Chapter 100
I had never imagined that the scent of fresh flowers could heal something so broken in me.\
Sunlight spilled across the wooden counters of my little flower shop as I carefully unwrapped a bundle of white tulips. My hands moved without thinking–trim, arrange, water–while my heart swelled with something I hadn’t felt in years: peace.
I smiled to myself. The shop was mine. Every petal, every ribbon, every pot. Mine.
Jackson once said this dream was stupid.
“Floristry?” he’d laughed. “It’s not profitable, Sam. You’ll go bankrupt within a year. Trust me.“}
And I had trusted him. God, I did. I let that dream die quietly and chose to be the kind of wife he wanted
kind who stayed
gave
up
in the background, smiled at dinner parties, who dressed in silence and swallowed her own voice. The kind dreams for love, thinking love would be enough.”
What a fool I had been.\
gone.
I didn’t know then that behind every soft kiss and sweet word, Jackson was pretending too. Pretending I was Pretending I mattered. Pretending that the woman sleeping in another wing of our house wasn’t the one he was building his life for.
I brushed away the bitterness threatening to rise and focused on the flowers. “Snap out of it,” I muttered, straightening the petals. “Today is about happiness.”
As if on cue, the bell above the door chimed. I turned, ready to welcome a guest–only to roll my eyes when I saw him. “You again?” I teased.”
Inigo stood by the door, holding a latte in one hand and smile in the other. “It’s your first shop opening. I couldn’t let you stress alone.”[
I took the coffee and gave him a half–hearted glare. “I wasn’t stressed.”
“You were muttering to the tulips.”
I laughed, brushing my hair back as I set the drink down. “Maybe a little. I just… I don’t know if anyone will come.”
“They will,” he said firmly. “And if not, we’ll buy all the flowers ourselves and pretend it was a hit.”
I looked at him–really looked at him. His shirt sleeves were rolled, his hair messy, his smile calm and steady. A part of me that
I thought had died stirred again. Something warm. Something terrifying.
“You’re being unusually sweet today,” I said.”
He leaned against the counter. “Maybe i like seeing you happy.”
I blushed, but didn’t answer. Instead, I handed him a bouquet to set by the door. He took it without complaint.
Inigo had been surprising me in ways I wasn’t ready for.
At first, it was awkward–living under the same roof with someone who used to be my enemy. I had expected coldness, mockery, tension. But instead, he brought me soup when I was sick. Wrapped my bruised ankle. Bought me warm socks and didn’t comment when I cried myself to sleep.
And now… now he brought me coffee and held flowers like he was meant to be in this shop with me.
I hadn’t expected to smile this much again./
The day wore on. We hung streamers. Set up stands. Lined the windows with fresh blooms. I panicked about tiny things- labels not aligned, vases not matching, what if the flower wall was crooked?-but Inigo stayed patient through it all, soothing my nerves with light jokes and the occasional forehead kiss that he acted like was no big deal.
When the doors finally opened, I was shocked to see people trickle in. Then dozens. Then more.
By noon, we were out of peonies.
I stared around in awe. Laughter echoed off the brick walls. Children were taking photos by the flower wall. Customers were complimenting arrangements I made. I could barely breathe from how full my chest felt.”
“This is real,” I whispered to myself.”
Inigo slid beside me, his voice close to my ear. “Told you. I’d never let your first day flop.“”
I turned to him, and for the first time in what felt like forever, I kissed someone without pain.”
It was a soft, lingering kiss. The kind that said thank you and I’m ready all at once.
When we pulled away, he didn’t tease me like Jackson would’ve. He didn’t try to control or mold or own. He just smiled, touched my cheek, and said, “You deserve this.”!!
I nodded. “I know.“%
We spent the rest of the afternoon like that–happy. Laughing. Living.”
Later, after the crowd had thinned and the sun dipped into shades of honey, Inigo poured us glasses of sparkling water and
we sat by the front window watching the city slow down.
11:01 AM ·
we sat by the front window, watching the city slow down.
He tapped his glass against mine. “To new beginnings.“N
“To healing,” I added.N
There was a pause. Then his voice softened.N
“Samantha?“N
“Hmm?”
“What would you say about… meeting your mother again?”
My hand froze on the glass.N
He looked at me carefully. “Would you want to see her?“N
The shop suddenly felt too quiet. The breeze too sharp. My chest tightened with memories I hadn’t visited in years.
11:01 AM
