DANTE
Words could not describe what he felt when it was her face that he saw as he opened his eyes in the morning. Flashbacks of the previous night flooded his memory and he could not help but smile to himself.
Careful not to wake her up, he slowly got out of bed and made his way to the kitchen. And it was not long before he realized that he did not know too many recipes offhand. So he brought out his phone and watched some short YouTube videos on easy breakfast recipes. 
He later settled for eggs, bacon, and toast that morning, making it to the best of his abilities. And together with a glass of orange juice and a napkin, he assembled everything in a wooden tray and took them up to his room. 
She was already up when he walked in with the tray of food. He placed it carefully on the bed and went to join her on his balcony. She was wearing the shirt that he had abandoned on the floor from yesterday, with his boxers too.
He held her waist from behind and he heard her giggle. 
“Good morning.” She greeted him.
“Good morning.” He kissed her temple. “You're already stealing my clothes, huh?”
“Mhmm.” She nodded, laughing. “And you better get used to it.”
“I would have said that I would return the favor but that would mean me ripping all your clothes.” He chuckled. “So enjoy yourself, I guess.”
They stayed there in silence, looking down at the garden from his balcony. Until his phone rang, causing him to sigh in frustration. Of all moments to call, whoever was on the other end just had to choose this one.
He pulled her along with him, out of the balcony and into the room. She was laughing all the way, and he was laughing too until he saw the number that was on his screen. From the last four digits, he knew exactly who it was.
“Who is it?” Genesis asked when she saw that his smile had disappeared. 
“My father…” He breathed out and sat on the bed. She took her seat beside him too.
“Don't you want to pick it?”
“A part of me wants to, but—”
“Then pick it and hear him out.”
He sighed and nodded his head as he picked the call, then he pressed the phone to his ear. “Hello?”
“Son…” His father's voice was low. “It is me, your—”
“I know it's you.”
“Dante, stop being like this please.”
“Don't you think I have every right to be like this?” Dante asked, recalling how rejected he felt when he was disowned. “Tell me, am I wrong for feeling like this?”
“No, you're not. But I'm pleading for you to let us start afresh. Let us be the father and son we once were.” 
Dante shook his head. “You should have thought of that before you disowned me.”
“Look, I really did not want to do that.” His father started. “Your mother was in control of everything and I foolishly let her be. I deeply regret it, Dante, and I'm sorry for everything I put you through. She's out of my life now, I have filed for a divorce and we're still in the middle of it. Let me be your father again, please.”
“I don't know about that…” Dante really did not want to give in. But deep down, he missed his father a lot. The man was a great dad until Gloria somehow managed to convince him to disown Dante because he married Evelyn.
“Dante, please.” His father persisted. “We can go little by little. We do not have to see each other in person yet. Maybe phone calls every other day?”
“I have nothing to be speaking to you about.”
“We'll come up with something, Dante. Simple conversations would be a great start.”
They were both silent for a while, until Dante spoke. “What you did really hurt me. And I've been carrying it all these years.”
“I know, and I'm deeply sorry.” The man sounded sincere. “That's why I'm trying my best to be there for you in the short time I have left.”
“Phone calls every other day would not be too much I guess.” Dante tried to sound nonchalant, but he was smiling to himself. He really felt at peace knowing that he had his father back in his life.
“Thank you, Son…” The man sighed in satisfaction. “Maybe, I'll get to speak to my grandchild one of these days?”
“We'll see.” 
“Good enough.” The man laughed. “Thanks again. And say hello to your wife for me.”
“She'll hear. Bye now.” Dante cut the call immediately. Then he looked at Genesis and said, “He says hello.”
“Aw…” Genesis giggled. “You look so much brighter now.”
“I feel brighter too.” He admitted.
It was the first step in fixing things with his father, something he really did not think would ever happen in his lifetime. But it was going to be much easier to do that now than Gloria was out of the picture. Now, he only hoped that their divorce would go through and she would never be back.
*****
GENESIS
It had been a week since she moved into Dante's room and she was pleased to see how their routines aligned in most aspects. And where there were slight differences, they both did well to compromise. So far, she was loving sharing space with him. She liked the fact that she had him nearer now. 
But today was weird because he was not letting her do anything. He had ordered the staff to not let her do any chore and declared that that was how it was going to be onwards. Of course, she protested, given the fact she was going to be extremely bored. But she gave up when Dante continued to stand his ground.
So she spent the majority of the day with Elon as Dante was out for most of the day. She had called to ask where he was but he gave the flimsy excuse of just going out to get some things. She was not into prying so she let him be.
Now, it was a few minutes past five o'clock in the evening and she walked in their room to find a green, silk dress on their bed, with a silver shoe at the foot of the bed. Then there was a note beside the dress; when she opened it, it said, “Because you look stunning in green. Please, wear this to dinner. I have a surprise for you.”
She smiled to herself, wondering what it was that he was up to. Nevertheless, she got busy preparing for dinner. She took a shower, took her time to style her hair, then she dressed up and did her makeup. By the time she was done, it was almost seven.
She headed out of the room with excitement, curious to see what Dante had planned, only to be surprised when she saw Luke, Lana, Sara, and even Matthew around the table that was already beautifully set and decorated with her favorite color and flowers: red table cloth and pink roses.
Everyone looked like they were aware of this arrangement and she was the only one left in the dark. Even Elon was in on the plan. So she wondered what the occasion was. It was not her birthday, nor was it an important date as far as she knew.
“Aw, you look flustered.” Sara commented, smiling.
“I am.” Genesis confirmed. “And I'm confused too. What's going on?”
“We don't know, ask Dante.” Luke shrugged. “He's right behind you.”
She turned around, her eyes meeting Dante's dark ones. He was smiling at her, his hands behind his back.
“Hey…” She took a step closer to him. “What's going on?”
“I arranged a special dinner for you.” Was his response. “And there's something I have to say too.”
“Okay…” She looked around in confusion. “Tell me.”
“You've been a wonderful part of my life, Genesis.” He started. “It has even gotten to the point that I can not imagine my life without you in it. You have come with hope for me and my son, something I never thought I would have for the rest of my life. Doing life with you will be a great honor, so please…” He went down on one knee and opened a ring case, that was what he had been hiding at his back. “Will you marry me?”
She did not even realize when she let out a gasp and covered her mouth with her hand. Of all things that her mind was coming up with, this was not what she was expecting to happen tonight. 
“I know we're legally married.” He continued. “But I want us to do this properly.”
Tears filled her eyes as she stretched out her hand. “Yes. Yes, Dante, I'll marry you.”
With the biggest smile she had ever seen on his face, Dante slipped her wedding finger through the ring and the room was immediately filled with cheers from their friends. He got up and pulled her into a kiss, eliciting even louder cheers, especially from Sara. 
Then they proceeded to take their seats. It was not long before conversations about the wedding popped up and it was decided that Sara was going to be her chief bride's maid while Luke was going to be Dante's best man.
At some point, she just went quiet, watching the people she loved celebrate, and her heart swelled with so much gratitude. She deserved this, all of this. And she was happy for her new reality. This was the opening of another chapter, a new beginning, and she could not wait to see what the future has in store for her.