Page 481 of Ruthless Court

“I ignored him.”

“Excellent start to our engagement.”

He laughs and pulls me against him.

Behind us, the drones change again.

The words disappear.

A book appears in lights.

Its pages open.

On one side:

BOOKWORM

On the other:

HAVERHILL

Then one final line forms underneath.

THE END IS JUST THE BEGINNING.

I stare up at it.

“You've become disgustingly sentimental.”

“You did this to me.”

“Take responsibility.”

“I plan to.”

His arms tighten.

“For the rest of my life.”

My eyes burn again.

I rest my head against his chest.

The movie continues behind us.

Nobody is watching it anymore.

The ocean rolls against the shore.

My Cracker Jack is spilled across the blanket.

The ring catches light every time I move my hand.

I think about the girl who came to Stanford because she wanted to find out who she was when nobody else planned her future.

Turns out she found her.

Not all at once.