Night of Destiny (Anastasia Tillman)

Since coming of age, Arthur had met countless women who approached him with ulterior motives, but Sophia was different. She was refreshingly bold and. blunt. She was so naive that offending him was something she never thought to be afraid of. At the stime, he wondered if she was just a really good actress, one who was simply employing a different method of getting close to him and seducing him thereafter.

If that were the case, he ought to have seen the cracks in her pretenses by now, but he did not. Was she just really well trained, or was she being her true self? In another villa, Mason was awake and waiting for his sister to return. She had told him that she wanted to go night sailing, but it was already well past midnight, and she had yet to return. Knowing how crazy she could get when it cto having fun, he grew exasperated and somewhat furious. She’d better not get herself into trouble, he thought grimly.

Meanwhile, over in the largest and most opulent villa, a warm glow was shining through one of the windows, Under the red covers of the luxurious bed, two figures were entangled in what could only be described as an amorous affair.

The next morning, Anastasia woke up without any prompting whatsoever. She opened her eyes and found herself in the warm embrace of the man sleeping next to her. She dared not let her gaze flicker to his shoulders, which were decorated with claw marks that served as at reminder of their heated endeavors last night.

She could not bring herself to wake her dearest husband. Hence, she quietly took in the dark hair tousled over his forehead and his young, deep-set features. A pleased smile curled on her lips as she stared at him, wanting to burn the image of his face into the back of her mind..

After watching him sleep for a while, she decided to get out of bed and put on her clothes. However, she had only just lifted a corner of the covers when a strong pair of arms pulled her backward.

“Stay in bed withfor a while longer, Mrs. Presgrave,” the man muttered, his warm breath tickling her collarbone as he nuzzled his chin into the crook of her neck. A hoarse chuckle escaped him as he added devilishly, “| was very satisfied last night.” Anastasia had been tipsy the night before, which resulted in her present groggy state, but the moment he said this, a particular memory surfaced in her headspace and made her blush.

“I like it when you take initiative, Mrs. Presgrave,” he went on to tease, opening his eyes. Basking in the sunlight that spilled through the window, they looked like two sparkling obsidian pools.

Anastasia quickly reached out to clap a hand over his mouth, then said shyly, “Okay, stop.” Elliot drawled lazily, “Shall | go over the details of what you did that | loved most?” “No thank you.” She did not want to hear about it as her face had turned positively crimson.

The day after the wedding, the guests who had to get on with the busy schedules of their lives bid their farewells and left. The weight on the flushing bride's shoulders was finally lifted by a fraction. Visibly more relaxed now, Anastasia decided that she was going to have fun today.

That afternoon, she got a call from Mason, telling her that he had to get back to work, so she bid him goodbye..

Katrina, on the other hand, had woken up in Jacob's bed. She was like a cat that ate the canary, and she was more than pleased to have him becher new prey.

Over in Villa No. 58, Arthur decided to leave as well, and that afternoon, he gave Elliot a heads up before getting off the island.

As for Sophia, she stood on the deck of the departing yacht and watched the strip. of white shore grow into a speck. She thought about how she had pinned Arthur down on the sand the last time, and the corners of her lips tipped up into a mischievous grin.

She turned around and glanced at the man whose silhouette radiated elegance, repressing the urge to laugh as she thought about how rare it must be to see him completely caught off guard like he had that night.

Among the wedding guests who left were Presgraves’ extended family, and those who stayed were the women in the family.

Lorelai, in particular, did not look like she was about to leave anytsoon.

That evening, Harriet gathered all the ladies into one dining area and set the men up in another so that dinner could be a more intimate affair. Lorelai was seated next to Anastasia, and when she saw Jared, she praised heartily, ‘Well, aren’t you just the most adorable little boy I've ever seen!” “Hello, Aunt Lorelai, Jared greeted sweetly.

“So, what do you want to be when you grow up, Jared?’ Lorelai asked, making small talk with the child.

“I wanna be as great as Daddy,” Jared answered without even thinking.

“A brilliant dream indeed.” Then, the little boy turned to look at his mother and said, “After that, I'll marry someone as beautiful as Mommy.” Anastasia sputtered at his childish humor and said, “I suppose | should be relieved.

that you've already got that part of your life all worked out.” Lorelai laughed and pointed out, “Children have such a wonderful naivety about them, don’t you think?” Having listened to all this, Harriet beamed and encouraged lovingly, “I'm looking forward to seeing you all grown up, Jared.” “By the way, Mrs. Presgrave, I've heard that you have a knack for jewelry design, and | was wondering if you could helptake a look at a few of my sketches,” Lorelai said enthusiastically as she gave Anastasia an expectant look.