VICTORIA'S POINT OF VIEW
I sat under the pergola, watching the morning sun paint the sky in shades of gold and pink. My tea had gone cold in my hands, but I didn't care.
I was smiling.
I couldn't help it.
The sound of footsteps made me look up. Richard appeared in the doorway, still in his robe, his hair slightly messy from sleep.
He looked at me for a long moment. Then he shook his head.
"What did you do?"
I blinked innocently. "Good morning to you too, darling."
He walked over and sat across from me, his eyes narrowing. "Don't play innocent with me, Victoria. I know that look."
"What look?"
"The one you get when you've orchestrated something." He leaned back in his chair, studying my face. "This is about Alex and Elena, isn't it?"
I took a sip of my cold tea, still smiling.
Richard sighed. "You forced them to go on that honeymoon. You slapped our son in front of his wife. And now you're sitting here looking pleased with yourself."
"I am pleased," I said simply.
"Why?" His voice was gentle but firm. "Why push them like that?"
I set down my teacup and looked at him directly.
"Don't you want a grandchild?"
He blinked. "Of course I do. But Victoria, forcing them..."
"We don't have time to wait, Richard." My voice came out sharper than I intended. "I'm not getting any younger. Neither are you."
"They just got married. Give them time."
I laughed, but there was no humor in it. "Time? Alex would give us a lifetime and still never give us a grandchild. Not on his own."
Richard frowned. "What do you mean?"
I leaned forward. "He married her, yes. But he treats her like she's... nothing. Like she's just another obligation on his schedule."
"He's adjusting."
"It's been weeks, Richard." I could feel the frustration building in my chest. "And in those weeks, I've watched him ignore her. Walk past her. Act like she doesn't exist."
Richard was quiet.
"If I don't push," I continued, "nothing will happen. They'll live like strangers under the same roof for years. And I refuse to let that happen."
"And you think forcing them on a honeymoon will change that?"
"Yes."
He studied me for a long moment. Then his eyes narrowed again.
"Why are you smirking like that?"
I couldn't help it. The smile spread wider across my face.
"Because I didn't just send them on a honeymoon, Honey."
He leaned forward. "What did you do?"
I took another sip of tea, letting the suspense build.
"I called the villa management," I said slowly. "Made some... arrangements."
"What kind of arrangements?"
"Well," I set down my cup, "I had them remove one of the beds."
Richard stared at me. "You what?"
"There are supposed to be two bedrooms in that villa. I had them convert one into a storage room. Now there's only one bedroom."
His eyes widened. "Victoria..."
"With one bed," I added. "One very large, very comfortable bed."
"You're unbelievable."
"Thank you."
"That wasn't a compliment."
I shrugged. "I'll take it as one anyway."
Richard shook his head, but I could see the corner of his mouth twitching. He was trying not to smile.
"The couch is still there, of course," I continued. "In the living room. I'm not a monster."
"Debatable," he muttered.
I ignored that. "But the couch is small. Uncomfortable. Much too short for someone as tall as Alex."
"So you're hoping discomfort will drive him to share the bed with his wife."
"I'm hoping proximity will remind him that she exists."
Richard was quiet for a moment. Then he asked, "What else did you do?"
I smiled wider.
"How do you know I did anything else?"
"Because I know you."
Fair point.
"I may have contacted the local village on the island," I said casually.
"Why?"
"To make a generous donation to their community fund."
Richard's eyes narrowed. "And what did you get in return for this generous donation?"
"Nothing much. Just a promise to invite Alex and Elena to any village celebrations during their stay."
"Victoria."
"What? The villagers were planning a festival anyway. I just... encouraged them to make it special. Romantic."
"You bribed an entire village."
"I made a charitable contribution," I corrected. "There's a difference."
Richard rubbed his temples. "You've thought of everything, haven't you?"
"I always do."
He looked at me, and his expression shifted. Became more serious.
"You know this might not work, right?"
"Why not?"
"Because Alex has my type of mindset."
I paused and looked at him.
He wasn't smiling anymore.
"What do you mean?"
Richard leaned back in his chair, his eyes distant. "I was just like him once. Cold. Closed off. I didn't let anyone in."
I softened. "I remember."
"It took me years to let you in, Victoria. Years. And I didn't have the kind of damage Alex has."
The words stung because they were true.
I looked down at my hands.
"That's exactly why I'm doing this," I said quietly.
Richard waited.
"You were cold when we first met," I continued. "You barely spoke to me. Barely looked at me. Everyone told me I was wasting my time. That you'd never open up."
"But you didn't give up."
"No." I met his eyes. "I didn't. I kept pushing. Kept trying. And eventually, you let me in."
