Chapter 19 –
Vanessa's POV
The days after Zack's departure fell into a gentle rhythm.
Each morning she woke to a message in his familiar handwriting—sometimes folded in a neat envelope that arrived with the dockyard mail, sometimes a photo of the sea accompanied by a short note.
My love,
Every wave reminds me of you. When the sun rises, it feels like your smile finding me through the clouds.
She read the words over breakfast, her fingers tracing each curve of ink. Her colleagues teased her endlessly—
"Vanessa, that glow hasn't faded a bit."
She only laughed, because it was true. The letters made her feel seen, loved, chosen.
At night she placed them in a small cedar box beside her sketches, the scent of salt and paper filling the room. Lucky, she whispered each time, I'm so lucky.
Zack's POV
The Hudson estate looked the same as ever—cold marble floors, portraits of ancestors staring down from gilded frames, the faint scent of cigars that never quite left the walls.
Mark Hudson sat behind his desk, hands folded, eyes assessing.
"So," his father began, "you refuse to take your place in the company, and now you refuse the match that would have secured it."
Zack's jaw tightened. "I didn't refuse a match, Father. I married the woman I love."
For a moment, silence hung in the vast room. Then Mark leaned back, steepling his fingers. "You married her."
"Yes," Zack said firmly. "Her name is Vanessa Wood. She's brilliant, kind, and she has nothing to do with this world you built out of greed and alliances."
From the corner, a quiet rustle.
Sky Tyler stepped forward—elegant, immaculate, eyes sharp with something too intense to be affection.
"So it's true," she murmured, her voice smooth as silk over glass. "You actually went and married her."
"Sky, this isn't your fight," Zack said evenly.
She tilted her head. "It should've been me, Zack. It was supposed to be me."
Mark's tone was cold. "You're making a spectacle, both of you."
Sky ignored him, taking a step closer to Zack. "Do you think she understands you? The real you? The man who belongs to oceans and empires?" Her smile was small, almost trembling. "She'll never fit this world."
"I don't want this world," Zack said. "I want my wife."
The words landed heavy, final.
Sky's expression flickered—hurt, disbelief, then something darker. "She won't last," she whispered. "You'll come back to me."
Zack's gaze didn't waver. "No, Sky. I already found where I belong."
He turned to his father. "Tell the board whatever you want. I'm done pretending to be the son you raised for business. I'm a sailor, and I'm a husband. That's who I am."
Mark's voice followed him as he walked out:
"You can't outrun your blood, Zack. Secrets have a way of finding daylight."
But Zack didn't look back.
In his pocket, another letter waited—half-written, edges creased from his hand. He would finish it tonight, seal it with every truth his wife deserved, every promise he intended to keep.
Vanessa's POV
That evening, the post arrived with another envelope bearing his handwriting.
When the tide turns, I'll be home. Keep the light in our window burning for me.
She pressed the letter to her heart, smiling through tears she didn't understand.
To her, it was love speaking.
She didn't yet know it was also a vow—and a battle line drawn between two worlds.