However, she did have to wait till morning to hear about what her husband and brother had been concocting. She barely slept, feeling like a kid on Christmas Eve herself.
The next morning, she awoke to find that Onyx wasn’t in bed beside her. Azura quickly dressed before coming downstairs. They normally ate breakfast together, even on days that he worked. It was a point she had made to him when they had just been married. Time was the most precious commodity of them all.
She found her brother and husband at the table, all dressed and ready to go. She was wearing her Earth jeans and a shirt made of the softest material known on Nova Aurora. Azura crossed her arms and looked at them, both sporting mischievous grins.
“Okay, now what the hell is going on?”
Onyx walked over calmly, taking her by the hand.
“Get your jacket. We’re going for a drive.”
The three of them got into one of Onyx’s aircars and flew into the sky. The suns were rising still, spilling their turquoise and pink shades over the cityscape below.
“So,” Onyx began at the wheel. “I know that you have been looking for more of a purpose, my darling. We have been so focused on Martin and our relationship that we may have let a few things that you’ve always wanted slide.”
Azura was sitting next to Onyx, and she felt her stomach stirring with anticipation. He slid his hand onto her leg, comforting her before she had a chance to feel uncomfortable.
“You’ve done so much for me,” Martin said, sitting in the back. “I know there is little I can do to repay you, but I hope that this will be a start.”
Azura’s heart picked up the pace and rhythmically patted inside her as she gazed out the window. When they arrived at their destination, she let out a gasp that came from the very depths of her soul.
They hovered down to a property that looked like their home estate from Earth had been airlifted to another galaxy. They settled on the lawn, and Onyx helped her out of the car. She was holding her chest and looking around, the surrealness of the moment taking her breath away.
“But … how?”
Onyx took her hand, grinning.
“Martin and I have been designing this place, secretly, of course,” he said. “We wanted you to have a home away from home, where you can run a resort, just like you always dreamed of.”
Onyx took her by the shoulders and turned her to face the house. It looked almost identical, other than the perplexing shade of shyness in its backdrop.
“We have hired an entire staff of Earthlings,” Onyx said. “Including a chef, attendants, landscapers, to make it feel authentic. We both felt like it could thrive as both a place for visitors from the earth, as well as a tourist attraction for Nova Auroraians looking for a genuine Earth experience.”
Azura didn't have any words for the first time in her life. She was looking over the place, feeling that sense of home she thought she had lost forever.
Martin took her by the hand and squeezed it.
“You can make our home a home again, Azura,” Martin said. “We both know it's what you always wanted. And it's what you deserve.”
Azura turned to face the two men who had changed her life. She realized, looking at them, that she was no longer afraid of how they could hurt her; she had the utmost confidence that they would always have her best interests in mind.
“Well,” she said breathlessly. “I have not much I can say other than … let’s go home.”
The three embraced one another, shedding a few tears along the way as they walked over the plum shaded grass. Azura had found home again, and it was in the form of two wonderful hearts she knew were never going to leave her side.