Discovering he was alive was almost as painful as losing him had been.
One afternoon we met at my grandfather’s house.
“You watched me for years,” I told him.
“Yes.”
“You saw what was happening.”
“I didn’t know about the pregnancy or the clinic until that day.”
“But you knew Julian was connected to them.”
Sebastian took a deep breath.
“Yes.”
Hearing it hurt.
“Then you decided for me too.”
He didn’t try to justify himself.
“Yes.”
That answer did more for him than any excuse could have.
Sebastian didn’t ask me to forgive him.
He didn’t promise me everything would go back to the way it was before.
He simply stayed close when I needed help and stepped back when I needed space.
Nor did I immediately return to the woman I had been before Julian.
That Rachel no longer existed.
I took public control of Meridian Capital.
I reorganized the Montgomery Group and created a foundation dedicated to legal and financial assistance for women trapped in relationships of economic abuse, coercion, or control.
My son was born healthy.
I named him Leo.
The day I held him in my arms, I remembered the table in that clinic.
I thought of the needle.
Of the straps.
Of Julian’s voice saying that Simone was the only woman worthy of giving him an heir.
And I kissed Leo’s forehead.
“You were never anyone’s heir,” I whispered. “You are my son. That is enough.”
Julian was convicted of the crimes related to the conspiracy and the espionage.
Simone received a much longer sentence.
Her organization began to fall apart thanks to the files recovered that night.
My grandfather lived long enough to meet Leo.
I will never forget old Arthur Montgomery, the man who could make a boardroom tremble, walking around the house for hours with a baby asleep on his chest because he was afraid of waking him.
Three years later, Sebastian invited me to dinner.
He didn’t talk about the past.
He didn’t mention our old wedding.
When we finished dessert, he set a small box on the table.
I went still.
“Sebastian…”
“It’s not a ring.”
I opened the box.
