Six months later, I graduated from the culinary school and became Austin’s sous-chef. I was getting excellent training from him, and the great thing about that was I didn’t feel like I was working at all. Every day was an adventure for me. Every moment was like play time.
I was inventing my own fusions and Austin had considered including them in his official menu.
Nick comes to New York at least three times a month. Whenever he had the chance to get away from work, he would come to me. And every time I spent with him was pure bliss, pure treasure. I have never been happier in my life.
My happiness didn’t come without a price. I thought now that everything was going quite well in my life, I should let go of all the pain and anger I may still be harboring. There would no happiness without forgiveness, without healing.
And to start with that, I forgave my father. The day after my graduation, I flew back to Salt Lake City to visit his grave. Nick went with me.
I stared at the words on his tombstone:
Robert Mackenzie Clarke
Father. Brother. Friend.
I reached forward to touch the word ‘Father.’
In my mind, I was speaking to him. “Even if you did some things wrong, you have to know that you did a lot of things right. Brett is becoming a great successor. He’s doing brilliantly and you were right to choose him. Austin isn’t alone anymore. He has me. He has us. Finally, he has a family. That’s because you didn’t abandon him.
“I’m going to be fine, too. I will open up my own restaurant and I wanna thank you for giving me the chance to follow my dreams even if they weren’t yours. I am truly happy for the path I’m choosing.
“Even though I hated you for it at first, I want to thank you for sending Nick to me. Without him, this life just isn’t worth living for.
“I love you, Dad. You can rest in peace now. I forgive you. We all do.”
Tears were rolling down my cheeks and I felt Nick wrap an arm around me. He didn’t say a word. But like always, he made me feel that he was there for me, whether I needed him or not. He was going to stay with me.
I also worked up the courage to call up Jen’s house. I knew she was angry at me the last time we saw each other. She may not have the right to be, but I should have known better. With her condition, she wouldn’t be able to effectively separate levels of logic and emotions.
“We sent her to California,” her mother told me. “We were done ignoring her symptoms for too long. You were right. I know you’ve always known that she was sick. We were almost too late. But hopefully, the residential treatment center will be able to help her. I just hope we could afford to keep her there until she gets better.”
Seeing me would not help Jen at the moment. But I knew what she and her parents needed the most right now. So I had a check prepared for two hundred thousand dollars and sent it anonymously to her mother, with instructions that it will go to Jen’s treatments.
The next person I wanted to make right with was Nick’s sister. I figured if Nick won’t tell her about Margot, then I will. Nick does not deserve to be treated like shit by someone he considered as family.
So one day, I called Beatrice’s house and asked for her.
“Who’s this?” she asked.
“The girl you lied to when you said Nick was dead,” I replied.
“Oh.” She fell silent.
“I’ll make this quick,” I said. “I just want you to know that Margot cheated on Nick. That’s why they broke up. Your brother loves you, so it’s time you re-evaluate where your loyalties lie. I know you’re mad at me, that’s why you told me Nick was dead. You wanted to punish me because I was the reason why your father cancelled your party.”
“Doesn’t matter. It’s not happening,” she murmured. “You cried for a night and then you found out it was a prank. Big deal. I’m still socially dead to my friends.”
“Family is more important than anyone in your social circle, Beatrice. You should remember that. Friends will give you company, laughter, and good times. Family will be willing to give you their kidney if it’s needed to save your life. Remember that!” I was trying to keep calm. “Nick didn’t know I called you. He’s too much of a gentleman to destroy Margot’s reputation, even if she deserved it. So I’m talking to you woman to woman. Because as his sister, he deserved better from you. And to ensure that you really think it through, I’m willing to offer you something in return.”
“Peace offering?” she asked. “Doubtful it will work on me, honey.”
“No. A bribe,” I said. “An incentive next time you think about making your brother’s life a living hell. Marie Clarke Estates is booked on the day of your birthday. Catering choices have been prepared for you and will be sent to your email. You only need to confirm your choice of food and beverages. Our secretary will be in touch with you for all the details and an events planner in-house had been assigned to help you plan your party.”
There was silence on the other line. Beatrice’s voice was shaking when she asked, “Why are you doing this?”
“To let you know that I’m not a monster, Beatrice. I forgive you for the hell you put me through. But I’m also not a saint. So I want you to remember this huge favor I did for you the next time you decide to give me or Nick a dose of grief. Be a better sister, that’s all I ask in return.”
I didn’t wait for her to reply. I hung up. Hopefully, next time she’d remember that I was the one responsible for resurrecting her reputation among her social circle.
I didn’t make exceptions on my road to healing and forgiveness. I knew that I should get mad at the person who killed my father. But he was in jail now and his wife was still suffering from cancer. Plotting for a revenge or harboring ill feelings would not get me anywhere. I knew that my father was also to blame.
