Chapter 16 - The Unwritten Chapter
Sunday morning broke with a brilliant, cloudless sky that painted the Atlantic Ocean in dazzling shades of turquoise and cobalt. The salt breeze carried the crisp promise of spring, rustling the young pine needles outside the bedroom window.
Evelyn woke up naturally, her eyes fluttering open to find the space beside her empty, though the faint smell of freshly brewed coffee drifted up the staircase from the kitchen below.
She stretched luxuriously beneath the heavy down comforter, wrapped a thick wool robe around her shoulders, and walked barefoot down the wooden stairs.
In the sunlit kitchen, Adrien was standing by the stove flipping pancakes on a seasoned cast-iron skillet, wearing his usual flannel shirt and looking entirely at home. On the counter beside him sat two steaming mugs of Earl Grey tea and a small vase of freshly picked wildflowers he must have gathered from the edge of the woods at dawn.
“Morning, sleepyhead,” Adrien greeted warmly without turning around, flipping a golden-brown pancake with expert precision.
Evelyn walked up behind him, wrapping her arms around his waist and resting her cheek against his back, breathing in the scent of coffee, maple, and morning air.
“You’re up early,” she murmured sleepily.
“Couldn't sleep,” Adrien admitted, turning off the burner and turning around in her embrace, his hands resting gently on her hips. “I kept looking out the window at the ocean, realizing that we have an entire lifetime ahead of us with zero agendas, zero deadlines, and zero threats.”
Evelyn smiled, her dark eyes shining with absolute contentment. “It sounds terrifyingly boring, Mr. Moretti.”
“Oh, I don't plan on letting it be boring,” Adrien grinned, leaning down to press a tender kiss to her lips. “I figured we could spend today walking along the cliffs, tomorrow fixing the loose shingle on the woodshed, and the day after that deciding whether we want to plant an apple orchard in the lower field.”
“An apple orchard?” Evelyn raised an eyebrow playfully. “That sounds like a ten-year commitment.”
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“Good,” Adrien whispered, his gaze holding hers with unbreakable devotion. “Because I plan on being right here for the next fifty.”
They stood together in the sunlit kitchen, wrapped in each other's arms, while the ocean crashed endlessly against the ancient rocks outside.
