Chapter 48 - The Secret Sanctuary
With our professional milestones secured and our foundations thriving, Owen surprised me with a private family getaway to celebrate my thirty-eighth birthday.
We flew to a secluded, private barrier island off the coast of Beaufort, South Carolina—an untouched paradise of ancient maritime forests, white sand beaches, and crystal-clear tidal creeks that Owen had acquired as a permanent family sanctuary.
The estate on the island was an architectural masterpiece: an open-concept timber and glass home perched on high dunes, surrounded by blooming sea oats and ancient live oaks draped in Spanish moss.
There were no conference calls, no media vans, and no corporate filings.
For seven glorious days, the world belonged entirely to us.
We spent mornings walking along the deserted beach, collecting sand dollars and starfish with Lucy and Thomas. In the afternoons, Owen taught Lucy how to steer our small wooden sailboat through the tidal creeks, while I sat on the sun-drenched dock, watching my son laugh as tiny hermit crabs scurried across the sand.
One evening, after the children had fallen asleep exhausted from a day of swimming, Owen and I sat by a crackling driftwood fire on the private beach, wrapped together in a heavy cashmere blanket.
The night sky was a breathtaking canopy of millions of stars, undisturbed by city lights, the Milky Way stretching across the heavens like a river of silver dust.
"Owen," I whispered, resting my head against his broad chest, listening to the soothing, rhythmic sound of the waves breaking against the sand.
"Yes, my love?" he answered, kissing the crown of my head.
"Did you ever imagine, when you received that awful email from Drew seven years ago... that we would end up here?"
Owen smiled softly, his arm tightening around me. "The second I received that email, Maren, I knew Drew Halston was a fool who had thrown away an angel. But I didn't just want to protect you from him. I wanted to spend every single day of my life proving to you that you deserved to be worshipped, respected, and loved without condition."
May you like
Tears of pure happiness stung my eyes. "You gave me the world, Owen."
"No, Maren," Owen whispered, his gray eyes shining with absolute devotion beneath the starlight. "You gave me a reason to live in it."
