Reborn Heiress: Escaping My Contract Marriage with the Cold CEO
Chapter 98: Was that a palm tree?

Chapter 98: Was that a palm tree?

Leo, at least, had the decency to look apologetic. "We really did try to call. The storm must have knocked out the cell towers."

I sighed. "Yeah, the power’s out too. So unless you brought a generator—"

Ollie gasped. "Oh my God, we should have brought a generator!"

"We have generators," said Nathan. "They’re supposed to kick on automatically."

As we moved through the house, Ollie attempted to foist the Hawaiian shirts upon us.

"Come on, Vanessa," he whined, shaking the floral monstrosity in my face. "You’d look amazing in this. It brings out your eyes!"

I shoved it away. "This shirt is neon green and covered in parrots."

"Exactly! Contrast."

Nathan, who had been silently checking windows, looked over his shoulder. "Ollie, if you don’t put that shirt away, I’m throwing you back outside."

"Why? I’m adorable."

The entire house shuddered as something heavy slammed into the roof.

We all froze.

"Was that a palm tree?" I whispered.

Nathan was already moving toward the stairs. "Stay here."

"Like hell," I said, following him.

Ollie and Leo exchanged a glance before trailing after us.

Upstairs, the wind howled through a gaping hole in the ceiling where, yes, an actual freaking palm tree had now lay, its fronds dripping water into my once pristine island home. Rain poured in, soaking the floor and dripping down the walls.

"Look," I said. "I say we leave and shut the door. This really feels like a tomorrow problem."

"Seconded," said Ollie.

We left.

***|***|***|***|***

The storm finally began to ease. The wind died down to a low growl, and the rain softened to a steady patter.

We collapsed onto the couch, soaked, and bruised. And horribly, horribly sober.

Ollie, somehow still energetic, rummaged through his bag. "Okay, so the champagne is gone, but—aha!" He pulled out a bottle of rum. "Emergency supplies!"

"I take back every terrible thought I had about you in the last hour," said Nathan.

As we passed the bottle around, the absurdity of the situation finally hit me. I started laughing, and soon, the others joined in.

Nathan shook his head, pulling me against him. "This is not what I had in mind for our honeymoon."

I grinned up at him. "Still better than a boring beach vacation."

Ollie raised the bottle. "To surviving storms, surprise visits, and terrible shirts!"

Leo clinked the bottle against his. "And to never doing this again."

Nathan kissed my temple. "Next time, we’re going somewhere with no visitors."

The rum burned its way down my throat, but at this point, I welcomed the warmth. Anything to distract from the fact that my honeymoon had turned into a bizarre survival retreat featuring two uninvited idiots and a palm tree in my bedroom.

Ollie, now sprawled across the floor like a starfish, sighed dramatically. "You know, I think this is the most romantic thing I’ve ever been a part of."

Nathan, who had been in the process of taking another swig from the bottle, paused. "You think this is romantic?"

"Absolutely!" Ollie gestured wildly, nearly smacking Leo in the face. "We’re stranded together, sharing our last bottle of alcohol, bonding over near-death experiences—this is, like, found family material."

I leaned into Nathan, grinning as the rum made me feel floaty. "Ollie might be onto something. This is kind of romantic."

Nathan raised an eyebrow. "You’re telling me that if I had planned for our honeymoon to include a hurricane, two drunk best friends, and a tree in our bedroom, you’d have been impressed?"

I pretended to think about it. "Well, when you put it that way, it sounds bad. But the spontaneity of it? The drama? It’s like a rom-com, but with more property damage."

Ollie flopped onto the couch between Nathan and me. "So. Since we’re all best friends now, when are we planning the next group vacation?"

Nathan rolled his eyes. "Never."

I nodded. "Absolutely never."

Ollie pouted. "You say that now, but just wait. A year from today, you’ll be begging us to crash your anniversary trip."

Leo raised the rum bottle. "To next time."

I laughed, clinking my imaginary glass against Leo’s. "Famous last words."

The rum was doing its job, warming me from the inside out as the storm’s remnants continued to drip through the hole in our ceiling. A distant thump from upstairs made us all pause.

"Please tell me that wasn’t another tree," I groaned.

Nathan sighed, rubbing his temples. "I don’t think the house can take any more surprises tonight."

Ollie, ever the optimist, grinned. "Or maybe it’s a coconut! Free snacks!"

"Or it’s the rest of the roof caving in."

"Thanks for that, Leo," Nathan muttered.

A sudden crack echoed from above, followed by the unmistakable sound of something heavy rolling across the floor. We all exchanged glances.

We crept upstairs, the rum making the whole thing feel like a bizarre dream. The palm tree was still there, but now a section of the ceiling had given way entirely, revealing a sliver of storm-gray sky. And sitting innocently on the soaked carpet was—

"A coconut," Nathan said flatly.

Ollie whooped. "I called it!" He snatched it up, shaking it next to his ear. "Oh, it’s got liquid inside. Bonus!"

Leo blinked. "You’re not seriously going to drink that."

"Why not? It’s nature’s Gatorade."

I couldn’t help it—I burst out laughing, the absurdity of it all hitting me all over again. Here we were, standing in a half-destroyed honeymoon house, watching my idiot best friend try to crack open a coconut with a decorative vase.

"You know," I said, leaning against Nathan, "when I pictured married life, I didn’t think it would involve this much debris."

"Or this much Ollie." He wrapped an arm around me. "We

Ollie was stabbing the coconut with one of my hair pins.

Leo snatched the pin from him. "Give me that before you lose an eye."

As they bickered, Nathan tugged me toward the less-destroyed side of the room. "And as soon as we’re alone—"

Another loud crash from downstairs cut him off.

Nathan groaned. "I swear to God, if it’s another tree—"

But Ollie was already bolting down the stairs, holding his coconut like it was his newly born infant. Leo was on his heels.

I looked at Nathan. He looked at me.

"We could just... not follow them," he suggested.

I grinned.