Devil in a Suit

Epilogue

Tyler

Six months later

It never ceased to amaze me how fast time could fly. Six months had passed in the blink of an eye, but so much had happened. It only took a handful of months for nearly everything to change, but what really mattered stayed the same.

I was still in love with Madison, but what had changed was that I loved her even more than I did six months ago. I fell in love with our child as it grew inside of her. I remembered when we found out it was a girl and when I first felt her kick when I placed my hand on Madison’s stomach. I swore she could hear me speak to her when Madison and I cuddled on the couch together, talking to our daughter about the wonderful life that she was going to have when she finally arrived.

I had definitely turned into a sap. Maybe that was what being in love and fatherhood did to people, but I liked who I was now far more than when I was a bachelor with a lot of money and not much else. I was way happier with a family than when I had a bunch of meaningless people surrounding me. I hated that it took me so long to realize that, but at least I made it.

Ashland Consulting was still a big part of my life, but it wasn’t the centerpiece. Without Madison, it probably wouldn’t be doing as well as it was doing now. Her idea worked like a charm, and we even started taking clients back from Odyssey. As much as I wanted to, I didn’t rub that in Brandon’s face. In fact, I completely ignored him now. I didn’t care for his cockiness and negativity, and he would only try to tear me down. I had too much to lose now.

As expected, Madison was successful after college too. I offered help and resources multiple times, but she always brushed me off, wanting her and her friends to get UniVerse launched themselves. I respected that and stepped away, watching their progress as they garnered support and a team. Their business launched last month, and the results were already promising as people their age took advantage of the help and resources that their company offered them.

I couldn’t be prouder of Madison, and I was proud of her friends as well, who had grown to like me even more. Madison and I integrated each other into each other’s lives, and it felt like we were two parts of the same person. She was the other half of my heart, and I wanted her to know that. Tonight, I was going to ask her to be my wife.

I didn’t want to wait this long. I would’ve dropped down to one knee and proposed to her at her graduation, but I knew that crazy times were ahead for both of us. She had her business, and I had mine. We had to get ready for the baby and get Madison moved into my place. I wanted us to catch our breaths before I stole them right away.

“Can we get some more rose petals over here?” I asked one of the workers that I hired for my proposal. I decided to do a lakeside proposal at a beautiful park. It was discreet and had one of the best views of the sunset. I was still going big with the look of the place, though. I wanted rose petals, tea light candles in the shape of a heart, and a picnic set up for after the proposal. I wanted the whole nine yards.

“Of course,” the lady said as she carried a basket full of red rose petals. She scattered some more outside of the tea light heart, covering the grass with red. “She’s going to love this.”

“I hope so,” I said, smiling at her politely. They had done a great job of setting up the scene. Even the picnic area looked great. There was a wicker basket on top of a white sheet with trays of small appetizers and red velvet cupcakes. I tried to include everything that Madison loved to eat, but I was sure that we would end up doing more than just eating by the lake. This place was romantic as hell.

“Alright, we’re all done. Do you like it?” another woman asked me as she walked over to me, gesturing to the lakeside setup.

“It’s perfect,” I told her before checking the time. Madison would be getting off work soon. I told her that we were going to dinner tonight, but I was going to make her take a little detour on the way to the restaurant. “Thank you.”

The woman smiled and nodded before motioning for everyone to clear the area, leaving me alone as the sun started to descend in the sky.