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I need to figure out the next steps to start the business I’ve been dreaming of. He needs to find a nanny for Brooke and manage the fallout with his family.
And yet, even with all the uncertainty, I know one thing for sure: I’m not alone anymore.
Chapter 53
JETT
We knew going public would be a storm, but I wasn’t prepared for just how relentless it would be.
The media frenzy starts the moment the first photo of Cari and me leaks. We’re splashed across gossip sites, headlines screaming about my “scandalous new romance,” speculating on everything from her background to her intentions.
Two weeks after that fateful Knight family dinner, I feel like our lives are under so much scrutiny.
I don’t care, but I need to make sure Cari is okay with this craziness. It will die down, in time, but for now, whenever we step out together, I keep her hand firmly in mine, meeting every camera flash and whispered judgment head on.
“You don’t have to do this,” she tells me one night as we leave a restaurant, a wall of photographers waiting outside. “We can deny everything to the press. Just for peace of mind.”
“I pull her closer. “I’m not hiding you, Cari. Not ever.”
She looked up at me, her eyes filled with a mix of gratitude and fear. “What about your family?”
She's always been worried about my family, and I hope my act of defiance, in standing up to my father, proved to her that he's not a factor in my decision making.
“My brothers are cool about it. My father is … he has other plans, shall we say. He hasn’t cut me out at work. It’s still very much business as usual.”
“What about the heiress?”
“I’m not sure,” I chuckle. The boys and I have been waiting for our father to say more about it, but he hasn’t.
Dex joked and said that for ten million dollars he'd marry her. I can't tell if he's still joking or if he means it. He likes his women athletic and strong, like him. He told me when I asked him about it once. I think the heiress would be too fragile, too dainty, and too beautiful for him.
Still, he's a grown up. I'm certain that the only reason he's even entertaining the idea—with Dex, I can't be sure—is because of the immense pleasure he'd get out of making our father think he's going along with the deal, only to back out at the last moment. That's the only scenario in which I see Dex agreeing to marry that woman. He would never do something just because our father wanted him to.
CARI
I did it.
I walk out of the bank, the sunlight spilling over me like a blessing, feeling confident and brimming with happiness. I’ve managed to secure my business loan and even though Jett wanted to give me the money to start my little flower shop, I wanted to do this for myself. The moment feels monumental, like I’m finally standing on my own two feet. Like the universe has seen me and answered my prayers after the darkest time of my life. It’s given me a man I love, a man who loves me, and a new direction in life.
I needed to prove that I’m more than just his assistant, more than someone orbiting his billionaire world. And I’ve found the perfect place.
In a quirky café on the Lower East Side, not far from Jett’s office, I’ll be starting with a pop-up shop. Close enough that we could meet for lunch sometimes, though I doubt we’ll have the time. He’s always swamped, and soon, I will be too. And that thought thrills me.
The café is run by an eccentric woman in her sixties. She’s been running it forever; it’s her family’s legacy. The place is called The Living Room and the moment I walked in, I fell in love with it.
It was like stepping into another world. The place is filled with bookshelves where people can sit and read, with a curated collection of novels and memoirs lining the walls. Add to that the smell of freshly brewed coffee in the air, and you have pure magic.
It’s warm, inviting, and brimming with character—everything I want my shop to embody.
It quickly became my favorite place to meet Jett.
When I spoke to the owner, we clicked immediately. I told her about my dream of opening a flower shop, and her face lit up. Her eyes lit up as if she’d been waiting for someone to say those words. “There’s a big space at the back,” she said. “I’ve been meaning to do something with it.”
That’s when the dream was born. The Living Room is perfect for me. The name even feels symbolic, like I’m starting to truly live my own life.
I’ve done a local course in floristry as well as a few online courses to get certification. I now have hands-on experience in design and flower arrangements. The rest, I’ll have to learn on the job. Now, with the loan approved, I’m finally ready to begin. I’m so excited. I’ve got savings from my job, the small business loan, and additional funding from a Women in Business Initiative. Aunt Scarlett also offered me a no-strings-attached loan. At first, I didn’t want to take it—I wanted to prove I could do this on my own. But Bianca and Eliana convinced me not to hold back. They told me I should go all in, and they’re right. This loan gives me the freedom to build my dream without cutting corners.
The best part? I’ve done it without Jett’s help. I need to prove to myself that I don’t need him for his money. I’m in this relationship on my own terms, standing on my own two feet.