Billionaire's Second Chance At Love

Chapter 109

"What took you so long?" Carmen was in the gardens when Willow pulled up the car in the driveway. She was walking towards her, before stopping and asking the man on the ladder for some suggestions. "Please keep it tighter. I don't want the kids to get tangled up if anything comes loose. Last time was a mess." She shook her head before sighing at whatever the man said and pushing some loose curls out of her face. "Just do it," she said to him, then refocused on the approaching Willow.

Carmen met her midway and hugged her. "Eric said you left early. Was it traffic?"

Willow had the urge to tell Carmen everything. The two of them had gotten closer after Ronin died, sharing anything and everything throughout their lives. The only secret Willow ever kept from Carmen was her affair with Dan. Not because she didn't trust Carmen with her secret, but because Dan himself had asked for some time before revealing anything to their families.

But now that she had changed the past and saved Ronin from the fire, she wondered how their relationship would have worked out. Could they have been just as close to each other as they were in this timeline? Or had something changed as it did with her relationship with Dan?

Dan. Thinking about him brought another pang to her chest.

For a moment, she couldn't even breathe.

Willow smiled, reacting carefully. "You can say that."

Carmen pulled away, wearing a puzzled expression. "The roads are getting busier day by day."

"And don't forget about the pollution!" Willow interjected with a mock-serious tone, her lips twitching with suppressed laughter.

"Of course," Carmen said, shaking her head. "I wish NASA could find another habitable planet sooner. I'd book a plot there ASAP."

They both burst into laughter, and for the first time, Willow felt a surge of ease coursing through her veins. But then she was nervous again because as much as she wanted to let everything reveal itself, she was too impatient to wait.

She cleared her throat. "So, where is everyone?"

She looked around as they both walked towards the gardens. Several maids and servants were rushing around the place, decorating the garden for what looked like a celebration. However, there was no sign of Ronin.

Willow sucked in a deep breath, wondering if she should ask about him instead. But for some reason, she felt reluctant to bring up what used to be a painful reminder. When Ronin died, Carmen rarely talked about him without breaking into tears. Usually, she held herself more decisively and left everyone impressed by her confidence. But when it came to the man she had loved so deeply, she always felt incomplete, as if life without him wasn't even worth living. It was as if when he died, he took a part of her that nothing could ever replace.

"I sent them out," Carmen said, taking her hair and piling it on the top of her head in a lazy bun. She allowed a few loose strands of her dark hair to swirl on either side of her beautiful face, looking far younger than she did in the previous timeline. "Do you really think they will let me work in peace if I let them linger around? You know how troublesome the two of them are."

"The two of them." Willow's fear curled back down. It was obvious Carmen was talking about Ronin and Alice. Who else could she be referring to?

Without even realizing it, her face split into a grin. Her heart finally forgot the pain and raced with new vigor. "Oh, I know. Ronin was always the one with trouble constantly following him around. He couldn't stay still for the life of him."

Carmen chuckled, a faint blush coloring her cheeks. "Guess some things just never change, huh?"

It was then Willow noticed the ring on Carmen's finger, the diamond glinting against the rays of the evening sun. Of course, Ronin and Carmen were married now. She couldn't be happier. At least someone got the happy ending they deserved.