Life Without You

Chapter 82 - New Life (End)

Even though Ariel and Leon were rich, Leon no longer went on a crazy splurge like he used to. Wild parties, women, booze and spending on useless expensive stuff were now a thing of the past. Ariel preferred simple and minimalist things and remained a careful spender despite being rich herself. She never really demanded money from her husband even though he paid and provided for most of the family's expenses. The elite credit card that Leon gave Ariel was seldom used, so sometimes he had to coax her to be more generous to herself otherwise he threatened to spoil her. And he spoiled her anyway whether she liked it or not, much to her annoyance and delight.

Leon was now in a new phase of his life focusing on things that mattered, including lending his voice for social causes. He participated with his wife in volunteering at the food banks, teaching orphan children how to play the guitar and sing, and he even auctioned off many of the luxury clothes that he used to wear as Leon Waltz the singer to start a charity for hungry kids with Ariel. It gave so much meaning to give back to the community and his fans had been encouraging and supportive of the new Leon Waltz. Recently, he celebrated his fourth year of being sober. His personality had become a lot calmer and more chilled, unlike the erratic, angry person he used to be. He and Ariel did have arguments and disagreements from time to time, as any married couple would, but they always made the effort to resolve their differences. He could not ask for a better, supportive, caring and understanding soulmate.

This year, Jake Miliano was crowned as an emerging prince of Pop RnB, having won awards year after year and his legion of fans kept ballooning. Still, that did not make Leon miss his previous life one bit. The moment he left Avon Music, he was no longer in touch with them, not even with Arnold. Likewise, Avon Music never bothered with him and had not sent him a single congratulatory wedding message. The only person from his past who gave him a congratulatory message was Vinny, who wrote a short, sweet message to the newlyweds on her social media and on People's magazine, where she was now working as its gossip column journalist. She had stopped divulging any more private information on Leon and Ariel since her last podcast interview years ago.

The world continued to be mesmerised by Leon and Ariel's love story and the media hailed them as one of the greatest love stories of all time. 

After agreeing to sell their first wedding pictures to Vanity Fair for a few million dollars, Ariel and Leon used the proceeds to donate to a charity aimed at helping kids with heart issues as a way to honour Andy. Madame Tussaud's created life-size sculptures of both Leon and Ariel in their wedding wear in honour of their love story. Despite the interested media attention and constant invites for interviews, and even a recently aired television drama series that depicted their romance (although inaccurate in many places), Leon and Ariel chose to keep their personal lives private.

Anna had retired and returned home to Puerto Rico to be with her family. 

Beth's daughter, Rose - who was named after the flower that Theo romanced Beth with - was now a walking toddler babbling a few words, and Beth regularly praised Theo for being the best dad despite his busy schedule. She was now pregnant with her second child and had quit her job as a nurse to be a full-time housewife, and looked forward to fulfilling her dream of increasing her brood to three.

After Rita married Evan, Leon surprised them with a wedding gift by paying off the downpayment of their new home located near Beth in the same suburb neighbourhood. Rita and Evan could not be more grateful and happier, and Imogen looked forward to being a big sister now that Rita and Evan were expecting their first child together. Evan continued to work as a bodyguard for Leon and his family.

As for Camila, one year after she returned to the city, she was heartbroken when things did not work well with Ryan that they split up, but not before making up again after six months when Ryan pleaded her not to fly off at the airport after he got word that she was relocating to Chicago. Now, she could not help bubbling with happiness after Ryan finally proposed to her five months ago and they were now busy preparing for their wedding. They preferred to live in the vibrant city life, unlike her friends who had chosen to settle in quieter, suburban neighbourhoods. They also planned to start a make-up line together.