If the guy had a choice, he’d be working at least three jobs to pay for his wife’s treatments. The normal thing to do was to let him rot in jail and let his wife die. The divine thing to do was to forgive him, hire the best lawyers for him to help lower his sentence, and shoulder all the cancer treatments of his wife so she gets a second shot at life. Guess what an heiress who didn’t know what to do with her money would do in this situation?
Mayflair was re-opening to the public in a big flair! The hotel had been fully renovated with a Mediterranean edge. It looked as though a mini Santorini had been built inside the massive estate. And we were opening with full media exposure. People were raving about it. One month prior to the opening, we were already fully booked, with guests trying to get last minute reservations.
The day before the opening, I arrived in Salt Lake City. It was already evening, and I was tired and hungry. Nick picked me up at the airport. I was so glad to see him. Seven days without him was excruciating.
The minute we were alone in the car, I leaned forward and kissed him on the lips. He kissed me back, as hungrily as I kissed him.
“I missed you so much,” I said.
“You should just stay here for good,” he said.
“I would like that. But right now, my job required me to be in New York.”
“What if you have something here?”
“Okay, I will find a job here, I promise,” I said. And I meant that. I was tired of being away from Nick for the most part of the month.
“I love you, kitten,” he said.
“I love you too, babe.”
I thought he was driving home but to my surprise, he drove me to Mayflair.
“What are we doing here?”
The hotel was not yet open to the public, but the whole staff and crew had been operating for two weeks now, making sure our opening will be perfect. Brett, it seemed, was stricter to quality than even the great Robert Clarke.
“Nick, this is not open to public yet.”
“Yes, but we aren’t part of the public,” he replied.
I’ve never been introduced to any of the staff here and I wasn’t sure I wanted to be known here as part-owner. I prefer to be silent about my position.
But to my surprise, everybody was greeting Nick courteously, as if they knew him well. And I wasn’t sure why.
The guy in a suit greeted us. “Nicholas.”
“Denzel,” Nick greeted back.
“All is in order. I’ve arranged for all your requests. Also, the last-minute design changes have been completed by the contractors.”
I looked around the hotel and I was very impressed. I have never seen our hotel look like this before. It was the perfect combination of class and luxury.
Nick took my hand and led me to the lobby.
“How did you like your new hotel so far?” he asked.
“Amazing. My father should have thought about doing this a long time ago.”
“Many hotels look the same; sometimes they just have different layouts so they become forgettable,” he said. “If you’re different, you stick out. You can apply your branding in many ways. But you shouldn’t compromise concept with it.”
Nick motioned for me to look up. I did and my breath was taken away. The ceiling was transparent, made of glass. I could see the bright, clear night sky above us. There was a huge chandelier in the center of it, which added to the drama and ambience. It looked like the ceiling of the room we first made love in, replicated on a large scale.
“You redesigned Mayflair?” I asked Nick.
He smiled at me sheepishly. “Yes.”
“Why didn’t you tell me?”
“Then, it wouldn’t a surprise anymore, would it?”
I didn’t know what to say. I’ve seen the layouts but I didn’t know the grand lobby was going to be like this. Brett was brilliant for hiring Nick. He was the right man to reinvent Clarke Hotels.
Nick took my hand in his.
“Did you like it?”
“I love it. You’re brilliant!” I said, tiptoeing so I could kiss him on the lips. “Wait, I’ve been meaning to ask this to Brett’s designers. In the layouts, you left out a huge area that would have been maximized for shops. What was that about?”
His eyes lit up when I mentioned it. He pulled me toward the left exit and to that area I mentioned.
To my surprise, it was no longer a vacant spot. Instead, an enclosed area was built with smoked glass walls.
“You mean this?” he asked.
“Yeah, but this is new. What is it?”
“Let’s see,” he said.
He opened the door and I found that it had been turned into a restaurant. Nick turned on all the lights and my breath was taken away by the perfect blend of warm and contemporary designs that delivered a cozy ambience. The walls were white, adorned with warm yellow light and muted green ornaments. The walls were covered with abstract paintings, which all looked familiar to me. I approached one canvas and found that it was a giclee of my paintings. The ones I made when I was bored. I remembered having these in my room.
I stared back at Nick, tears welling up my eyes.
“I thought it would be nice to show that the chef of this restaurant has other talents, too.” He grinned at me.
Tears rolled down my cheeks as I ran to Nick. He caught me in his arms and hugged me tightly.
“How did you do this?” I asked when I pulled away from him. He wiped the tears on my cheeks with his fingertips.
“I had a lot of help. Brett approved all the designs. According to Austin’s assessment, you are quite ready to put up your own restaurant. You can start here. Austin agreed to help you set up and manage until you’re ready to do it on your own.”
“And the other hotels had the same vacant area?”
Nick nodded. “I had to make provisions for it. It was in your father’s last will.”
