Chapter 281: The Midnight Shore

Vivian’s POV

We made our next stop at a cozy local bookstore. We immediately split up in different directions, only to return to the front counter a while later carrying embarrassingly tall stacks of books each. Then came ice cream, dancing lazily to a live band playing outside a glittering fountain, and strolling hand in hand through a long line of artsy little booths selling crafts.

Eventually, my tired feet gave up on me, and I shamelessly demanded to be carried. He picked me up effortlessly bridal-style, muttering something under his breath about not wanting to risk me flashing anyone with my dress. I just giggled and snuggled comfortably into his chest. He carried us over to a quiet bench and set us down with me tucked securely onto his lap like I belonged right there.

Twilight had spilled across the evening sky, casting everything in soft shades of purple and gold. The night air was cool, but his steady body heat wrapped around me like a warm blanket.

I sighed happily against his chest. "Mmm... I am so happy."

His warm hand rubbed slow, soothing circles along my back. "Are you, love?"

"Yeah, I am. Thank you so much for today," I murmured softly. "Definitely the best birthday I have ever had in my life."

His chest rose and fell beneath me with a deep breath. "Well, the day is not quite over yet. There is still one more surprise waiting for us."

I lifted my head up to look at him. "Another one? How on earth are you possibly going to top all of this? Great... now I am going to have to start planning your birthday immediately if I want to stand a single chance."

He chuckled deep in his throat, the sound vibrating right through me. Then, without any warning, he started to stand up. I squeaked in surprise and clung tightly to his neck, even though I knew he would never drop me.

"You can plan all you want," he said, his voice low with a teasing edge, "but I already have everything I could ever wish for right here."

I grinned widely, warmed to my core by his words. "I bet I can still beat that next year."

"No doubt in my mind that you could try."

It felt so comforting knowing that he genuinely believed in me, even when I was not entirely sure I believed in myself.

The moment we got back into the car, I fought hard to keep my heavy eyes open. But the rush of the long day was catching up to me fast. My head lolled sideways against the seat, somewhere deep between sleep and barely-there awareness. I noticed the bright lights of the city slowly slipping away in the rearview mirror the road we were on now was much emptier, quieter, with no buildings in sight. Civilization was falling far behind us, swallowed up by distance and darkness.

Frankly, my voice came out thick and drowsy. "Are we not going home yet?"

"Not yet, love," he murmured softly in the dark car. I felt his warm fingers brush gently against my cheek, tucking stray strands of hair behind my ear. The absolute gentleness of the gesture made me melt a little inside. "Go ahead and sleep. It is a long drive ahead."

"Okay," I whispered, already half-gone into dreamland.

I must have dozed off hard because the next thing I knew, Zahliver was leaning over me in the dark, shaking my shoulder gently. His expression was impossible to read in the shadows, but his eyes... they were warm. So warm they made my chest ache with emotion.

"Hey, come on now," he coaxed softly, helping me sit up straight.

I blinked rapidly, trying to shake the thick fog of sleep from my head. The passenger door was open wide, and the crisp night air rushed inside. The sky had gone completely dark, and a massive full moon hung heavy and bright above us. My senses sharpened instantly the moment I breathed in, the salty tang of the open ocean mixed with the scent of fresh sand hit me like a crashing wave. I blinked again, this time fully alert. The sound of roaring waves was not distant anymore. It was right here. Close. Real.

We were parked at the top of a small hill that sloped down toward the dark sea, the car naturally held in place by the incline. From up here, the dark water stretched out in all directions as far as the eye could see. I could see the bright moonlight dancing across the surface like tiny flickers of silver dust.

I turned my head to look at him, still bleary-eyed and confused. "What is this place?"

"It is a surprise," he said before I could even finish asking. "Do not give me that look. You are going to like it, I promise."

I huffed out a breath of air but nodded. "Fine."

Zahliver took my hand firmly and began leading me down the uneven terrain. My high-heeled boots immediately betrayed me, slipping clumsily on the rocky slope.

"These boots are definitely not made for mountain climbing," I muttered.

"They are just boots," he said dismissively.

"Try telling that to Vera Wang," I grumbled, trying desperately not to twist an ankle on a stone.

He let out a dramatic groan of exasperation and suddenly scooped me up right into his arms like I weighed nothing at all. "You are completely impossible, you know that?"

I smirked against his chest. "You know, if you had just done this from the very start..."

"I would have saved myself what, exactly?" he teased, his dark grin catching the silver moonlight.

I was about to come up with a snappy reply, but I got entirely distracted. His eyes those electrifying blue eyes seemed to glow faintly in the dark night. They held me captive for a second longer than I cared to admit.

"Uh..." I blinked hard, my brain temporarily short-circuiting.

He chuckled low, clearly quite pleased with himself.

As we moved forward, I noticed the heavy black backpack slung casually over one of his broad shoulders. It caught my attention, and my suspicious instincts immediately kicked in.

"You are not planning to dump my dead body into the ocean and weigh it down with heavy rocks, are you?" I asked suspiciously, narrowing my eyes at him. "Not over a pair of ruined Vera Wang boots?"

He shot me an incredulous, disbelieving look. "You are by far the most logical and yet completely illogical woman I have ever met in my life. No, Vivian, I am not dumping your body into the ocean."

I narrowed my eyes further at the mysterious bag. "Then what on earth is in that backpack?"

Instead of answering my question, Zahliver gently turned me around to face the view.

All the talking had made me momentarily forget where we were standing, but when I looked up again, every other thought in my head faded away into nothingness. He gently set me down onto my feet, and I stood completely still, his solid presence acting like a quiet shadow right behind me.

What I saw literally stole the breath right out of my lungs.

The wild, moonlit shore stretched endlessly ahead, with white-capped waves lapping at the dark sand with rhythmic devotion. The vast ocean sparkled under the night sky as if a million stars had fallen straight down into the sea. The cool night air buzzed with something ancient, something wonderfully wild. Something that genuinely felt like pure magic.

And somehow... I instinctively knew that this was only just the beginning.