together,
that you'll live a life filled with the right kind of love." She grinned at them, licking the dryness from her lips. "And
the best part? The best part is that neither of you are a CEO, which means you won't be going on stupidly long
trips, and you won't have a long-distance marriage ever. Because that sucks, and it's lonely, and it's tiring. And
your bed is too big, and you make too much food and have too many leftovers." Tears prickled at the corners of
her eyes and she brushed them away, spilling sof her beer in the process.
Aaron and Maine were frowning at her, or at least she thought they were. She couldn't really tell, given that that
they weren't exactly staying still in
her line of vision.
"That's my cue to step in. C'mon, Karina Let's go talk." Rylan's voice registered on her right, and she turned her
head to protest
He didn't give her a choice, though. He practically carried her from the booth, his warm hand gripping hers so
tightly that she could do nothing
bus follow.
He was nearly walking too fast, and she was struggling to keep up. Then, he opened a door and pulled her inside
a room. She heard a lock click and she took in her surroundings, realizing she was in a single stall bathroom. It
was surprisingly clean, as far as bar bathrooms went.
She wanted when her eyes fell on her husband, who rested against the locked door, his arms folded, his eyebrow
cocked, and his lips drawn into
thin line
Uh oh. He was mad at her.
Follow on NovᴇlEnglish.nᴇtWhat had she said wrong?
"Kylan. I-" She attempted to explain herself, but he held up hand to stop her
"I'm sorry, Katrina" Well, she wasn't expecting that.
She blinked a few times, trying to make sense of why he would apologize to her, when she was undoubtedly the
one who embarrassed him at the table.
"You're right. Everything you said is right. Should you have saved it for another, more appropriate tand
venue! Without a doubt. You've had far too much to drink, but I can't quite fault you there, either. I've been gone
an ungodly amount, and | apologize." Kylan sounded so nice, so sweet. so soft. It made her want to
to cry.
And shit, she was crying. She could feel the tears falling down her face, pausing on her chin before sprinkling to
the ground. "I just... | miss you. Kylan. | miss you so much. | can function fine without you. | can get my work
done, | can have fun, | can make memories without you being withall the time. But you've just been gone so
much, and | miss you." Her words weren't as slurred as she thought they would be, and it felt good to be this
honest.
Kylan pushed off from the door, crossing the small room in only one or two strides, and then he cradled her face
in his warm hands, lifting her chin so she was forced to make eye contact with him.
"I'm sorry." He kissed the tip of her nose. "I'm sorry" He kissed her left cheek. "Tm sorry." He kissed her right
cheek. "I'm sorry." He kissed her forehead. "I love you." He kissed her lips, long and slow, languid, and careful.
She whimpered into his mouth, wrapping her arms around his middle, gripping the back of his shirt in her hands.
And then she kissed him back, again and again. She opened her mouth to him, twirling, exploring, brushing her
tongue against his. It felt so good. so right, kissing him. Being with him. Enjoying him.
She didn't want to stop; she didn't want him to stop.
-0-0-0-
perfection. Nestled in the quiet Adirondack Mountains, where only nature and peace surrounded
Aaron and Maine's wedding was nothing short of p them, it was everything and more,
A picturesque ceremony that she helped organized; much the sway the couple had for her. They spoke their
vows, promises, and she cried right along with thent.
their quiet and sacred
And when they kissed, when they sealed their eternuties as one, she caught her husband's eye and she beamed
at ham
They made those spromises to each other, and she knew that, and he knew that, and it was okay. All of it
was okay,
The reception was tasteful, fairy lights flickered around a white, draping canopy, and music echoed along the
makeshift dance floor that rested atop the grassy forest beneath it.
She danced with Aaron and Maine, her dress sashaying around her while she laughed. She managed to convince
Kylan to join her for a song or two, and when he wasn't dancing, he was watching, the kind of smile on his face
that was reserved only for her.
It didn't matter how many more conferences he would have, or how many more nights she would be forced to
spend away from him. None of it martered. Because he was it for her, because he made her happy, and she
made him happy- Chapter 106
They celebrated the night away beneath the October skyline, the smell of a fast approaching winter adding to
her happiness, her joy.
She waved her best friends off on their honeymoon after several teary-eyed hugs and kisses, and then she took
Kylan's hand in hers, and she returned htogether, happy and grateful.
-0-0-0-
"Can |
| take
you to Maine?" Kylan's voice broke through the nihi
the otherwise ulence that lingered in
that lingered in their bedroom.
Hands twined together while her fingertips toyed with his, her head pressed to his chest, she shifted to look at
him.
"To visit my dad?" she asked him, moving her leg to wrap around his a little more.
Kylan hummed in reply. "We can visit your father in Portland, yes. But | wanted to take you to Camden, if that's
alright"
She sat up to look at him, eyes raking over his naked chest before she settled on his face, "Camden is beautiful.
When would you like to go?" she asked him, yawning and rubbing the last remnants of sleep from her eyes.
