Well, it was fair to say my life changed rather drastically over the past six months.
Paul and his parents managed to iron things out—eventually. It was Paul’s mum who finally made Roger see they couldn’t impose their own lifestyle choices onto their children. Paul made his plans about the future of their business quite clear. In the end, they decided to split the businesses up. Paul kept the nightclubs and took sole charge of them whilst his parents continued on with their own lifestyle choice of the club. They would sell it on in the future, when they were too old, and keep the money behind for Paul and Rebecca once they were gone. They had also moved out of the house and bought themselves a new estate a few miles down the road. Paul had been utterly gobsmacked when they handed him the keys and told him they didn’t want to force him out of his childhood home.
Paul also kept himself at the head of Mr. Collins’s company and all was going swimmingly well. The new branch out in Germany had sprung into life last month and he had moved two of the directors out there permanently to control it whilst he stayed back here—with me.
I wanted to keep my job at the company but Paul refused to have me stuck behind a desk, restrained from the joys of a good life when he had more than enough money to “keep me,” aside from my own small fortune from Mum’s shares. After some rather heated discussions we came to an agreement and a very suitable compromise was reached for both of us. His relationship with Rebecca had flourished considerably since everything happened and I found myself going into business with her. I evented her top horses, including Eloise, and helped her with her breeding and training programmes. Burying myself in horses for hours every day was perfect heaven to me.
Ash and Ben announced they were getting married at the end of the year after they had now permanently relocated themselves out in Texas. Ash was teaching Ben about horses and they were making a good go at running a dude ranch along with some help from the locals.
Tim was awaiting his trial, which was scheduled for next month. He pleaded guilty to all charges and it was pretty much set in stone he was going away for life. The children who he had taken inheritance from over the years were all given their money back from their unfortunate mothers and any leftover had been donated to local equine charities.
Nelson had been flown over here and was currently standing at stud at the yard. We were making an attempt at introducing American Quarter Horses over here and it was going well. It was a joyful relief for me to ride him after the seriousness of the competitions I had with the eventers.
Molly and Chris had gotten divorced rather quickly. Chris pushed it all through, at an insane cost, and managed to get it finalised last week. We kept in touch loosely as after being victims to the same thing, it had been daft not to. We had always gotten along anyway. Molly moved to Wales to get a fresh start. She never attempted any sort of contact with me and I was grateful.
Scott moved out to the States courtesy of his father. I was a little saddened to hear he had been shot and killed in a series of riots that took place in Boston where he was visiting for a few days. I knew he never intended me any harm and I felt that was a rather sticky end to meet. Paul, on the other hand, along with Ash, were rather obvious in their gleeful snickering.
I was now living with Paul. I moved in when his parents moved out in the new year. It didn’t feel rushed or forced; it just felt right. I had even managed to say the dreaded ‘L’ word to him shortly after I moved in. He reacted with a couple of tears but insisted it was merely his eyes sweating and I wasn’t to tell a soul about his strange bodily function.
This evening, I lay in bed listening to the rhythmic breathing of my sleeping beautiful Greek god next to me. I lifted my left hand up in the moonlight streaming through our window and twirled the sparkling diamond around my third finger with an aching smile spreading onto my face. He’d proposed to me only a few short hours previously.
I’d been competing at a one-day event with one of the up and coming youngsters. After a rather sticky situation at one of the fences out on the cross country course, we came home, splattered in mud and me utterly overjoyed I was still alive after he refused a simple log fence and sent me flying into a puddle of mud.
I slid down from the saddle weak at the knees and gasping for breath. I’d turned to lead the horse back to the lorry when Paul’s grinning face greeted me. He hugged me in his designer clothes before bending down on one knee. Opening a dark blue velvet box, he presented me with a stunning diamond ring and the words, “If this is the worst you’ll ever look, which I think it is, then I’d still marry you right now if I could. Will you marry me?”
He’d been grinning like a Cheshire cat as he’d said it, full well knowing how I’d react to him doing that to me at such a horrifying moment.
I pushed him over into the squelching grass before jumping on him like a starfish on ecstasy and screaming my answer in delight. I then interrogated him as to why he couldn’t have given me hearts and flowers and let me look my best.
His response, with a big grin, had simply been, “Because then it wouldn’t have been a surprise.”
I couldn’t believe after the past year of insane highs and hitting real rock bottoms, after giving in to my wants of him and then ignoring him for the needs of my own life, I finally found everything I ever wanted and needed in him.
I had finally found my happy ending.