Chapter 1: Moving Forward Part 1

Ocean waves wetted the sand a bit more with each surge that rolled toward Ella’s bare feet as she sat in her favorite spot, laptop hugged against her chest, her eyes focused on the horizon in the distance. Above her, the circling gulls called to one another, their song haunting, yet beautiful and comforting in a way that anchored Ella to her new home in Abalone Cove and reminded her that this place had been special for hundreds of years before she and her husband Rome came to own the large beach house behind her. She had no doubt this place would offer solace to others looking for peace long after she was gone.

A little over a month had passed since she’d launched her new business, Montage. Part art gallery, part graphic design and marketing firm, Montage was just that--a combination of the two parts of Ella’s previous life she loved enough to bring into her new existence. When she’d first moved here with Rome, she’d been lost and had questioned who she was and where she was headed in life. Once she’d found three dozen paintings in her attic, she’d had a mystery to solve, one that led her to a beloved artist from the past, Fae Ward, who had become her dear friend and a fairy godmother of sorts. With Fae’s guidance, Ella had discovered who she wanted to be now that most of the world, including her own father, believed she was dead. She’d realized walking out of the tomb hadn’t just created a plethora of problems to overcome, it had given her a world of possibilities. Now, as Juliet Montague, she’d begun the process of rebuilding herself, of becoming the woman she’d always dreamt of being. While there were still challenges ahead of her, the changes she’d noted in herself were all steps in the right direction. Juliet Montague was not the wallflower Ella Sinders had been. Juliet would’ve never consented to being locked in the attic by her stepmother the way that Ella had. Juliet was fierce, unyielding, knew what she wanted, and wasn’t afraid to do whatever it took to get it--just the sort of person Ella had always wished she could be.

Of course, if she were honest with herself, much of what Juliet said and did was a product of the acting skills she’d been practicing, thanks to her very talented husband who had been working with her ever since she’d hatched her plan to reenter the world as someone else, someone who could accomplish the two tasks Juliet needed to get done. While she was still a work in progress, there was no doubt in her mind that Juliet would manage to get both items done sooner rather than later.

The first task was already coming together nicely. With the launch of Montage, Juliet had taken the art world by storm, sending her fame and notoriety soaring off of the charts. That was her main reason for bringing her laptop with her to the beach today, to work on the upcoming show she was putting together for Montage’s second showing. All of the pieces she’d brought together for her first show had sold for unbelievable prices, including those by previously unknown artists. Now, she was bombarded with emails from artists around the globe on a daily basis, people who wanted to be part of her company, and even though it would’ve been easier to push going through those emails off on an assistant, Ella still insisted on giving each one a look. She knew exactly what type of pieces she was looking for, ones that made a statement similar to her own art and Fae’s, and she didn’t want anything overlooked that could potentially work with the show she was putting together.

For two weeks after the show, Ella had been busy interviewing graphic design artists to launch that part of her business. The marketing for the show had been on point, and requests for similar launches and event promotions had been pouring in. While she loved doing the graphics herself, she’d quickly become overwhelmed with so many requests and had had to find a few others to bring aboard. One of her most trusted designers was currently working on hiring a few more team members. Sitting with her feet in the sand, admiring the azure blue sky, Ella couldn’t help but think that aspect of what she’d wanted to accomplish with her new business was certainly well on its way to being accomplished.

Then, there was the second task. That would take much longer. Letting out a sigh, Ella picked her cell phone up off of the towel she was sitting on to save the housekeeper, Lenore, some work since she was known for tracking sand into the house, not that the sweet woman would ever complain. She looked at the screen and considered making a call to the man she had on her mind almost as much as her own husband. Deciding against it, she set the phone back down and returned her gaze to the sky. Was she making the right move?