"Tomorrow" Kylan said with finality.
She gawked at him, her hands falling to her lap.
"I have work tomorrow. Kylan. I've already taken a few days off for the wedding, | can't possibly He was smiling
at her, and she stopped talking.
"It's all been arranged. Just say yes"
yes." He sat up, shrugging his shoulders like what he was suggesting was no big deal.
She couldn't help but laugh at him. "Kylan Ross, you're a confusing man," she lamented, shifting to straddle his
hips.
His hands rested on her sides, his thumbs stroking the skin there. "Say yes," he repeated, entirely unbothered.
Katrina rolled her eyes, leaning down to kiss him. "Yeah, okay. Let's go to Camden," she agreed, kissing him
again
His arm
arms encircled her waist and he flipped her around so he was hovering over her, peppering kisses all over her
face while she squealed,
"Good, because | already reserved the private jet," he mused, effectively silencing her with his lips when she
began to protest
-0-0-0-
He didn't truly reserve a private jet, but he did book first class seats. She glared at him when he allowed her to
have the window seat, but he handed her a bag of sour cherries, and it was impossible for her to be annoyed
with him when he was being so thoughtful Her flight anxiety was something that would never be gone, but
Kylan's hand and his presence still helped immensely and when they touched down, she fell okay.
They spent the first three days of their vacation with her father, reminiscing with him about her childhood like he
always enjoyed doing, and Belding questions about their first year of marriage.
Her father seemed happy, really happy. Each tshe visited him, he had more lines on his face, more grey in
his hair, but it never seemed to bother him. If anything, it reminded her that he was living, when she wasn't
there. He was finding things that filled his life with joy, which was more important to her than she knew how to
express
He missed her, she knew how much he did. But her life was in New York, Ross Corporation was in New York, and
by marrying Kylan, she would always be in New York
He understood this, and she enjoyed watching Kylan and her father get along better than they ever had. They
talked about fishing, about France. and about Kylan's mother, who would never not be special or sacred for her
to hear about
Kylan went as far as mentioning Yasmin, only once or twice. But that was also new. He was still going to therapy,
biweekly now, and he didn't often talk about his sessions with her anymore. That didn't bother her, though. She
could see the progress he had made, could hear it when he would say Yasmin's nwithout flinching or trying
to cower in on himself
On the third day in Portland, they loaded their luggage into their rental car and bid her dad farewell before
making the eighty one mile journey to Camden
Sof jazz filtered through the speakers of the SUV, her hand intertwined with Kylan's while she hummed along to
the music and watched trees and small coastal towns pass by the windows,
She didn't ask where they would be saying, she knew Kylan, or maybe even Vincent, picked the best hotels, just
like she used to
She smiled, remembering her days as Kylan's assistant with a somber but comforting reverence intended only
for her.
She dozed on and off for the last half of the drive, her hand staying in Kylan's all the while.
When she felt the SUV jerk into park and the hum of the engine quiet, she blinked her eyes open, grateful for a
cloudy day, Chapter 100
"We're here!" she half imimbird, still coming back to reality.
kylan didn't answer, and she turned to look at him. He was already staring at her, but she were taken aback by
how. Intense he was. He took hold of ber other hand and she waited for him to speak. It was clear a lot was on
his mind, and she rubbed the backs of his palms with her thumbs, fully
awake and aware now.
"I love you, Katrina" he began and she smiled at him encouragingly. It was still difficult for Rylan to talk about the
depths of his heart, or his feelings, at times. But she was patient with him. She would always be patient with
him.
"Ross Corporation is important to me, and it always will be. But you're the most important thing to me. You're
everything to me, and | am privileged to be her husband. I'll never understand-no. I'm not doing that." He let go
of one of her hands to run his fingers through his hair, and she remained silent, watching him carefully
He returned his gare to hers, a quiet
determination in his eyes bringing the
flecks of blue that swirled amongst
: 1
the grey to life. "Il know pretcpiag
months haye\peer EY for you.
\ .
Thee been just as awful for me, |
3 f a
promise you that Anel | haven't Shit, |
f 9
haven't been fully honest with you
f f
and | don't know how Fuck, | don't
n
know how to tell you why." He
sounded desperate, pleading almost,
and she tried not to assthe
worst. She really tried. The content is
on novelenglish.net! Read the latest
chapter there!
Kylan bicked his lips and noticeably inhaled a breath. "I'm going to remain the CEO of Ross Corp, but I've decided
to extend a promotion to Vincent. | don't know what the title of las position will be, exactly. He isn't an owner of
the company, that still resides with Ryan and myself, but be will be taking over sof my tasks for me
Now she was confused. What was he
saying? Vincent.. Delegating sof
his tasks as CEO of Ross
Corporation? Rows Corp, which was
everything to him. Ross Corp, which
was the reason iy Ere gohelas
7 Sdn 8
often agheiadla ely. Wasn't it the
reason! She likely looked as confused
as she felt, because he shook his
up . 9
head at her. "I'm about to be thirty-six
' fl : :
years old. I'm.. I'm tired of worrying
about trivial things that hold no
q . '
weight over my happiness. I'm
fortunate, | recognize that, to be able
to step away from my company a
little bit and hand a few of the reigns
1
to someone I've grown to trust
q " o
immensely" Kylan was nervous, it
echoed in his words, in how sweaty
Follow on Novᴇl-Onlinᴇ.cᴏmhis hands becin hers. The
content is on novelenglish.net! Read
the latest chapter there!
