Chapter 10 - Maya Finally Asked Me the Question I Had Been Avoiding Since the Hospital—Could We Ever Become a Family Again?Richard was found in Colorado.
He surrendered.
He admitted everything.
He had worked with my father.
He had helped hide Maya's pregnancy.
He had manipulated Darla.
But he claimed he never wanted our son harmed.
“I wanted him protected.”
Maya looked at him.
“You protected him by lying?”
“Yes.”
“You destroyed my marriage.”
“I thought Caleb would abandon you.”
I stared.
“Why?”
“Because your father believed you would.”
Richard looked at me.
“He wanted you separated.”
“For what?”
“Control.”
I laughed.
“The word everyone uses.”
Richard shook his head.
“No.”
He leaned closer.
“Your father believed you were incapable of loving someone more than your ambition.”
That hurt.
Because maybe I'd believed it too.
I looked at Maya.
She was crying.
Richard continued:
“He arranged the divorce.”
“What?”
“He sent the financial documents.”
“He manipulated your lawyers.”
“He made you believe Maya had chosen money over you.”
I stared.
That wasn't true.
We had been manipulated.
Both of us.
Our marriage had not simply failed.
It had been sabotaged.
I turned toward Maya.
“I am sorry.”
She looked at me.
“For what?”
“For believing the worst about you.”
She nodded.
“I am sorry too.”
“We both made mistakes.”
“Yes.”
“But I want to fix them.”
She cried.
“I don't know if we can.”
“I know.”
“But?”
“We can try.”
She smiled through tears.
That was all I needed.
Our son continued improving.
We gave him a name.
Ethan Lawson.
Not a family name from my father.
Not a title.
A name we chose.
Ethan.
Maya held him.
I watched.
For the first time, I felt like a father.
Not an heir.
Not a CEO.
A father.
We moved into a quieter house.
I reduced my corporate schedule.
I started coming home.
Every night.
Maya returned to school.
She wanted to finish her degree.
I supported her.
We didn't rush the marriage.
We lived together because of the baby.
We learned each other again.
One evening, she asked:
“Do you still love me?”
I looked at her.
“Yes.”
“Why?”
“Because you were always the person I should have listened to.”
She smiled.
“That's not a very romantic answer.”
I laughed.
“Then because you're the mother of my son.”
She shook her head.
“Better.”
I took her hand.
“But also because you're Maya.”
She looked at me.
“I never stopped loving you.”
She cried.
I held her.
It wasn't a promise that everything would be perfect.
May you like
It was a promise to try.
That was enough.
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