My eyes widened. “What?”
Nick sighed and kissed my forehead. “Brett told me that one of the provisions of your father’s will when he made Brett his successor was that he was to rebrand and remodel your hotel chains. All except for Marie Claire Estates. I think it was because your mother was the one who initially designed that. So it is to be left alone. But the rest must be redesigned. Your father stated that I would be the head designer. I didn’t want to accept the offer at first but then again, I realized that I wasn’t doing this for your father. I was doing this for you.”
“And you thought I was ready to have my own restaurant?”
“You always have been.” He smiled at me.
“Oh my god, this is huge!” I said, going around the area, surveying the brand new, elegant white leather chairs, and the varnished wooden tables.
Nick took my hand and pulled me toward the veranda where the outdoor dining area was. It would make a wonderful romantic dinner setup under the stars.
“Do you like it?”
“I love it, Nick. This is beyond my wildest dreams. Everything is perfect.”
He took my hand in his and then I heard him take a deep breath. I stared up at him and suddenly, he looked nervous.
“Is something wrong?” I asked.
He smiled at me sheepishly. Then he said, “I’ve never done this before. So go easy on me, okay?”
I raised a brow at him. I have no idea what he was talking about until he bent on one knee. I thought my heart just stopped beating altogether.
“Oh my god.”
Nick took a deep breath again and said, “I think from the very first moment I laid eyes on you, I knew it will lead to this moment. I’ve never felt anything like this before. Living with you, I fell deeper and deeper for your charms. I think you’re the most amazing person to have walked the earth. You are an angel sent down from heaven. And I consider myself the luckiest guy in the world because you loved me. Out of about one point nine billion desperate souls looking for and needing love, you chose me. Losing you was the worst thing I have been through in my life, and I never want to go through that again.
“So, if you’ll have me, I promise to protect you, care for you and make you happy. I want my children to have your eyes, your smile, your delicate, talented, and creative hands. To grow old with you would be pure perfection and absolute bliss.”
He reached inside his pocket for a small box. He opened it to reveal a ring with a huge diamond set in the center of the infinity band. I didn’t know much about diamonds, but I knew for sure that this was more than two carats. It was beautiful. As beautiful as the man who was giving it to me.
“I love you, Mackenzie Belle. Make me the happiest man in the world. Will you be my wife?”
I’ve always known the answer to that even before he asked. And the ordeal that Beatrice put me through when she told me that Nick was gone taught me an important lesson. It taught me to value the time I spend with the people I loved. And there was no one in the world I loved more than Nicholas.
Tears were rolling down my cheeks as I stared lovingly at Nick. He was looking up at me nervously. I would always find it cute that the ever-confident Nicholas Atkins always looked so uncertain of what my answer would be. He was a good judge of character but he couldn’t read me.
“Nick, you know I love you. If you didn’t come into my life, I would still be the cold, clueless girl I have always been. You showed me everything there is to love about myself, everything there is to love about life. When I thought I lost you, I died. I thought, this is it. I was going to die of a broken heart. And I promised myself that now that we got a second chance, I would make you happy every day for the rest of your life, the rest of our lives together. So yes, I will marry you!”
He gave me a sweet smile as he put the ring on my finger. When he stood up, I threw myself in his arms. He caught me and spun me around. When he settled me on my feet, I saw that tears were rolling down his cheeks. He leaned forward and kissed me. I kissed him back. I put all the love I have in my heart in that kiss—our first kiss as an engaged couple.
He stared at me and then he took a deep breath and said, “I know, you might feel like we’re too young. And I know you have a lot going on. The restaurant, the hotels…”
I leaned forward and cut him off with a kiss. “One year,” I said. “Give me one year. And then I’ll start planning our wedding.”
He looked at me for a moment and then he smiled happily. “Okay. I can wait one more year. But not a day more, okay?”
I laughed. “Okay. I promise.”
“And we’re still going to live together once you move back home.”
“You drive a hard bargain.”
“One year is a lot of time,” he countered.
“Okay. I’ll move back in with you,” I said.
He nodded. I can see contentment and happiness on his face now. “I love you, kitten.”
I smiled back at him. “I love you, too, Superman,” I said. “And you are, you know?”
“I am what?”
“The greatest man in my life,” I said.
He didn’t answer. When I looked up, I saw that he was grinning boyishly, happily.
“What?” I asked.
He shook his head. “It just feels so good to hear that from the most amazing creature I’ve ever known. I’m your biggest fan, you know.”
I laughed. “And I’m yours.”
He leaned down and gave me a lingering kiss on the forehead.
Suddenly, fireworks erupted above us. He didn’t have to say it. I knew he arranged for it, hoping I would say yes to his marriage proposal.
And how could I say no to him?
I will always say yes to Nicholas Atkins—my best friend, my sexy fiancé, my Superman. The greatest man in my life.