CHAPTER 12: The Simple Life
To celebrate Valentina’s sixth birthday, Julian bypassed the usual high-society ballroom planners and expensive catering services. Instead, he asked Marisa where she had always dreamed of celebrating.
Two days later, the family took a private drive to a small coastal town three hours north of the city—a quiet seaside village where Marisa had grown up. They rented a simple beachfront cottage with weathered wood siding and large windows facing the rolling Pacific waves.
For three days, there were no suits, no board memos, and no security details hovering at the door. Julian wore faded jeans and flannel shirts, building crooked sandcastles on the shore while Valentina buried his feet in wet sand.
That evening, by a small bonfire on the beach, Valentina fell asleep wrapped in a thick wool blanket, her head resting on Julian’s lap with her plush rabbit tucked safely under her arm.
Marisa sat beside him, watching the orange embers drift into the starlit sky.
"Thank you, Julian," Marisa whispered. "For not turning her into an ornament for your world."
May you like
"She saved my life, Marisa," Julian replied honestly. "I was on a path to becoming an empty man surrounded by expensive things. Having her—and having you back—reminded me what a life is actually worth."
---
