"You're going to do amazing things, Aria," Angel says warmly. "I justknow it."
"Thanks, I really hope so." I take a deep breath as I look out at the sunset painting the ocean in dazzling hues of orange and pink. "It already feels like my dreams are starting to come true."
"Well, I think this calls for a toast, don't you?" Devon raises her glass with a playful smile.
Angel and I lift our drinks. "Absolutely!"
"To finding family on our terms," Devon proclaims, "and choosing relationships that help make us into better people."
"To embracing the beauty in ourselves and in each other," Angel adds softly.
"To new beginnings," I finish, feeling a swell of gratitude.
Our glasses clink together musically. As we sip our drinks, a sense of contentment washes over me. Here, surrounded by the hush of the waves and the company of new friends who truly understand me, I feel at peace.
We chat lightly as the sunset fades to twilight and the first stars emerge in the dusky sky. A warm breeze rustles the palm fronds overhead. In this perfect moment, the past seems far away.
All I can think about is the bright future unfolding before me, full of joy and possibility. And two new friends
Chapter thirty-seven
The moon hangs low over the darkened sea, its reflection rippling in the gentle waves. I sit alone at the bar, nursing the remnants of my cocktail, the bittersweet taste lingering on my tongue.
Aria and Devon already headed out after finishing their drinks, but I needed a moment to think. To process Aria's story about her string of toxic relationships. How men had bruised her heart again and again before she wised up.
I know that pain all too well.
Haven't we all been there? Haven't we all let the wrong people into our lives, into our beds, into our hearts? Believing their pretty words and ignoring the red flags waving wildly right before our eyes?
I stare out at the endless ocean, remembering my own parade of losers and users over the years. The manipulators. The liars. The ones who treated me likean object. A means to an end. And of course, my stalker. The one who groomed me, and built me up over and over, only to cruelly tear me down. Who made me do awful things that made me almost not recognize myself. The man who very nearly destroyed me, and in some ways did.
Back then, I thought that was just how things were. How men were. I didn't know any better.
But now...now I've seen the light. Experienced real respect, real care, real love. It took four very special men to open my eyes to that, to show me I deserved more. Deserved better. I'll always treasure them for that gift.
Devon clearly went through the same learning curve with the Snakes, who hold her up with a reverence like she’s their queen… but who are also willing to put her in her place when she’s being a sassy brat.
And Aria—so strong, so wise now after weathering her own storms. I admire that strength, that wisdom, even if it came with battle scars.
Maybe that's the key. Learning from our mistakes. Using them to grow. To become the people we were meant to be all along.
I breathe in the briny air, feeling at peace. The past can't hurt me anymore. I have my true friends now. Four incredible men who love me and who would burn the world down or hand me my own matches and a tank of fuel. And the future's still unwritten.
The waves continue their endless dance as I sit alone at the bar, lost in thought. Aria's words keep playing through my mind, her stories of heartbreak and betrayal resonating deep within me.
I let my mind wander back to when Devon and I first met and started to form a friendship.
We came from such different worlds. But we were kindred spirits in a way, even though we didn't know it at the time. Both searching for something more beyond the cards life had dealt us. Both somehow ending up here, on these islands, as if they called to us to pull us out of the partial lives we’d been living.
I remember joking with her about what it would be like to live the lives we were brought up to think we should want. Devon always imagined a little house with a wraparound porch. "Somewhere quiet," she'd said with a wistful look in her eye, "with a big yard where I could plant a garden and host tea parties where we all wore flowery dresses and big sunhats."
Me, I’d envisioned something more fanciful—the picture perfect life you'd see on TV. "A handsome husband with a boring day job…maybe an actuary or something like that. Two kids, a dog, a designer cat... a position on the PTA, a minivan, a picket fence…" I'd trail off, giggling.
I take another sip, sighing as I watch the waves. Those dreams most certainly faded with time, as I realized it was my lot to take a different road, but the bondbetween me and Devon never will. She's family now. And I know she'll always be by my side.
I swirl the little umbrella around my drink, lost in thought. On social media, everyone seems so happy—perfect families, dream vacations, success after success. But how much of it is real? How much is just a carefully curated façade?
I think about my own life experiences. The highs and lows, the adventures and misadventures. It hasn't been perfect, but it's been mine. Authentic.