He smiles. “Okay. Then I want you to come.”
We sit in comfortable silence as the sun dips below the horizon, painting the lake in familiar and glorious shades of pink and gold. This lake, this place, this life.
“Seth?”
“Yes?”
“I'm really glad you collapsed in that board meeting three months ago.”
He snorts. “That's a weird thing to be glad about.”
I shove his arm. “I don’t mean it like that. But if you hadn't, you wouldn't have come here, and we wouldn’t have met, andyou’d probably be dead in a few years, and I would have missed out on loving you.”
“Well, when you put it that way...” He turns serious. “I'm glad too. Scariest thing that ever happened to me, and the best thing. Because it brought me to you.”
I kiss him as the last light fades from the sky, and I think about everything that had to go wrong for this to go right.
Sometimes the best things in life come from the worst moments and you have to almost lose everything to realize what really matters.
And sometimes love means making the hard choice, even when-especially when- it's terrifying.
And I can't wait to see what we build together.
CHAPTER NINETEEN
SETH
Two weeks later, Jennifer sits beside me in Dr. Rahman's office, her fingers entwined with mine and our shoulders touching, as we wait while the doctor reviews everything. He’s looking over my chart, the data from my health app, and the hospital records from both my initial collapse and the recent setback that had me in the hospital for a few days.
“Your blood pressure is excellent,” he says finally, looking up over his reading glasses. “119 over 73 this morning. Resting heart rate of 68. Sleep averaging seven and a half hours per night.” He looks at Jennifer. “Whatever you're doing, keep doing it.”
I smile and squeeze her hand, opening my mouth to thank him when Jennifer speaks up.
“It's not just me, Dr. Rahman. Seth has made incredible changes.” She turns to look at me, pride shining in her eyes. “He resigned as CEO of his company and is doing a six-month transition to hand everything over to his COO. He’s started therapy. He bought a resort property, we're partners in it, and he's building a completely different life.” Her smile is radiant. “A life with me.”
Dr. Rahman's eyebrows shoot up. He sets down the tablet and leans back in his chair, studying me with new interest. “Is this true?”
“Yes, sir. All of it.”
“Tell me about that.”
I explain the transition plan, the therapy I'm starting, the resort partnership, and the boundaries I've set. He listens without interrupting, nodding occasionally.
“Mr. Donovan, when you first collapsed three months ago, I told you that you needed to make fundamental changes or you would die. I've seen many patients in your position. Most of them go back to their old lives. They tell themselves they'll be more careful, work fewer hours, and manage stress better. But they don't change the fundamental structure of their lives.” He leans forward. “You did. That's rare. And that's why I think you're actually going to survive this.”
The words hit harder than I expected. “You didn't think I would before?”
“Honestly? No, I thought you'd make it six months, maybe a year, and then we'd be back here with a real heart attack or a stroke.” He smiles slightly. “I'm very pleased to be wrong.”
“So am I,” Jennifer says quietly.
“Continue your medications. Monthly check-ins with me via telehealth. And keep up the lifestyle modifications, the exercise, the diet, the stress management. You’re on the right track, and I’m hopeful you’ll stay there.”
He stands and extends his hand. “Congratulations, Mr. Donovan. You chose life. Not everyone does.”
***
We spend the next several weeks at the resort with Mrs. Avery, learning everything. How the booking system works, which guests are regulars, and where all the maintenance issues hide. Jennifer takes notes in a spiral notebook, asks a million questions, and lights up when Mrs. Avery shows her something new.
