“Finally!”
Victoria looked up.
“You were watching?”
Grace disappeared.
Ethan sighed.
Privacy was impossible.
Victoria kissed him anyway.
They married at a lakeside property outside Seattle.
Small ceremony.
No press.
No corporate board.
No aircraft.
Grace stood beside Ethan.
Mara stood beside Victoria.
Naomi cried more than anyone and denied it.
Charles Sterling attended in wheelchair of his own after second stroke.
He looked older.
Smaller.
Victoria had not expected emotion.
Then her father rolled close before ceremony.
He touched her hand.
“I failed you after accident.”
She froze.
Charles continued.
“I thought making world accessible was enough.”
“I did not understand you needed father, not engineer.”
Victoria’s throat tightened.
“You did what you knew.”
“I should have learned more.”
She looked toward Ethan.
He stood nearby deliberately not listening.
Victoria returned her gaze to father.
“I learned anyway.”
Charles nodded.
“From him?”
“Partly.”
Her father smiled faintly.
“Good pilot?”
“Annoying.”
“Usually sign of competence.”
She laughed.
Charles kissed her forehead.
It was first time in years she remembered being someone's daughter instead of successor.
During vows, Ethan said:
“I promise not to solve what you did not ask me to solve.”
Everyone laughed.
Victoria said:
“I promise to tell you when I need help before becoming furious that you did not read my mind.”
Grace whispered:
“This marriage might work.”
Ethan heard.
Almost laughed during ceremony.
They kissed.
No emergency alarms.
Perfect.
Marriage did not make life simple.
Victoria remained CEO.
Ethan returned to flying, but for another company.
That mattered.
He wanted professional identity separate from marriage.
Victoria agreed.
Mostly.
She hated when his schedule sent him to Europe during board crises.
He hated when hers canceled vacations.
Grace became a teenager.
That generated entirely new aviation category of turbulence.
At fifteen she announced she wanted driver's license.
Ethan became irrational.
Victoria sided with Grace.
Ethan accused her of betrayal.
Victoria reminded him he trusted Grace with telescope worth more than first car.
Not persuasive.
Grace eventually drove.
Everyone survived.
Victoria and Ethan began fertility consultations.
Medical complexity significant.
Victoria could potentially carry pregnancy with specialized care, but risks were substantial.
She considered.
Then decided no.
Not because fear.
Because she did not want months of intensive medical management centered around proving body could do something.
Ethan supported instantly.
They explored surrogacy.
Then adoption.
Then paused.
One evening Victoria sat in bed with paperwork everywhere.
Ethan entered.
She looked exhausted.
“I don't know if I want another child enough to turn it into project.”
He sat.
“That sounds important.”
“I feel guilty.”
“Why?”
“Because I said I wanted children.”
“You can change your mind.”
“What if I'm changing because process is hard?”
“Still allowed.”
Victoria looked toward him.
“You already have Grace.”
“Yes.”
“Maybe that's enough.”
Ethan smiled.
“For me?”
“Yes.”
“For you?”
She considered.
“I think…”
Then smiled.