The New Classic

Epilogue

"Mhmm." He hummed, pressing a kiss to the crown of my head. "Me too, mon soleil, me too." His fingers stroked Maia's soft hair as we both looked down at her. "We've really come a long way, haven't we?"

"We have."

I thought back to everything that we'd been through. How Tina had tried to sabotage us and ended up with a lawsuit against her. Unsurprisingly, she'd also been the one behind the tampering of Keith Madden's accounts. Apparently, she'd been sleeping with one of the guys in my team and that's how she'd managed to pull so many strings. Last I'd heard, she'd fled the state, too afraid to show her face since Dellite Inc had gone public about her actions whilst also concealing mine and Neil's names. He'd also resigned as CEO and CFO since, not long after I had. Benjamin hadn't been happy but had eventually come around to his son's decision. Neil had told me plenty of times that he'd never wanted to inherit his father's company and had only stepped up because of Benjamin's diagnosis - which, by the way, had only deteriorated since. It was a struggle, but we managed to cherish the good days over the bad ones.

Now, here we were. I was what I could consider a successful business woman, finally having followed my heart at the age of twenty seven. Neil was currently a stay at home dad, even though he did like to dabble in crypto and stocks from time to time. But mostly, he just stayed at home with Maia whenever I had to shuttle between New York and Seattle - which, let me be honest, was pretty frequent - since my restaurant was located there. Neil had no qualms about it and was in fact, enjoying the relaxed pace of his life. It's like he'd finally gotten a break after working in the most high pressure jobs after so long. Not to mention, he was my number one supporter and loved to tell people that his wife was a business owner.

"Speaking of how far we've come...I remembered that I have something for you."

"What?" I turned to him, frowning at the cheeky grin on his face. "Should I be scared?" My concern was valid because the last time he'd said something along these lines, we'd gone scuba diving during our honeymoon. Safe to say that I'd quickly figured out that I wasn't a fan of adventure sports.

"Relax, mon soleil. I'm sure you'll like this."

"I hope so." I muttered as my husband carefully lifted Maia from my arms where she'd already fallen asleep.

"Seems like it's nap time for our angel. I'll put her to bed." He jerked his chin in the direction of our room. "Your surprise is waiting for you inside."

Curious, I walked towards the master bedroom, but not before sending a suspicious look his way. My eyes snagged on the sheet that was lying on our bed as I stepped inside, my heart going to my throat. What -

"Congratulations, mama." Neil's arms wrapped around me from behind as I stood there baffled as to what was happening. "I'm so proud of you."

"Oh my god, Neil!" My eyes started to water as I picked up the guide, the words becoming blurry by the second. But I most definitely couldn't miss the words written in bold. Michelin Guide: Best Restaurants in NYC . And one of the featured restaurants was mine. "Holy shit! We're Michelin star approved!." I squealed, throwing my arms around him as we laughed, hugging each other hard.

I'd always dreamed of my restaurant being Michelin approved ever since I'd first started my business in New York. But I never thought that it would actually happen. That it would become my reality. Two years of hard work, sweat and tears had finally led to this. Months of preparation, making sure that we passed quality checks and impressed the panel of judges - to say that my entire team and I had been stressed would be an understatement. But it had paid off. As I looked down at my restaurant's name circled on the guide and the red plaque with three stars beside it, I could practically feel my heart burst out of happiness.

And it was all thanks to the man beside me. Day in and day out, Neil had supported me, lending me a shoulder to cry on when I needed it and cheering me on whenever I felt like giving up, like all the effort wasn't even worth it. Never once even making me feel guilty or complaining about the fact that I was out of the house often, leaving him with our infant child for days on end. He always encouraged me to pursue my career and my ambitions. And I loved him for that. How had I gotten so lucky in life?

"You did it, Mrs Miller." He remarked, pressing a chaste kiss to my lips.

"No, we did it." I corrected him, pressing my forehead to his. "I love you, Neil. So much."

"I love you too, mon soleil." He whispered, lifting our joined hands between us. "You're the best thing to ever happen to me and I can't wait to spend the rest of forever with you."

Me neither, Neil, me neither.

THE END

♡♡♡

Babies and a happy ending...who doesn't love that? I'm so, so, so grateful for all the love and support you guys have shown for Neil and Aaliya - it has blown my mind! In case y'all didn't know, The New Classic is part of a duet. The second and final book will be published in 2024 (if all goes according to plan - full publishing schedule is in my wattpad bio). Any guesses as to who the next couple will be? Lmk in the comments! Until then, I hope you have a wonderful holiday season and HAPPY BINGING!!!!

Don't forget to vote, comment and share if you've enjoyed the story!