Chapter 10 - HEALING THE WOUNDS
The winter passed, taking the last remnants of the scandal with it. Vivian Sterling was convicted on all counts and sentenced to twelve years in federal prison.
Ashford Hall transformed. The suffocating, fearful atmosphere that had choked the staff evaporated. Ethan implemented massive reforms across his entire company, establishing strict HR protections and anonymous reporting systems to ensure no employee could ever be blackmailed or abused by management again.
But the most profound change was in Ethan himself.
He was no longer the workaholic billionaire who lived solely for the next acquisition. He was home for dinner every night.
On a bright Saturday morning in early May, exactly one year after the canceled wedding, Ethan was in the estate gardens. He wasn't wearing a suit. He was wearing muddy jeans and a t-shirt, kneeling in the dirt, helping Lily plant a row of sunflowers.
“Like this, Mr. Ethan?” Lily asked, patting the soil around a tiny green shoot with her small, dirt-covered hands.
“Exactly like that, Lily-bug,” Ethan smiled, handing her a small watering can.
Nora walked down the stone path, carrying a tray with a pitcher of lemonade and three glasses. She looked radiant. The dark circles under her eyes were long gone, replaced by a vibrant, healthy glow. She was no longer a maid; Ethan had paid for her to finish her degree in interior design, and she was currently redesigning the hotel chain’s flagship lobbies.
“You two are going to be covered in mud,” Nora laughed, setting the tray down on a wrought-iron table.
Ethan stood up, wiping his brow with the back of his hand. He looked at Nora, his heart doing the same familiar stutter it did every time she smiled at him. Over the past year, their bond had deepened slowly, built on a foundation of profound trust, late-night conversations by the fire, and a shared love for the little girl running around their feet.
He closed the distance between them, wrapping his arms around her waist, completely indifferent to the mud transferring to her shirt.
“I don't mind a little mud,” Ethan murmured, leaning down to press a soft kiss against her lips.
Nora smiled against his mouth, her arms coming up to loop around his neck. “The staff is going to see you behaving unprofessionally, Mr. Caldwell.”
“I’m off the clock,” he whispered back.
May you like
He reached into his pocket, his fingers brushing against a small velvet box he had been carrying around for three weeks, waiting for the perfect moment. Looking at Nora, bathed in the spring sunlight, with Lily giggling in the background, he knew there would never be a better moment.
He took a step back, and dropped to one knee in the garden dirt.
