I felt secure.
And I felt like the world was truly ours.
Six Months Later
As far as proposals go, dragging Gloria Van Lark into court was a pretty damned good way to get me to agree.
She had been true to her word, going to extreme lengths to sabotage my career. Gallery after gallery pulled my work. Lex kept me levelheaded through all of this. We were just gathering the evidence we needed.
The case was still tied up in court, but the world-renowned curator had lost a tremendous amount of influence in the art community, and her reputation was irreversibly tarnished as the truth of her escapades came out. Even if her lawyers were able to wheedle her out of any of the charges against her, despite her admissions, Gloria Van Lark would never enjoy even half the power she’d previously wielded.
And things were turning around quickly for my work… As it just so turned out… the Spinnoc museum was owned by an art collective known as the Reinholdt Group. The founder, Charles Reinholdt, had dedicated his life and his great fortune to preserving priceless art across the world for many decades. With Gloria out of the way, the Reinholdt Group reached out to me directly.
My work made it to the Spinnoc after all…
Lex helped pull a few strings and landed me a functional visa so we’d have time to set up a proper wedding. It beat getting hitched in Vegas…
My friends had taken my move overseas better than I could have expected… Connor and Reiko started dating not long after I left, and the two of them still come visit every once in a while.
They make a cute couple. Independent, working hard on their businesses together…
Connor even has a second location in the works.
On the day that Gloria Van Lark was marched into court, Lex proposed to me in front of the courthouse with one of the most beautiful rings I had ever seen. I couldn’t possibly say no to such a stunning declaration, and I agreed on the spot – under the condition that we take the engagement slow, and truly come to learn each other.
He didn’t see a problem with that… But he seemed to want to do most of his learning in the bedroom.
I didn’t see a problem with that either…
And Lex?
Lex Lambert is still the same smug, confident, world-class football player that he was before. He still leads the English National team, although the team manager saw to it that a certain backstabbing rival was dishonorably removed from the team.
Maybe his face wasn’t on a cereal box, but even that was only a matter of time. The sponsorship would be coming up again soon, and this time, Lex was the odds-on favorite.
Not that he cares. There are two things Lex is 100% invested in, me, and football. Well, I should say us, because after we talked it over… he decided to reverse the vasectomy.
We’re going to try for a baby.
I’m out of my mind happy, and Lex is completely confident that this is going to be the year that England finally earns back its glory and retakes the World Cup…
And when he does…
I’ll be in the stands, cheering him on, with my brand-new wedding ring glistening in the sun. I might even have our beautiful baby in my womb, ready to meet the world. I’ll watch him lead his team towards victory as a beloved national icon and the most capable, loving man I’ve ever met.
I like the sound of that.
Maybe I’ll paint that, too.
The End, for real this time!