Chapter 7 - The Family That Came Back From the Dead
With Victor arrested, the final pieces began falling into place.
Rowan's father returned to the city.
Mave's mother, long believed dead, was discovered alive as well.
The years apart had been spent hiding from the same network.
Mave's world shattered all over again.
“You knew.”
Her mother sat across from her.
“I wanted to come home.”
“Then why didn't you?”
“Because they threatened you.”
“You let me grow up thinking you were dead.”
“I know.”
Mave cried.
Her mother reached for her.
This time, Mave let her.
Rowan watched from the doorway.
He understood what it meant to lose years that could never be recovered.
The two families finally sat together.
The truth was ugly.
Patrick Sullivan and Evelyn Mercer had once worked side by side.
They had planned to expose the council.
But betrayal from inside had forced them apart.
Mave's father had sacrificed himself to protect both children.
Rowan's father had disappeared.
Their mothers had hidden.
Victor had spent decades trying to destroy the evidence.
And Rowan and Mave had met by accident.
Or perhaps not entirely by accident.
Because Patrick had left instructions that Rowan be contacted if anything happened.
But no one expected a kiss to begin the next chapter.
One evening, Mave sat with Rowan on the balcony.
“You know what I keep thinking?”
“What?”
“If Khloe hadn't dared me…”
“You'd still have kissed me.”
She laughed.
“Absolutely not.”
“You were already staring.”
“I was wondering why you looked like someone had canceled Christmas.”
“I don't celebrate Christmas.”
“Exactly.”
He smiled.
She rested her head against him.
“Do you regret that night?”
“No.”
“Even though it ruined your life?”
“It improved it.”
She looked up.
“You really mean that?”
“Yes.”
He kissed her forehead.
“You taught me something.”
“What?”
“That not everything unexpected is a threat.”
Mave smiled.
“And you taught me that rich men really do return fifty-dollar bills.”
He laughed.
The city below seemed smaller now.
Less threatening.
More like home.
Then Rowan's father approached.
“I have something for you.”
He handed Mave a small wooden box.
Inside was a ring.
Her mother's.
Mave gasped.
“This belonged to her.”
“Yes.”
Her mother stood behind him.
“I wanted you to have it.”
Tears filled Mave's eyes.
Rowan took her hand.
“You deserve a life that isn't built around secrets.”
She looked at him.
“Do I?”
“Yes.”
“What does that life look like?”
He smiled.
“You tell me.”
She leaned into him.
“A bakery.”
“Fine.”
“A normal house.”
“Fine.”
“A dog.”
He hesitated.
“Maybe.”
“And a man who never sends armed security to walk me three blocks.”
“No promises.”
She laughed.
Then he knelt.
Mave's breath caught.
“Rowan.”
“I've spent my life making decisions without asking anyone.”
He took the ring.
“This is the first one I want you to make.”
She covered her mouth.
“Will you marry me?”
Mave cried.
“Yes.”
He slipped the ring onto her finger.
The same woman who had walked into a bar for fifty dollars was now engaged to the man whose name once terrified the entire city.
May you like
But the greatest surprise was not that Rowan Mercer loved her.
It was that he had finally learned how to love without controlling.
