Love’s Healing Redemption

Chapter 14 The Move pt 2

Val continues to say what he thinks about the situation at hand. "Zora, you've spent years working on yourself, then helping others in the trenches for19 years, in fact, so taking so much time to figure out what this is-that’s not weakness or selfishness-it's wisdom, self-care; it's time you took something for yourself. You could call them today, tell them you need two weeks, maybe a month. We can see how the estate feels. How we feel together outside the penthouse, outside the city noise. Then you decide if you go back to that job, or we build something else. Together. No pressure, just space to breathe and figure it out." His thumb traces circles on her hand in a comforting way, letting her contemplate his words, not forcing or pushing her into a decision, just being her anchor while she makes her own. Enzo shifts, sensing the weight of the decision as Val’s eyes meet hers.

Zora looks deeply into Val’s eyes and sees no manipulation, no hidden agenda; he is truly allowing her to make the decision; he just wants to be included in the process. This is new for her, and she feels like she is on uncharted ground, someone who actually knows how to be a partner. Wow. So she says, "without hesitation. Ok, sounds good. I’ll do it right now and let them know that I have some things to take care of, and we will send someone to come get my things if they want to pack them up, or maybe I should go do that myself. I don’t know; I guess I will leave that to them..." She says as she pulls out her phone just as they enter the strip, and the call goes through smoothly, as she informs her boss of the personal time request. She reports it as stress-related burnout, and her boss was more than willing to give her the time off to make sure she came back. Val watches her disconnect, phone lowering to her lap as the car pulls onto the tarmac. The helicopter sits gleaming in the morning light, rotors still. She looks over at Val and simply says, while blushing slightly, "Done."

Val squeezes her hand once before releasing it as Enzo’s ears perk up as they exit the car. The wind picks up, carrying the salt of distant water and possibility. Val says, "Two weeks minimum; after that we see. Ready?" He asks as he holds out his hand; she steps out of the car, reaching for his hand and looks up with a nod as Enzo follows. A pilot emerges from the aircraft, nodding to Val with ease of routine. The farmhouse waits. Fifty acres of green, a life that started only four days ago, about to become real in a way the penthouse never quite managed.

They hand over Enzo to Marco, for they don’t have any ear protection for him on the flight; he will have to bring him by car later today. Marco accepts Enzo with practiced ease, scratching behind the dog’s ears as they say their goodbyes and Val gives him some last instructions as they board the heilo. Val informs her of his ETA and that he has already ordered some for him so that next time he doesn’t have to wait in the car. Zora kisses him lightly on the cheek for he seems to always be so considerate and kind.

The helicopter looms larger as they approach; the pilot gestures them forward, professional and efficient. Val’s hand settles at the small of Zora’s back as they duck beneath the rotors as they begin to roar to life. The noise intensifies-a thrumming pulse that fills everything.

He guides her into the cabin, helping her settle into the seat beside his. The leather is soft, the windows expansive. Below them, the world is about to shrink, as the pilot says headsets are on the right. Please buckle up and hold on. His fingers find hers as the engines get even louder now at full take-off throttle, and the ground begins to fall away. She giggles softly and bounces like a teenage girl, grabbing his hand and staring out the windows in full excitement. The ground tilts away beneath them. The city shrinks to toy-sized buildings, then to patterns of streets and parks. Val watches her more than the view-the pure, unfiltered joy lighting her face.

His chest tightens watching her like this. Free. Alive. About 15 minutes later, Val Points toward the horizon where the landscape opens up, rolling hills giving way to dense forests. In the distance, the farmhouse emerges-a sprawling stone structure with copper roofing, surrounded by emerald acres. A helipad sits like a landing pad for dreams, as he says to her there look that’s home...our home. Her breath hitches as she starts to see the landscape emerge, spanning larger-than-life green rolling hills with white fences; weeping willow trees flank the driveway (she chuckles, not believing what she is seeing; weeping willows are her favorite trees; this must be a dream she tells herself)

Val watches her pinch herself: watches the disbelief transform into wonder on her face. The weeping willows blur beneath them as the helicopter descends toward the helipad. Val says...It’s real, I had them planted here a month ago. When I was watching you ride that bike through the city, I was already building this for you. Whenever you went to the park and said one, your face would always light up, and I knew we just had to have them here.

