CHAPTER THIRTY THREE
SOPHIA
I stare at the car keys in my palm, still warm from Lily’s hand.
“It’s just a loaner,” she’d said, her kind eyes so different from Helen’s assessing gaze. “Automatic transmission, so you don’t have to worry about that. GPS is programmed for Lake Wanaka—it’s about an hour away. Beautiful spot.”
“I can’t just take your car,” I’d protested weakly.
Lily smiles. “It’s not mine. It’s just one of the estate cars. We have several.” She pauses, studying my face. “You look like you could use some space, Sophia. Anyone would.”
I nod, grateful for her perceptiveness. “I’m going to see if Madison wants to come with me.”
“Of course,” Lily replies. “I was planning to show her the kiwi sanctuary, but that can wait.”
I find Madison on the sprawling lawn with Emma, learning proper rugby passing technique. She looks up, flushed with exertion and excitement.
“Mom! Emma says I have natural talent! She thinks I could play wing if I practiced—”
“That’s wonderful, sweetie,” I interrupt gently. “How would you feel about taking a drive with me? There’s a famous tree in a lake nearby that I’d love to see.”
Madison’s enthusiasm dims slightly. “Right now? But Emma was just about to show me how to—”
“I’d really like you to come with me, Madison,” I say, my tone making it clear this wasn’t really a request. “It’s supposed to be beautiful, and we can take some photos for your Instagram.”
She studies my face for a moment, her teenage perception catching something in my expression. “Okay, Mom. Let me just grab my phone from inside.”
“I’ll still be here when you get back,” Emma assures Madison with an understanding smile. “Maybe we can work on your kicking technique later.”
Now Madison sits beside me in the passenger seat of a luxury SUV that probably costs more than my annual salary, scrolling through her phone as I try to remember everything Lily had told me about driving in New Zealand.
“Stay left,” I mutter, adjusting the mirrors. “Always left.”
“This car is insane,” Madison comments, running her hand over the leather dashboard. “It’s like, way nicer than Mr. Cushman’s BMW, and he’s always bragging about it.”
I say nothing, focusing on getting us safely down the long driveway that leads away from the McKenzie Estate. The windshield wipers activate when I mean to signal a turn, and I fumble with the controls, feeling incompetent on top of everything else.
“Other side, Mom,” Madison says helpfully. “Everything’s backward here.”
“Perfect metaphor,” I mutter as I finally find the correct lever.
Madison glances up from her phone. “You okay? You seem…upset.”
“I’m fine,” I lie, not wanting to burden her with my emotional turmoil. “Just adjusting to driving on the wrong side of the road.”
She watches me for a moment longer, then returns to her phone. “This Wanaka Tree is super famous on Instagram. It grows right out of the lake. People come from all over the world to take pictures of it.”
“That’s what Lily said,” I reply, grateful for the neutral topic.
The landscape unfolds as we drive, vineyards giving way to rolling hills that climb toward mountains. Under other circumstances, I would have been captivated by the beauty. Now it feels like another layer of deception—the perfect backdrop for the fairy tale I’d been living.
“Mom, slow down,” Madison says suddenly. “You’re drifting right.”
I jerk the wheel, correcting our position. “Sorry. Still getting used to this.”
“So…” Madison begins carefully. “Are we going to talk about Jack’s family being, like, super rich?”
I tighten my grip on the steering wheel. “I didn’t know you’d noticed.”
She gives me her patented teenage are-you-serious look. “Mom. They have a mansion with staff and a wine empire. Kind of hard to miss.”
“Yes, well. It was certainly a surprise.”
“Did you really not know?” she asks, her voice softer now. “He never said anything?”
“No,” I say, the single syllable heavy with hurt. “He never mentioned any of it.”
Madison is quiet for a moment, processing. “That’s weird. I mean, it’s kind of a big thing to leave out.”
“Yes, it is.” I focus on the road, not trusting myself to say more without my voice betraying my emotions.
