EPILOGUE
Two years later
The morning light spilled softly through the blinds. The alarm on Leah’s phone erupted for the third time, reminding them of their work commitments, but neither seemed in any hurry to break the bubble of their morning routine.
Leah lay on her side, propped up on her elbow, her fingers lightly tracing the curve of Ariana’s shoulder. Ariana’s eyes were half-lidded, a faint smile curling on her lips as she sipped from her new stainless steel coffee mug—a present from Leah.
“We really should get up,” Ariana murmured, her voice a mixture of amusement and reluctance.
Leah stirred, moving her naked body even closer to Ariana. She lazily ran her fingers across Ariana’s chest.
“You know, I think we could get away with being a little late today.” She raised her eyebrows, suggestively.
Ariana lowered her mug to the nightstand, leaning in to kiss Leah. It was a slow, lazy kiss, meant to be savoured—and they did just that.
“You don’t know my boss,” Ariana teased.
Neither of them were ready to acknowledge the working day, but time was slipping away and commitments remained.
“Hmm, she sounds awful.”
“We’ll be late,” Ariana said, brushing her thumb along Leah’s jawline.
Leah tilted her head slightly, gazing up at Ariana, her lips parted in a gentle smile.
“We’re already late,” she teased. Her voice was playful, but the soft edge of desire was noticeable.
Ariana laughed. “Okay, I give in,” she admitted defeat. Her hands slid down Leah’s back, pulling her closer.
The bed felt too good to Leah—the covers warm, Ariana’s body against hers a temptation too strong to resist. She knew the reality of her day ahead—meetings, calls, emails—so many waiting to be answered, but for now, none of it mattered.
The world beyond their bed seemed distant, and all that existed or mattered for Leah in that moment was the quiet intimacy of being with the person she loved, her person, the one who finally made her apartment feel like home.
“We can be quick,” Leah said, her voice low, seductive.
Time passed in fragments, their coffee grew cold, the minutes slipped by unnoticed, and the world outside never found a way to intrude.
At 8:30 am, the doors of the elevator opened with a soft whoosh. Leah Green, 37, CEO of the Douglas Green Advisory Group, walked in with the kind of confidence that filled the room before she even spoke.
She stood tall, an assurance she learnt from her father.
The commanding presence was effortless, captivating.
A skill that seemed to switch on like a lightbulb the moment she found the belief in herself.
Her long layered bangs glistened under the fluorescent office lights—nobody would suspect that a brief brush was all the attention she had given her hair that morning.
Her tailored suit hugged her form in all the right places, the trainers and t-shirt adding a casual element for a Friday, but despite her well-kept appearance, it was her smile and energy that had the greatest impact on the people around her.
It softened the sharpness of her position and, like her father before her, she wanted to create an inclusive working environment where everyone came to work feeling valued and appreciated for their contribution to the company.
Leah loved her position. When her father decided to take a step back earlier than planned, she jumped headfirst into the challenge.
He was still there to advise when needed, but his new role only saw him come to the office every few weeks.
Her father built Douglas Green Advisory Group from the ground up; years of hard work, perseverance, and countless setbacks led the company to the place it was in now—one of growth and a prosperous future.
The transition hadn’t been easy. Yet Leah made it look seamless.
She spent over a year learning the ropes, speaking with key colleagues, observing her father, chairing meetings that felt so out of her depth back then, but it paid off.
People respected Leah for her determination to learn, her ability to listen, and the ways she so effortlessly made people feel like they mattered.
In the midst of her walk through the office floor, she spotted Ariana. She was sitting at her desk near the back of the room, typing away on her laptop. Leah had left five minutes earlier than Ariana that morning and still she always got to work before her—how? Some things remained a mystery.
Leah took her in: the brown skin-tight tank beneath the white blazer, and the slightly cropped tan-coloured trousers was one of Leah’s favourite looks on her. When she looked up and saw Leah, her face lit up.
“Morning,” she said with a grin, her voice warm.
Ariana settled into her role at DG quickly. Douglas wasn’t wrong when he sold her as one of the best advisors he’d ever met—she was, and her salary and company benefits reflected her work, not her relationship to the CEO.
Leah spent five years of her life pining after Ariana, too many years to then have to keep secrets. She didn’t hide their relationship as such, but the intimate details remained private in the workplace.
Ariana’s smile softened, her eyes twinkling with affection. Leah strode over to her desk, leaning down ever so slightly so she could whisper in her ear.
“You’re late,” she teased.
“So are you.” Ariana smirked.
“Touché.” The corner of her lip curled upward.
It was sweet, simple, an exchange nothing like the formality of the boardroom meeting she was about to attend.
“Let’s do dinner tonight, shall we try and leave by 8?” Ariana raised an eyebrow.
“Sounds perfect.” Her voice was low, an obvious hint of affection.
Ariana leaned back in her chair, her arms crossed, watching Leah walk away with a smirk on her face.
Damn, she whispered.
Leah turned back, rolled her eyes at Ariana’s cringey admiration, but the playful smirk on her face betrayed her. She loved that girl, it was obvious to anyone who knew them.
“Leah, do you have a moment?” Camila asked.
“I have a meeting in twenty minutes, if you can make that work?”
“Yes, I just have a question.”
“Sure, take a seat.” Leah smiled warmly, gesturing towards the chair.
Camila was a trusted assistant at Douglas Green, eight years’ experience with the company, and one of those rare people that Leah would bet her life on.
