No More Waiting, She Chooses Love

Chapter 862
I sat quietly, staring out the window, feeling the weight of my emotions. Ernest, sitting next to me, didn't press me for words. He
could sense I was troubled.
Once we parked, he gently wrapped his arms around me, his hand softly stroking my hair. "If something's bothering you, let it
out. Don't keep it bottled up inside."
"How can life be treated so carelessly?" I leaned against his shoulder, my voice trembling as I finally spoke. "Haley got what she
deserved!"
Haley, in her greed for wealth, had caused her husband's death. And then, she betrayed the very friends who trusted her, selling
them out for more money.
Deborah told me about a friend who was assaulted by someone Haley had arranged. She ended up taking her own life. I still
hadn't found the courage to break the news to Deborah.
"She'll get her comeuppance. Evil never escapes justice," Ernest murmured reassuringly into my ear.

But what difference does it make?
The lost lives can never be reclaimed.
Like my parents. Even though those who wronged them have faced justice, they remain forever beneath the ground.
Ernest didn't take me home after we left the prison. Instead, we found ourselves boarding a cruise ship.
I looked at him, confused. "Why are we here?"
"To go fishing!"
I was about to protest, to say I wasn't in the mood, but then I saw the spark in his
eyes and stopped myself. I couldn't let my bad mood spoil his intentions.
"Where did you get a cruise ship?" I asked, changing my protest into curiosity.
"I rented it."

.nět
I let out a small laugh. "Mr. Collins, you're not the heir of the Collins family anymore. Renting a ship like
this would take you three months of
hard work."

I was teasing him, of course. Even though he'd left the Collins family, he still had his own enterprises.
"Well, luckily, I have a billionaire wife to support me," he quipped, making his freeloading sound perfectly reasonable.
I couldn't help but recall a video I'd
seen recently about a man who lived off his wife's earnings, refusing to work a then blamed her when people talked about it.
"Don't go overboard, though," I smiled. Although I'd grown up in comfort, I was never one for excess. It was something my
parents instilled in me, a legacy of Herschel and Jacqueline.
"Got it, Mrs. Collins. I promise to be better. But since we're here, let's enjoy this cruise, okay?" Ernest said, suddenly sweeping
me into his arms.
"What are you doing?" I gasped, clinging to his neck.
"Testing my strength. Seeing if I can still carry you," he replied as he carried me up the steps onto the ship.
I understood his implication; I was carrying more than just emotional weight now.
"Am I getting heavy?" It's a question no woman can resist asking.
"Maybe a little!" His teasing had me playfully punching his shoulder. "Put me down."
"Why?" He grinned, his eyes bright with a carefree joy that seemed to chase away the clouds.
I found myself lost in his smile. "Ernest, you look so good when you smile."
He carried me up to the deck and set me on the railing. I clung to him, a little scared. "I'm afraid."
He wrapped his arms around my waist, holding me steady. "As long as I'm here, you don't have to be afraid, Licia."

With that, he leaned in, and I tilted my head to meet him, our lips finding solace in each other.