Married By Chance, Loved By Choice

me in her sunlit D.C. study, a stack of gloss

irm but kind, "it's time you settled do

aken the liberty of curating a list. Su

moment it all wen

over me, the memor

that ended in a dark al

rling, her face a mask of indiffere

hed, and Daddy insisted," she' d said,

of her living in Napa "for her

r secret remarriage to Mark Jenkins,

adlights of a car driven by Mark's son from

ct, the

w, I w

ct day, this exa

ond c

rtfolios, a wave o

voice hoarse, "I appre

't choose

perfectly scu

ntinued, a strange calm settling ove

bewildered. "Alex, marr

a bitter smile touching my lips.

d, her staff quickly p

I reached in, my fing

slip. "Captai

unconventional choice, Alex. Medic

I said. "Let'

w. "Captain

began t

insisted, a strange

t different, almos

lowly. "Captain

ed the room, t

Captain Ramirez is a hero, undoubtedly, but she's a recluse now. That inj

per. Maya "Ghost" Ramirez. A d

d, my voice surprisingly steady

Alex. It' s a career-ending, life-altering disability

I said, remembering my parents, t

strength isn't avoiding scars,

mirez b

nelt by her chair, taking her hand. "This is about choosing someone of

omised your mother, Alex. I promised I'd see you happy, truly

lanket. She' d taken me in, an orp

cold dismissal, solidified my resolve

"And I believe this is th

hed, a small, reluctant sound of concession.

r stated, her usual decisiveness returning