Page 181 of Cara

Countless rattan palms are lining the overgrown trail that Xavier leads me down. In the early morning, yellow-beaked hornbills are perching on branches beside a destined mate they will cherish for life. The deeper we venture, the greener it becomes, transforming into a dense rainforest. Trees flank our path, their branches reaching high above us.

“Careful,” Xavier says, grabbing my waist to steady me down a steep slope.

“I hear water.”

“Just wait.”

Just a few more steps, and the ground levels out. It’s then that Xavier gently parts a mass of twisting vines, allowing me to step onto the sand before him.

My mouth drops.

I’ve never seen so many colors. Orange. Yellow. Pink. Deep blue. The horizon stretches across everything it can reach. Thesea. The green mountain ranges. The old fishing boats floating miles away from shore.

In this secluded cove, pebbles and gleaming shells line the seashore, reflecting all that is unspoiled around us.

Butthat sky… I finally grasp why Xavier pulled me out of bed for this. It’s nothing short of a sanctuary.

The beach stretches for miles—there isn’t a single soul in sight. I doubt anyone even knows it’s here.

“Xavier…”

Xavier wraps me in his embrace and presses my hand to his lips, bestowing a gentle kiss on my wedding ring. “Sharing life with you this far has been a gift. Every moment of it, Sophie.” He leans into my touch. “You save me… every damn day.”

As I turn to face him, Xavier’s fingers slip into my hair, each tender kiss on my temple building a smile on my face. He holds me close, shielding me from the chaos of the outside world while the waves dance at our feet in soothing swirls of foam.

My heart tightens.

Tears sting my eyes as I recall countless memories, never quite able to forget the trials we faced to reach this moment.

I see Xavier sitting by the window of his restaurant, trying to convince me that he was someone I could trust.

Kissing me in the middle of a hotel room while we fought like the crazed lovers we would soon become, failing to maintain the distance he knew would keep us both safe. I see us in a rose garden beneath a full moon… Moving into our first apartment… On a mountain, professing our love for one another as our world tilted off its axis at the precipice of change.

Like our lives, the memories go dark.

The images keep flooding in until I’m overwhelmed by the consequences of simply dreaming. Those moments linger, reminding me we’ve faced more trials than triumphs.

Through every obstacle, Xavier kept me alive.

When I couldn’t breathe on my own, he breathed for me.

In the depths of his suffering, he found a way. Healwaysfound a way. It was his hands that wrenched me from hell, that forced me onto a plane, that hurled me into a harbor.

Since we were children, he’s been right there… waiting to save me.

Xavier wipes my tears so gently. “Sophie.”

I’ve experienced immeasurable sadness. I’ve been on the brink of death more than anyone should ever have to face.

Only by knowing how far I sank can I say with absolute certainty that I’m lucky to be here—that this moment wouldn’t even exist without him.

When I finally muster the courage to speak, his gaze shifts, revealing the profound impact my words have on him.

“You brought me back to life.”

My husband closes his eyes, resting his head against mine. We’re battling the memories and those who vowed we’d never find happiness.

Look at us now.