Chapter 7 - The Sunrise We Claimed
Six months later, the sun was just beginning to crest over the frozen expanse of Lake Michigan, painting the Chicago skyline in brilliant shades of amber, gold, and rose.
I stood on the wraparound balcony of our new home—a sprawling, light-filled penthouse overlooking Lincoln Park, far away from the cramped one-bedroom apartment where I had spent years crying into my cold coffee after long night shifts.
Inside the master suite, I could hear the muffled, joyous giggles of six-year-old Lily as she chased a golden retriever puppy around the hardwood floors while her new dad—my real husband, because we had actually gone down to City Hall three weeks later to make it official—tried and failed to braid her hair into a proper ponytail.
My mother had eventually stopped gasping when she realized that her oldest daughter hadn't just married into wealth, but had married a man who looked at me as if I hung the stars in the sky.
And Tyler?
Well, Tyler’s construction supply contract with Fierro Enterprises had quietly, legally, and permanently evaporated three days after the wedding gala. Last I heard, he and Vanessa had moved to a smaller townhouse in the suburbs, struggling to keep up appearances while drowning in the very financial stress he used to mock me for.
The heavy glass door of the balcony slid open.
A pair of strong, familiar arms wrapped around my waist from behind, pulling me back against a warm, solid chest. A chin rested comfortably on my shoulder, and a warm breath brushed against my neck.
"What are you thinking about, standing out here in the cold without a jacket?" Giovanni murmured, pulling me a little closer against the morning chill.
"I was thinking about the Mesa Doze," I whispered, leaning back into his embrace and resting my hands over his. "And how close I came to walking out of that hotel without ever looking back."
Giovanni pressed a gentle, lingering kiss to the side of my neck.
"If you had walked out," he whispered against my skin, "I would have spent the rest of my life tearing this city apart until I found you again."
I turned around in his arms, wrapping my arms around his neck, looking up into those familiar amber eyes that had completely upended my universe.
"Good thing you didn't have to," I smiled.
May you like
Down below us, the city of Chicago woke up to a new day—vibrant, endless, and entirely alive. The ghosts of my past were gone, the struggles of survival had turned into a foundation of strength, and for the first time in my life, I wasn't just surviving the night.
I had claimed the entire sunrise.