Even if you never saw them, they would always remind me of you. His hand tightens around hers, grounding her in the moment. The skids touch down with barely a tremor, and the rotors begin to slow. Through the window, the farmhouse waits-stone and copper, surrounded by fifty acres of green that stretches endlessly. Weeping willows frame the drive like a promise kept. The stone and timber log home, larger than any farmhouse she has ever seen, sat with open arms, welcoming them home just as Val stretches out his hand and says Welcome home, tesoro. She takes his outstretched hand and descends from the chopper, looking all around in awe.

The staff straightens-they’ve been briefed, but seeing her in person is different. This is the woman who changed everything and actually is making this place come to life finally. He keeps her hand in his as they walk the line, his grip steady and possessive. Not cruel, just clear she belongs to him and is protected as his eyes move across the faces of farmhands and maids, a silent warning wrapped in civility he says This is Zora. She runs this now-alongside me. You treat her with the same respect you’d show me. Better, actually. They all nod and bow their heads as they walk by and Zora smiles at all of them while nodding back.

The stone farmhouse towers behind them, all warmth and possibility. Zora’s weeping willows frame the drive perfectly-exactly as she’d imagined her dream home one day. Val smiles at her reaction to seeing the place and looks down at her face and says Come on let go see. She smiles and nods her head frantically like a kid in a candy store; he laughs at her excitement as it becomes contagious. He guides her toward the entrance, where Antonella waits on the threshold, smiling. Zora questions, "But how? I thought you weren’t going to be able to make it until tomorrow." She smiles at Antonella, full of happiness and surprise. Antonella’s smile widens as she descends the stone steps and says "Val was kind enough to help me get here faster and have my things packed for me such a good boy I couldn’t wait to get here and he know that I felt the estate needed a woman’s touch and Val called from your house and said he took care of everything and I could drive up and didn’t turn him down dearly" she chuckled as she drew her into a tight hug saying welcome home mistress. Zora hugs her back with warmth and affection as they walk into the doors. Antonella continues...He’s been impossible all morning-checking everything twice, having me move flowers, changing his mind about the kitchen setup. I’ve never seen him like this... You’re even more beautiful up close she says. Come, come. The kitchen is ready, the master suite overlooks the willows, and I’ve picked two rooms that you might consider for your office. Come and see.

The farmhouse interior opens before them-soaring timber ceilings, stone fireplaces, windows framing endless green. Antonella continues, "Val wanted everything perfect for your arrival, and with such short notice, I think we all did a great job, and we will get the rest of the house set up and running her your specs as all of your things arrive in time." Zora is shocked at how much they did in less than 24 hrs, they are very good and a bit overworked she thought as she said "Oh Wow that’s so sweet I just don’t know how he made this happen so fast you all must have worked so hard you deserve a big fat bonus" she says when she looks of at Val and then says "this looks like he was thinking we would end up here all a long.. was that your plan Mr. Man??" She says in a teasing voice and elbows his ribs as she walks by him, giggling, for it was not really a question..

Val’s expression doesn’t shift, but there’s a flicker in his eyes-caught, so why bother lying? He replies, "Yeah...It was always the plan anyway. Three months ago, I saw you on that bike and knew, and I had this property I bought 5 years ago just sitting here, and I knew that one day I would bring you here and we would make this out place. Then one day I saw you at a park, you were sitting under a weeping willow tree, staring up at the branches as if they came from heaven themselves, and I knew I needed to line the driveway with them, so I found a garden that moved grown trees and bought 12."

"After that, I had everything renovated with who I thought you would want them I don’t know if I got it right, but we can always change anything if you want to." He said this, looking very scared, feeling as if Zora was going to be weirded out by his thinking of her this much and building something that she may never see in the hopes of her liking it. Even he knows this was a bit off. He releases her hand slowly, moving toward the stone fireplace. Antonella tactfully disappears deeper into the house, leaving them alone in the soaring space as he turns back to face her, his jaw tight. He then looks her in the eye and continues honestly, "I was going to court you properly first. Wine, dinners, but then your father did that bet, and that changed everything made it easier in a sense, for I didn’t know how I was going to get you to go out with me. I just had a plan that I was… This wasn’t intended to be manipulation, Zora. I wasn’t even going to show it to you for a long time; for me this was hope. I was building a place where we could breathe." Zora studies his face and sees the genuineness of his statements and the fear of her rejection underneath and says, "Hmm, or a trap." She chuckles, winks, and says, "Could’ve been either way.