Life Without You

Chapter 82 - New Life (End)

(Ending song for the series called "Heart as a River" - enjoy!)

Three years had passed since Ariel married Leon.

Under the tall oak tree in the warm sunshine by the lake of their home, Ariel laid her body against her husband between his legs, relaxing under the cool shade. Leon sat up against the tree, his one arm around her and his other hand giving gentle scratches on her head. As she closed her eyes, she took in the therapeutic sounds of the waters, the rustling trees and the chirping birds at the sea-side home located in a prestigious suburban neighbourhood nestled in a valley.

During the planning of their wedding, the couple managed to settle on a five-bedroom house on a huge plot of land that Leon bought. It was a three-storey house with white walls, wooden flooring and glass partitions, minimalist and modern, with an angular sloping roof and a glass ceiling. It came with a sloping wooden outdoor roof garden terrace, where one could go up the slope with steps at the side, onto the top. Leon purchased a telescope where he could enjoy his star-gazing moments from the 360 glass viewing deck that he erected at the top. From there, anyone could see the distant sea and mountains as well. The house included a swimming pool, three study rooms, a gym room, a home theatre, five bathrooms, a backyard and lots of tall trees surrounding its entrance for much-needed privacy. 

Andy had grown even taller and was now a teenager with a voice break. He had gained more weight with some visible muscles and he was no longer the thin and lanky boy that he once was. He had not had any major arrhythmia episode since the kidnapping incident. He was now attending a private school not far from their place and went fishing with Leon every Saturday where they enjoy their father-and-son bond. The day his name was changed legally to Andy Lee Waltz remained the most memorable in his life, and being able to celebrate Father's Day for the first time was extremely special.

Ariel gradually accepted that she would never be fully out of the public interest. She decided to put her public image to good use. Being an influencer with millions of followers, her social media posts centred around farm-to-table meals, food blogging, healthy living and good causes for the world. Seldom would she post pictures of herself and her family since she still treasured their privacy. However, she would share parts and parcels of her life story to uplift those in similar predicaments.

Ariel's lifelong dream of running her own restaurant was no longer something she wanted to pursue. She had that chance with Hinata and felt it was time to move on, to something more flexible. Using her own money, she build her flower tea business after Mrs Waltz's suggestion when she realised that her homemade teas had always been popular among friends. With the support of her husband who injected a significant portion of investment money, they turned their plot of land into a farm and grew their own organic edible flowers including Ariel's favourite lavender flowers, as well as source other ingredients from other local farms to support local farmers. Hinata became their first business partner to distribute their flower teas at their restaurants, which had now expanded its franchises to parts of Asia and Europe. Hong and Han were running Hinata very well, and now that they had their own fame, they lamented to Ariel that their privacy was compromised and were assigned their own bodyguards since fans recognised them on the streets. However, they found their jobs at Hinata a lot more fulfilling than at the Orient Treasure, and would not exchange it for anything else.

Ariel's flowers were also used to make organic soaps and with Leon's knowledge in the skincare business, the soaps became a roaring success. They planned to expand this into their own skincare line in the future.

Like his wife, Leon continued to be influential on social media and he still had more followers than her. He used his fame for a different purpose and his social media posts now focused on fitness, family and helping others who struggle with alcoholism, preferring to be more in touch and down-to-earth with his audience. He even started a men's support group aimed at alcoholics with the help of Ron, who remained his mentor and friend. Even though he still sang, Leon treated it as a side hustle rather than as a full-time pursuit, which was now farming and growing his money in other investments, the best investment happened to be his wife's flower tea business. The money that he once lost was slowly accumulating now that their tea business was a success, and this year, he managed to be debt-free.