“The position you’re advertising for the financial advisor—I was wondering if you think I would be good for it?”
“Do you think you’d be good for it?” Leah asked, her voice sincere. She leant back slightly in her chair, giving Camila the space to gather her thoughts.
Camila straightened her back, adjusting the collar of her blazer nervously.
“Yes, I have studied the requirements. I have spent time outside of my normal working hours in recent months learning from other advisors. I think it poses a challenge, but I think with the support of the company I could thrive in the role.”
“Okay, first, let me say this: I think you’re more than capable.
If we’re talking about your ability to do the job, I have no doubt.
What’s important to understand is the advisors here rely on much more than just their technical abilities—it’s about how you can relate to the clients, how your confidence can help them feel confident in their financial decisions.
Your belief in your own ability is crucial. ”
Camila nodded, but still looked uncertain. “I’m worried because I haven’t been in a role like that before.”
Leah smiled. “I had never been a CEO before now. It’s not a dealbreaker. What matters most is your ability to listen; you can learn the technical side over time. You’re already good with people, Camila, you just need to believe it.”
“That’s kind of you to say. I think I’ve been so focused on what I don’t have that it’s made me doubt my own ability.”
Suddenly, there was a gleam in Camila’s eye. Leah knew it all too well.
“If you’re excited about the opportunity, then run with that.
If you’re struggling to gain the confidence, then the best advice I can give is to spend your time finding what drives you.
It could be a friend, a family member, a partner, a pet, a hobby, a desire to be the best, a need to prove a point to someone or something, a want to make a difference.
Everyone has a driving force—it could be more than one—but discover what yours is and use it.
Hone in on it, understand the power of it.
There’s no going back once you do.” Leah smiled encouragingly.
There was a moment in time when Leah considered quitting.
There had to be someone more qualified for the CEO role than her.
The belief her father had in her was false.
She wasn’t cut out for it. She couldn’t steer such a large ship to safety day after day, night after night—it was impossible.
She struggled to see it, but then she found her driving force—Ariana.
“Thank you so much.”
“I believe in you. And if you need any support or advice along the way, you know where to find me.”
Leah watched Ariana from her office as she so often did; she found comfort in seeing her face.
Leah was shaping a future for herself, for the company she now led, and the woman she loved. And whenever it felt too much, and the decisions became too daunting, the weight of it all felt a little lighter knowing she had someone who would always be in her corner.
Later that evening, the snow had slowed to a quiet drift, coating the city in a soft white shimmer. Streetlights glowed hazily through the frost. Leah’s scarf was pulled high around her face, her breath visible in the cold, but her hand was warm in Ariana’s.
The city was half-asleep. Shop windows dimmed, taxis rolled by in a blur of gold, and music from a rooftop bar drifted through the night. Leah tilted her head back, letting the snow land against her lashes.
“I love this time of night,” she said quietly.
Ariana glanced at her. “Why?”
“Because it feels like the world’s still figuring itself out. Like everything’s paused long enough for us to catch up.”
Ariana smiled. “You always did know how to romanticise insomnia.”
Leah laughed, nudging her shoulder against Ariana’s. “Occupational hazard of being in love with a night owl.”
They stopped beneath a streetlight, their shadows overlapping on the snow. Ariana’s fingers slipped under Leah’s scarf, brushing the side of her jaw. The touch was light, reverent almost.
“Do you think we will ever make it home at a reasonable hour?”
Leah nodded. “Sure. On a weekend.”
They stood there, smiling. They both knew what their careers—and New York itself—demanded of them, yet none of it felt like a burden.
They were driven, determined to achieve great things together.
As Leah’s world grew busier, she learned to cherish the small things.
Walking home beside the love of her life on a cold winter night might’ve seemed ordinary to some, but to her, it was everything.
By the time they reached their building, their coats were dusted white. Inside, the warmth wrapped around them. Ariana hung up their coats, watching Leah as she padded barefoot through the living room. Her hair was damp from melted snow, her cheeks flushed pink.
Leah poured two glasses of red wine. Shortly after Ariana appeared from the kitchen with two bowls of pasta and a look that said I told you we’d survive another Friday.
They ate cross-legged on the sofa, half-drunk on the comfort of being home, a movie played quietly in the background.
Ariana leaned forward and kissed her. It wasn’t desperate or apologetic anymore, not like two years ago—it was unhurried, knowing. When they finally broke apart, Leah’s lips curved into a grin.
“You taste like merlot.”
Ariana laughed. “So do you.”
They sank back against the cushions, tangled up together.
The world outside was cold and shimmering, but inside, everything glowed.
For a while, they didn’t talk. Leah’s fingers drew lazy circles along Ariana’s collarbone.
Ariana’s hand rested against Leah’s thigh, her thumb brushing gently back and forth.
It was domestic, ordinary, and somehow sacred.
“Do you ever think about how far we’ve come?” Leah murmured.
“All the time,” Ariana said. “Sometimes I still wake up expecting it all to disappear.”
Leah shifted, cupping her face in both hands. “Never.”
The air between them softened. Another kiss—slow, deliberate.
Later, when the candles had burned low and the movie had ended, Leah rested her head against Ariana’s shoulder.
“You know,” Leah whispered, “if you told the Leah from a couple of years ago that this would be her life—”
“She wouldn’t have believed you,” Ariana finished, smiling.
“Maybe not. But she’d be proud.”
They sat there for a long time, watching the city from their living room window. Leah didn’t know what came next, and for once, she didn’t need to. She was exactly where she was meant to be.