Chapter 8
The next few weeks were chaos.
Reporters camped outside the mansion gates 24/7, their cameras pointed at the house, yelling questions every time a car left or entered.
The story was everywhere.
Billionaire Matriarch Arrested for Murder of Daughter-in-Law.
Ethan Hale’s Maid Turned Mama Exposes Family Secret.
Hale Foundation Embezzlement Scandal Rocks Dallas.
Daniel spent most days in his office, on the phone with lawyers, with the police, with the foundation board, working to fix everything Evelyn had broken.
I spent my days with Ethan.
We didn’t leave the house much.
We built Lego towers.
We watched dinosaur movies.
We baked cookies that always came out burnt.
He didn’t ask about Evelyn.
Not once.
I think he was just happy she was gone.
Happy that no one was yelling anymore.
Happy that it was just the three of us.
Mom came to stay a week after Evelyn was arrested.
The doctors had moved her up the transplant list, Daniel had arranged it, and they’d found a match.
The surgery was scheduled for the following month.
She moved into the guest house on the property, so we could take care of her while she recovered.
She loved it.
Spent all day in the garden, planting roses, talking to the birds, happier than I’d seen her in years.
The night before her surgery, we were all in the living room, watching a movie.
Ethan was asleep on the couch, his head in Mom’s lap.
Mom was stroking his hair, smiling soft.
Daniel was sitting next to me, his hand resting on my knee, his thumb rubbing slow circles on my skin.
“Thank you,” Mom said, quiet, looking at Daniel. “For everything. For the surgery. For taking care of my girl. For loving her like she deserves.”
Daniel smiled, squeezing my knee.
“Thank you,” he said. “For raising her. For making her the kind of woman who would walk into a room full of people who hated her, and still love my son like he was her own. I don’t know what we’d do without her.”
I felt my eyes burn.
I looked at Mom, healthy and happy.
Looked at Ethan, asleep and safe.
Looked at Daniel, looking at me like I was the best thing that had ever happened to him.
I’d never felt so full.
So loved.
After Mom took Ethan up to bed, Daniel and I stayed on the couch, sitting in the quiet, the only light coming from the TV.
He turned to me, taking both my hands in his.
“I meant what I said,” he said, soft. “In the library. When I called you the woman I love.”
My heart skipped a beat.
“I’ve been in love with you for months,” he said. “Since the night you calmed Ethan down from his nightmare. Since the treehouse. Since the second you walked into this house and made it feel like a home again. I was just too scared to say it. Scared I’d lose you. Scared I’d mess it up, like I messed everything up with Clara.”
He reached up, brushing a strand of hair off my face, his fingers soft against my skin.
“I love you,” he said. “Not because of any contract. Not because of Ethan. Because of you. Because you’re kind. Because you’re brave. Because you love my son like he’s yours. Because you make me want to be a better man. I love you. And I want you to stay. Forever. If you’ll have me.”
I didn’t say anything.
I just leaned in, kissing him, soft and slow, my hands in his hair, his arms wrapping around my waist, pulling me close.
It was the kind of kiss you read about in books.
The kind that makes your toes curl, that makes your whole body feel warm, that makes you forget every bad thing that ever happened to you.
When we pulled apart, we were both breathless, smiling like idiots.
“I love you too,” I said, quiet. “So much.”
He kissed me again, deeper this time, holding me like he never wanted to let go.
Outside, the wind blew through the trees.
Somewhere, a bird chirped.
For the first time in my life, I didn’t feel scared.
I didn’t feel like I was waiting for the other shoe to drop.
I just felt.
Happy.
May you like
Safe.
Home.