Richard smiled slightly. "You were relentless."
"I still am."
He reached across the table and took my hand.
"That's why I'm using Elena," I said. "She can break through his walls. I've seen the way she looks at him."
"And how does he look at her?"
I hesitated.
"Like he's afraid," I admitted. "Like he doesn't know what to do with her."
Richard squeezed my hand gently. "Fear makes people run, Victoria. Not open up."
"I know."
"Then why push?"
"Because if I don't, he'll run anyway. He'll bury himself in work and never let anyone close again."
Richard was quiet for a long moment.
Then he said, "There's something else. Someone else."
My body tensed immediately.
"Don't say her name."
"Mia Morrison."
I pulled my hand away from his. My teacup rattled slightly as I set it down too hard.
"I told you not to say her name."
"We need to talk about this, Victoria."
"No, we don't."
"She's back."
The words hit me like a slap.
I looked up sharply. "What?"
Richard's expression was grim. "She was at the charity gala. The night before you sent them on their honeymoon."
My blood ran cold. Then hot.
"She was WHAT?"
"She attended. She spoke to Alex and Elena."
I stood abruptly, my chair scraping against the stone.
"How dare she?" My voice was shaking. "After what she did? After YEARS of silence, she just shows up?"
"I don't know why she's back. But she's here."
I paced beneath the pergola, my hands clenched into fists.
"That woman destroyed my son."
"Victoria..."
"She didn't just leave him, Richard. She BROKE him."
My voice cracked on the last word.
I stopped pacing and gripped the pergola post, staring out at the garden.
"He loved her," I said quietly. "Truly loved her. And she disappeared without a word. No good explanation. Nothing."
Richard came to stand beside me. "I know."
"Do you?" I turned to him. "Do you know what it was like to watch my son become a ghost? For months, he barely ate. Barely slept. He stopped smiling. Stopped laughing. Stopped... living."
Tears burned in my eyes, but I refused to let them fall.
"He threw himself into work because it was the only thing that didn't hurt. And now he's just... empty. Robotic. Cold."
"Victoria..."
"I want my son back, Richard." My voice broke. "The one who used to laugh. Who used to feel things. Who used to be human."
Richard put his arm around my shoulders.
"That's why you're pushing so hard," he said softly.
I nodded. "Elena is his chance. Maybe his only chance to feel something again."
"But what if Mia comes back into his life?"
I stiffened. "Then I'll make sure she doesn't stay."
Richard looked at me. "You can't control this."
"Watch me."
"Victoria."
I pulled away from him and turned around.
"I won't let her destroy him again, Richard. I won't."
He sighed. "What are you planning?"
"Nothing. Yet."
"That's not reassuring."
I ignored him and sat back down, picking up my teacup again.
Richard sat across from me, watching me carefully.
"Alex can still fall in love again," he said quietly.
I looked at him.
"If the right person comes along," he continued. "If she's patient enough. Strong enough."
"Do you think Elena is that person?"
He was quiet for a moment.
"I don't know," he said finally. "But I know she's different from Mia."
"How?"
"Mia was fire. Passionate. Wild. She burned bright and burned out."
He paused.
"Elena is different. She's quiet. Steady. She doesn't demand attention. She just... exists beside him. Waiting."
I considered his words.
"You think that's what he needs?"
"I think it's what he needs to heal."
I wanted to believe him.
I wanted to believe that two weeks on an island would be enough. That proximity and romantic sunsets and village festivals would somehow break through the ice around my son's heart.
But I was scared.
Scared that Mia's return would undo everything.
Scared that Alex would choose the ghost of his past over the possibility of his future.
"What if it's not enough?" I whispered.
Richard reached across the table and took my hand again.
"Then we'll figure something else out. Together."
I looked at him. At the man who had once been just as cold and closed off as our son. The man I'd refused to give up on.
"I just want him to be happy, Richard. Is that so wrong?"
"No," he said gently. "But you can't force happiness."
"I can create the circumstances for it."
He smiled sadly. "You're impossible."
"I know."
We sat in silence for a moment.
Then I looked out toward the horizon, as if I could see across the ocean to the island where Alex and Elena were.
"They have two weeks," I said quietly. "Two weeks to figure out if they can be more than... whatever they are now."
"And if they can't?"
My jaw set.
"Then I'll think of something else."
Richard shook his head, but he was smiling slightly.
"You never give up, do you?"
"Not when it comes to my family."
He squeezed my hand.
And we sat there together, watching the sun rise higher in the sky.
Hoping that somewhere on a distant island, our son was finally starting to feel something again.
Even if he didn't know it yet.