Swapping a Broken Heart for a New Start novel Chapter 480

Brilliant bursts of color lit up the night sky over Manhattan, painting the city in shimmering shades of blue, gold, and crimson.

They weren’t real fireworks—Camila Davis knew that. But as she stood on the rooftop terrace, she could have sworn she was watching the most dazzling Fourth of July display of her life.

Even more unbelievable, at the grand finale, the lights morphed into a portrait of her face. Subtle words shimmered underneath: “Happy Birthday, Camila. Wishing you joy and smooth sailing for all your days.”

Camila stood there, absolutely stunned.

She’d seen those drone shows on social media before, but they were always small-scale—maybe spelling out “Congratulations” or making a heart shape overhead.

Never in a million years did she imagine someone would put on a show like this just for her.

And the scale! The whole city could see it. There must’ve been hundreds—maybe thousands—of drones. How long would it even take to pull something like this off?

She turned, open-mouthed, to Dennis Williams.

“This is… incredible,” she managed, finally finding her voice. “Mr. Williams, how long did it take you to plan all this?”

Dennis glanced out at the fading lights before answering, cool and collected as ever. “Not long. These drones are a new line from Smith Group—we use them for projects all the time, so the team’s pretty practiced. The show tonight took about a week to program.”

Camila’s jaw dropped again.

“A week? To get all those images and animations just right? If I’m not mistaken, those were actual pictures—like, paintings, almost.”

Dennis let out a quiet chuckle. “You have a good eye.”

Camila blinked in surprise. “Wait, for real? Don’t tell me you painted those yourself?”

He shrugged like it was nothing. “Painting’s not hard for me. Didn’t take much time.”

A few steps away, Aaron tried not to roll his eyes. Sure, it didn’t take Dennis much time, but the guy had filled half a sketchbook for tonight’s show. And coordinating everything to make the images come alive in the sky? That was a whole other level of effort.

Honestly, Aaron thought, this would be the perfect opportunity for Dennis to brag a little. Why not let Camila know just how much work he put in?

But he knew better than to try and play hype-man—Dennis would just give him that look.

Camila had no idea what Aaron was thinking, but she could guess how much work went into this. Dennis wasn’t the type to talk himself up; he preferred to let his actions speak for him.

And even if he didn’t say it out loud, Camila felt the care and thought behind it all.

She looked him in the eyes, her voice soft but earnest. “This is the best birthday present I’ve ever gotten. Thank you.”

Dennis smiled, just a little. “Glad you like it.”

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