Total pages in book: 97
Estimated words: 96046 (not accurate)
Estimated Reading Time in minutes: 480(@200wpm)___ 384(@250wpm)___ 320(@300wpm)
Estimated words: 96046 (not accurate)
Estimated Reading Time in minutes: 480(@200wpm)___ 384(@250wpm)___ 320(@300wpm)
EPILOGUE
* * *
Primrose
Two Years Later
Dorian had his arm around me as we strolled through the mansion.
My throat felt tight with emotion. “I can’t believe this is the last time we’ll ever see the inside of this place.”
We’d come out to Orion Coast for the weekend, and tonight was our last night. The new owners had bought the house furnished and would be moving in next week.
“It’s time. Don’t you think?” Dorian said. “Our life is in Ohio now. As much as I wanted to hold on to this place, it deserves new blood that can appreciate it and give it the care it deserves.”
“I agree. It just makes me sad for you to have to say goodbye to it.”
He stopped walking. “Why? I’m happier than I’ve ever been back home with you.”
“It’s weird to hear you describe Ohio as home.”
“Well, it is my home now. Home is where you and Rosie are. For the first time in my life, I actually feel settled. I never felt settled here, as much as the nostalgia sometimes gets to me.”
“Speaking of settled, is everything all set with Benjamin?”
“Yup. He’s on board to move to Ohio.” Dorian smiled. “I also have a bit of a surprise for you.”
“What?”
“I’ve been waiting to tell you... I know you’ve been worried about Patsy being out of a job with the sale of the mansion. Well, the new owners are taking her on as their housekeeper.”
My mouth dropped open. “No way.”
“Yep. They asked if I could recommend someone, so it was the perfect solution.”
“You’re right. That is the best surprise. I’d been feeling so guilty.”
Dorian led me out back to the patio.
“What are we going to do for our last night in the mansion?” I asked.
“Well, I was thinking we could watch a movie in the theater for old times’ sake. Maybe I could burn some dinner, too, or we could get takeout.”
“I’ll choose the latter, thanks.”
“Okay.” He rubbed my back. “I miss Rosie.”
“Already?”
“Yeah,” he said. “I wish we would’ve brought her. Casey said it was okay. Not sure why you nixed the idea.”
“Because it’s only a weekend. And I wanted to fully focus on giving this place a proper goodbye.”
“You’re right.” Dorian pouted. “But she’d love the pool.”
“Well, we’re gonna put one in our new place, right?”
Dorian and I were finally moving out of the house I’d shared with Casey to a new home we planned to make our own. I couldn’t have been more excited for the year ahead.
Later that evening, when we went down to watch a movie in the theater, I was met with the most unexpected sight. Sure, it was the theater I’d remembered. But hanging on the walls, replacing the old movie posters, were each and every one of the monkey portraits I’d painted back when I was in college.
“Oh my God.” I covered my mouth. “What’s happening? Where did you get these?”
Dorian beamed proudly. “I bought them.”
“But how? They were all over. Different owners. How did you find them all?”
“I contacted the school and gave them a hefty donation to track down the owners for me. Then I made each one an offer they couldn’t refuse.”
“But why?”
He smiled as if the answer was obvious. “I wanted them for myself. They’re special to me because they remind me of the night we met and the magic of that time in our lives.”
I shook my head incredulously. “How long have you had them?”
“I started the search back when I was in Greece and slowly began accumulating them.”
I’d never hit it big as an artist, but that particular monkey exhibit had done really well, each painting selling for a decent amount. Back then, the school had split the profits with the artist when a piece was sold. I was sure, though, that Dorian had paid way more than the original prices. “This had to have cost a fortune.”
He shrugged.
Of course. Sometimes I forgot who I was talking to. That’s how normalized Dorian had become in the past couple of years. It was easy to forget he was still a multi-millionaire—though not the billionaire he used to be. He’d donated a lot of his father’s fortune to charity after he gave up his stake in Vanderbilt Technologies. But he was still certainly wealthy enough to purchase all of these paintings and then some without feeling a dent.
Dorian took my hand. “For so long, I thought these would be the only pieces of you I’d have left. They brought me joy and made me feel close to you. They’re my prized possessions.” He grinned. “And you know, I’m anal about having complete collections of things. I tucked them away in storage until I had them all and could figure out the perfect space for them.”
“Wow.” I started to cry. “Looking at them all in one room makes me miss how I used to feel when creating them.”