"Kylan. What are you saying, exactly!" Her heart was thundering, her mind jumping to a million different ways
this conversation might pan out.
"Live withhere, Katrina In Camden. An hour and a half from your father. Live within the house behind
you. The house that I've- Shit. Eve been having remodeled for the last four months" The words spilled out of
Kylan, poured from his lips like he had been waiting to say them for a long time
She heard herself gasp, her mouth falling open in both shock and continued confusion.
I" : :
Maine is your home, not New York.
' : . q
You're happiest near the sex, just like.
Just like my mother was. Just like |
1 : PE
am," Kylan conned at atlawing
2 Cm 9 0
id evestasiiay it m his "Live with
Bs N . . 1
€ in Maine, make this your home. I'll
have to travel to New York once a
|
month, and I'll need to work from
f q
hsdays, but I've made it so
that | can. Well shit. | can live with
you. Really be with you, if you. If you
I" :
want to" The content is on
novelenglish.net! Read the latest
chapter there!
Her mind was slowly working to connect the dots, but she couldn't believe what she was hearing. "The
conferences... Were you going to conferences
all she asked him slowly
Kylan laughed a bit nervously, shaking his head. "I went to maybe two conferences. Every other time, | was here.
Getting the house ready, bossing The workers around, making sure they weren't Peking anything up. Testing how
Vincent did going to meetings in my stead." He admitted, running a hand down his face.
She nodded a few times, trying to take in all in. "You want this? To live within Maine! To step back from Ross
Corporation in such a big way?" She wanted to believe him, but it felt like a dream. A good dream, one that
couldn't possibly be her reality,
ked at her lik
like she was insane, and maybe she was: "I want nothing more. He said with conviction, not a hint of a lie in his
voice, in his
Kylan looked at
words
you. A house! Really? A house! For me? For us?" Excitement began to bloom within her, to twine around her
heart.
Ser for herself, Katrina, he suggested, nudging his head in the direction behind her.
Star wanted to look, to fully immerse in this. This complete insanity. But "What about my job?" she asked the
question she couldn't believe had
Jeft her mand
"You can work from home. I've already Well, there's an office for you inside the house. I've coordinated with Anna
and Max. It's all. It's all set, it you want it. If you want this." Kylan Ross, a billionaire by the the was thirty,
was nervous. Nervous that his wife, who adored everything about him, every quirk, every fault, and every subtle
tender moment, wouldn't want a quieter a more simple lite with ham
He really was an idiol sometimes
Please showour home. Mr. Ross" She grinned at him, and it was like the sun lat bed his eyes. He melted with
obvious relief in front of her, and she only grinned wider.
"As you wish, Mrs. Ross" He opened his door and walked to her side of the SUV to open her door for her.
And then he led her up a long, wanding driveway with trees and green shrubbery lining either side. It was
private, secluded, located just outside Camden's city limits. Red cobblestone underfoot, rain softly falling, Kylan
spent the walk pointing things out to her about the property. Their property.
3:17 PM
Chapter 106
Her breath caught in her throat when she at last rounded the final curve of the driveway and a large, way too
large, all white Victorian house cinto view. It was gorgeous, straight out of a storybook with a wraparound
porch and a few steps leading to a carefully stained, oak front door
She stopped where she was, her eyes fixed on the house, the house that was hers. It w against the backdrop of
her favorite landscape.
It was her dream home. It was perfection personified
"Kylan, | don't. | don't deserve this. It's too much." She was crying, tears staining her cheeks, mixing with the
gently falling rain.
"You deserve this and more, Katrina. | want to give you the world, if you'll allowthe honor. For someone who
struggled with their feelings as much as her husband did, he knew what to say and when to say it, sometimes.
She wrapped her arms around him, hugging him to her, crying into his shoulder, her cheeks aching with how
broadly her lips were turned up.
love you. Kylan." A promised whisper into the safety of his body.
"I love you, Katrina" A shared promise, his hands rubbing along her back gently. "Do you want to see inside?" he
asked tentatively, moving to pull a set of keys from his jacket pocket.
She laughed, wiping a few tears away from her face, though it was useless with the rain. "Yeah, okay. But |
honestly don't care what it looks like. It's perfect. It's perfect because you're here." She grabbed hold of his face,
and she kissed him fiercely, firmly, with every bit of love she could conjure.
He kissed her, and then he took her hand, and they walked the final steps to their house.
Their house in Maine, near the sea, where they both felt closest to his mother.