I smile and curl closer. Because that’s just what I want us to be.
Well, someday.
For now, I’m happy to just be us.
Mom and Dad. Ashley and Beckett. In love. Happy.
Together.
And yeah, right now… a little corny.
EPILOGUE
ASHLEY
Iglance at the clock, then back at the rendering glowing on my screen.
This is it.
The last three-hundred-square-foot closet I will ever design.
No more glass-fronted shoe walls. No more jewel-lit islands for handbags that cost more than my first car. I’ve found something better—projects that use my skills in ways that actually matter.
It started with Tay.
She video called me one afternoon and announced that she’s done drifting. Done living in hotels and crashpads, and ready to put down some roots in a small town in western Colorado.
The caveat was that she wanted something small. Intentional. A place that could feel like home without taking up a huge footprint. She had the floorplan of this tiny house, but she wondered if it could be more efficient.
Was that something I could help her with?
I didn’t hesitate. I just said yes before she finished the sentence.
And then, out of the blue, I got a call from Simon. Apparently, having seen the digital renderings I’d made for Tay,he asked if I’d design one for him too. He’s talking about buying land outside the city. Fewer neighbors. More sky.
As for me and Beckett…
In a strange, hard-earned way, we’ve never been freer.
What we’ve learned—quickly—is that Beckett’s ability to sniff out a fraudulent investment is very much in demand. Apparently, the Aurrum PIPE thing had actually been cloaked pretty well, and the fact that he sniffed it out, well… it impressed some higher-ups in the SEC.
The irony isn’t lost on either of us.
Last week, they even offered him a position. A real one. Stability. Respectability.
He turned it down.
Consulting gives him more freedom. More control. And, frankly, it pays better—which matters, considering he’s set up a restitution trust with the bonus money he set aside. It makes direct payments to the people who lost their investments because of him. Without any fanfare.
And honestly, all of this, it’s kept us pretty busy.
Which is… good. Necessary, even.
Because we didn’t come out of the scandal untouched.
People read the headlines. They draw their conclusions, a lot of them pretty unforgiving. And even though it will probably blow over with time, we don’t feel particularly comfortable in our neighborhood these days.
The boys’ teacher has been wonderful—most of the staff, actually. They’ve done everything they can to protect them, to keep their days normal and safe. Still, a few friendships have quietly fallen away. Playdates cut off. Birthday invitations are conspicuously quiet.
