“No questions, but can all of you please give Aleah and I a couple of minutes privately.”
Everyone filters out of the room quickly, and I turn to Aleah.
“I don’t need to think about this. I know what I want, but I need to know you’re on board with it.”
“Of course. I’m okay with whichever one you choose. It’s your choice.”
“No, it’s our decision, but hear me out before you say anything. I’ve worked at both places in the last few months, and I hated working at Pierson Investments. In contrast, I loved being at the Foundation. I have so many ideas for new projects and programs and I genuinely love working with the people I met there. I know the expectation would be for me to take over the company as a family business and all that, but I don’t think I could be as effective there as the Foundation…”
I’m in the middle of my explanation, when Aleah wraps her arms around my neck and kisses me hard.
“I love you… I love you so much. And I’m so proud of you,” she tells me. “I can’t be happier with your choice. It’s perfect. It fits you well and I think it would fit perfectly in our lives. Let’s go out there and make history.”
And so we do.
EPILOGUE
Four Years Later
ALEAH
I drop my purse on the table in the foyer, as I walk in and breathe in the cool air conditioned air. It is one of those hot summer days and the heat has not been kind to me.
“Baby, I’m home,” I yell into the empty living room. When I don’t hear a response, I get worried for a second. Aiden told me he’d be home early today. I start nervously looking around, until my eyes fall on the outside patio. A huge grin automatically crosses my face, as I remember what day it is. It’s Friday and Friday means time with the boys.
One of Aiden’s favorite projects at the Foundation has been a sports facility they’ve built for foster children. The facility is a gym of sorts, but it provides much more than just a place for playing sports. They have counseling services at hand, tutoring for kids that are struggling at school, and have recently started providing career guidance. Aiden visits the center often and has taken a special liking to a few of the younger boys. On Friday nights, we open our home to a few of these boys, so they can play in the pool and have a nice meal in a safe family atmosphere.
Maria walks in from the patio then with a handful of empty juice boxes and I rush in to help her. When law school and working part time at the Foundation became too stressful last year, Aiden begged me to let him hire a housekeeper, but I was just not comfortable with the idea. We don’t have a huge mansion. It’s a comfortable size four bedroom house, and I felt like I should be able to take care of my household without help. But that was until Aiden surprised me with Maria last spring. I was mad at him at first, as I felt like he blackmailed me. He hired the only person I couldn’t say no to, but I’ve been beyond grateful ever since. She started right before my finals and was a huge help when I almost lost my mind while studying for the bar exam.
I passed the bar and started officially working as an attorney at the Foundation a few months ago. Aiden surprised me for my twenty-fifth birthday by taking me to a brand new facility the Foundation had built for victims of domestic violence. It’s a three-story building that can house over fifty people at a time, complete with a computer room, counseling facilities, and twenty-four hour security guards. It provides a safe comfortable shelter for women in need and it is the best birthday gift I could have ever received. I have been working at the facility ever since, providing legal assistance to the women that come through. Although the job is stressful and heart wrenching at times, I couldn’t have asked for a better career. There is nothing better for me than seeing the smile on some of these women’s faces, when I can get them a protective order or better yet custody of their children.
As I look at Aiden through the glass, my heart fills with so much love and joy at the life he’s built for me, that I can’t help but get teary eyed. I open the door and walk outside, calling out to them.
“Hey, boys, I’m home.”
Aiden immediately jumps out of the water to rush towards me. He locks eyes with me, as he starts walking towards me with a tenderness in his eyes that simply takes my breath away. He leans towards my lips when he reaches me, but right before closing the distance, he bends down to place a most affectionate kiss on my enormous belly. He wraps his arms around me then, finally giving me the kiss I’ve been waiting for all day.
“Hey. How come your princess gets the first kiss?” I pout teasingly, in between butterfly kisses.
“Because babies have less patience and because I always save the best for last.”
There is nothing I can say to that. I savor his touch and his smell as much as possible, being mindful of the kids around us, before I pull back.
“Do you want to come in for a swim?” Aiden asks me.
“Na, I don’t want to scar these little boys by showing them my huge belly.”
“You’re the most gorgeous thing to ever cross this earth and you know it. And the belly’s making you look more breathtaking by the day.”
I can’t help smiling at his compliment, but I know he’s just being kind. Being eight months pregnant, I look swollen all over and far from beautiful, but I feel incredible knowing that I’m growing a baby Aiden and I made inside my body.
“The heat is a little too much for me here. I’ll go back inside so I can cool down,” I tell Aiden. He nods his head and sends me off with another sweet kiss. I walk back inside and take a seat on a couch overlooking the patio so I can watch them. I look at the little boys whose lives has been so unfairly and irrevocably shattered at such young age and can’t help remembering the helplessly broken girl that stood at the edge of hopelessness that day and contemplated taking her own life.
Seeing how far I’ve come from that day is a staunch reminder for me of the resiliency of the human heart. I lift my head up and say a silent thank you to David for saving me that day, and leading me to the man who glued the broken pieces of my heart back together, one piece at a time. I turn my head back to take an appreciative glance at what has become the center of my life. I look at the way he is playing with the boys and how they are laughing in the water, and can’t help feeling grateful for his love. I have no doubt that even though it was my relentless hope that helped me get through the darkest days, it was the redeeming power of love that healed my deepest wounds.
THE END
I have to start this off with thanking my loving husband who is my biggest supporter and the reason I have been able to take on this amazing journey. Thank you for always encouraging me, for patiently listening, and for putting up with all the crazy hours I spent on this book.
To all my friends and family who have supported me every step of the way, thank you for your words of encouragement and for being such staunch supporters.
To the my wonderful PA and right hand, Lourdes Torres, thank you for helping me stay sane and on schedule and for all the assistance you have provided me in the last few months.
To my amazing street team, Cassiy’s Chicks, you ladies rock my world. Your support and encouragement means the world to me, and the amount of time and energy you spend promoting my books blows my mind. I cannot thank each and every one of you enough.
To my beta readers, Lee Ching, Bobbi Vaughan, Eva Pool, Heather Dzeima, Bette Hanson and Lee’Anne Hardin, thank you for taking the time to read this book, to patiently provide guidance, and for all your encouraging words.
To my editor, Anna Gorman Coy, thank you for going above and beyond in helping me edit this book. Thank you for being so flexible and so thorough and thank you for the quick turnaround.
To my cover design team, thank you to the insanely talented Mandy Hollis for capturing such an amazing picture, and thank you to the person who brought it all together, the amazing Kari Ayasha.
To all of the friends I have made in this short period of time in the book world, thank you for
being so loving, kind, supportive and all around amazing. In a few short months I have been writing as an author, I have made friends with some of the most amazing women I have ever met, and I couldn’t be more thankful.
To all the bloggers who have helped me along the way, thank you for everything you have done for me.. You may be too many to list here, but you are not forgotten in my mind and my heart.
To all my readers, thank you for giving me the honor and opportunity to occupy a corner of your mind for a few hours out of your precious life. It is an honor I do not take lightly. My highest aspiration is to provide you a story that not only allows you to get lost in the pages of the book to escape life, but also inspires you and warms your heart. My deepest hope is that the Resilient Hearts series achieved that purpose for you. If it did, please consider leaving a review and please keep reading!
Ashley Cassidy is an avid reader with a lifelong passion for writing, who has decided to share her love of writing with the world. Though she reads all genres, her favorite books are romance novels with happy endings.
When she’s not reading or writing, Ashley can be found spending time with her family, enjoying the outdoors, and sipping on a cup of coffee.
Redeeming Love (Resilient Hearts #2) Page 26
