Chapter 9 - THE TRUTH SPOKEN
Later that night, after Lily had finally fallen asleep in the massive guest suite Nathaniel had insisted they use instead of the staff cottage, Elena stepped out onto the balcony. The Connecticut air was cool and smelled of impending rain.
She heard the heavy oak door open and close, and then Nathaniel stepped out to join her. He had traded his formal wear for a simple sweater and slacks, looking more human, more vulnerable than she had ever seen him.
“Is she sleeping?” he asked, leaning against the stone balustrade.
“She is,” Elena said, wrapping her arms around herself. “Mr. Whitfield, I—”
“Nathaniel,” he corrected gently. “Please.”
Elena swallowed hard. “Nathaniel. Tomorrow, I will pack our things. I can’t stay here after tonight. It wouldn’t be right. The staff, the press… they’ll make it unbearable for you.”
Nathaniel turned to fully face her, closing the distance between them. “Elena, look at me.”
She hesitated, then met his gaze.
“Six years ago, I died in that car crash with Caroline and June,” he said, his voice rough with unshed tears. “I have been a ghost haunting my own life. I built walls so high I thought I’d never feel the sun again. And then a three-year-old girl walked into my study and asked me why I forgot how to smile. And then her mother showed me what grace and strength actually look like.”
He reached out, his hand hovering before gently touching her cheek. Elena leaned into the warmth of his palm, a tear finally escaping her eye.
“I didn’t end it with Victoria just because she was a fraud,” Nathaniel confessed. “I ended it because I realized I was falling in love with a woman who folded my towels, and I was terrified I wasn’t worthy of her.”
Elena’s breath hitched. “I’m a maid, Nathaniel. You are a billionaire. The world doesn’t let people like us work.”
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“Then we buy a new world,” he said fiercely. “Elena, I don't care about the money. I care about the fact that for the first time in six years, I want to wake up in the morning. Please. Don't leave. Let me take care of you. Let me be the man you and Lily deserve.”
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