Chapter 8 - The Family He Never Expected
Six months later, the trial began.
Daniel Harper faced federal charges.
The archive exposed dozens of people.
Some resigned.
Some were arrested.
Others disappeared overseas.
But Maya and Lily were safe.
Nathan testified.
Daniel Cross testified.
I testified.
For weeks, our lives revolved around courtrooms.
Then one afternoon, Maya walked into my office.
“I have a question.”
“Dangerous.”
“Are you serious about me?”
I stopped.
“Yes.”
“You've never said it.”
“I thought my actions were obvious.”
“They're not.”
I stood.
“Maya, I love you.”
She froze.
I had never planned the moment.
No flowers.
No expensive dinner.
No photographers.
Just four words.
“I love you.”
She smiled.
“Say it again.”
“I love you.”
She stepped closer.
“I love you too.”
Then she kissed me.
It was simple.
Warm.
Real.
Afterward, she rested her forehead against mine.
“What about Lily?”
“She comes with you.”
Maya smiled.
“She doesn't belong to you.”
“No.”
I looked toward the office door.
“But I'd like to belong to her.”
Three weeks later, Lily asked me a question.
“Are you going to marry Mama?”
I nearly dropped my coffee.
Maya nearly choked.
“Lily!”
“What?”
“That's private.”
“But I want to know.”
I looked at Maya.
She was blushing.
“I don't know.”
Lily frowned.
“Why not?”
“Because adults are complicated.”
She considered that.
“That's silly.”
I laughed.
“She has a point.”
Maya glared at me.
“Don't encourage her.”
At Christmas, I bought a small house in the suburbs.
Not a mansion.
Not a gated estate.
A house with a wide kitchen.
A backyard.
A tree.
A porch where we could sit in summer.
Maya walked through it.
“Why this?”
“Because it feels normal.”
She smiled.
“I like normal.”
Lily ran upstairs.
“This room!”
Her voice echoed through the hall.
Maya laughed.
“This is happening.”
“What?”
“I never thought we'd get here.”
I took her hand.
“We did.”
She looked at me.
“You really don't care about money anymore, do you?”
“I care about not being broke.”
She laughed.
“That sounds more like you.”
I kissed her.
Later that night, I sat on the porch alone.
Nathan joined me.
“You happy?”
“Yes.”
He nodded.
“Good.”
“Are you?”
He stared at the yard.
“I think I can be.”
“You should stay.”
“I am.”
We sat in silence.
Then he said,
“Dad would have liked this.”
I looked at him.
“Do you think?”
“Yes.”
“What about Mom?”
Nathan smiled.
“She would have cried.”
I laughed.
“Definitely.”
Inside, Maya and Lily were decorating a Christmas cookie.
Lily spotted us through the window.
“Daddy Ethan!”
I froze.
Nathan looked at me.
Maya heard it too.
She stopped.
For a moment, nobody spoke.
Lily opened the door.
“Come inside.”
I looked at Maya.
She smiled.
May you like
“Come inside.”
I went.