“But,” Madison continues thoughtfully, “he’s still the same Jack, right? The one who taught me to make pasta and brought you coffee and stuff?”
The question cuts straight to the heart of my confusion. “I don’t know, Madison. That’s what I’m trying to figure out.”
A car approaches from the opposite direction, and I instinctively drift right before jerking back to the left lane, heart pounding.
“Wrong side,” Madison reminds me, her hand bracing against the dashboard. “Remember where you are.”
But that is exactly the problem, isn’t it?
I hadn’t known where I was—in Jack’s life, in his world, in his heart.
I’d thought I was falling for a man who understood what it meant to live paycheck to paycheck, who valued the same simple things I did.
Instead, I’d fallen for a billionaire playing at being ordinary.
Playing paramedic, Helen had said. As if saving lives was a diversion, not a vocation.
“Do you think that’s why he became a paramedic?” Madison asks, as if reading my thoughts. “Because he’s rich and wanted to try something different?”
“I don’t know what to think anymore,” I admit. “I just know that he wasn’t honest with me.”
“Like Dad wasn’t honest?” Her voice is smaller now.
The comparison hits me hard. “Your father’s situation was different. He…changed over time. Jack kept this from me from the beginning.”
“But Dad was fake about, like, everything. Jack just didn’t tell you about his family being rich.” Madison pauses, considering. “Which is still messed up, but not as bad as Dad pretending to be a good person when he really wasn’t.”
I glance at her, surprised by her insight. “When did you get so wise?”
She shrugs. “I watch a lot of relationship TikToks.”
Despite everything, I laugh. “Ah, the modern oracle.”
The GPS guides us through small towns and across a mountain pass, the road twisting through valleys that open to reveal snow-capped peaks. Madison takes photos through the window, momentarily distracted by the breathtaking scenery.
“Can I ask you something, Mom?” she says after a while, her voice tentative.
“Of course.”
“If Jack had told you about all this from the beginning, would you have dated him?”
The question catches me off guard. Would I have? Or would I have dismissed him as out of my league, a rich playboy slumming it in the ER?
“I honestly don’t know,” I answer truthfully. “I’d like to think it wouldn’t have mattered, but…”
“But you might have thought he was just playing around,” Madison finishes for me. “Like, not serious.”
“Maybe.”
“So maybe that’s why he didn’t tell you.” She turns to look out the window. “I’m not saying it’s right. Just…I get it, kind of.”
Lake Wanaka appears suddenly as we crest a hill, its vast blue expanse stretching toward distant mountains. The GPS directs us toward the town center, but a sign for “That Wanaka Tree” catches my attention.
“There it is,” Madison says, pointing. “Can we go see it?”
I follow the signs, pulling into a small parking area near the lakeshore.
As we walk along the stony beach, the famous lone tree growing out of the lake comes into view.
It stands solitary but defiant, persisting despite being surrounded by elements that should make survival impossible.
In the clear autumn air, the tree’s twisted branches are perfectly reflected in the still water, mountains rising majestically behind it.
Madison immediately begins taking photos, positioning herself to get the perfect angle with the mountains in the background.
I hang back, watching her, suddenly grateful for her presence.
Her practical perspective has already given me something to consider that I might have missed in my hurt and anger.
“Mom, come get in this picture with me,” she calls.
I join her, putting on a smile as she holds up her phone for a selfie with the tree behind us. “Perfect Instagram material.”
After she’d taken enough photos to satisfy her social media needs, we find a spot on the stony beach away from the other tourists. The early autumn air is crisp, the lake reflecting the mountains with perfect clarity.
“It’s really pretty here,” Madison says, skipping a stone across the water’s surface. “Different from home, but nice.”
“Yes, it is.” I wrap my arms around myself, the wind off the water cutting through my jacket.
“Are you going to break up with Jack?” Madison asks suddenly, her stone sinking rather than skipping.
I look at her, surprised by the directness of the question. “I don’t know yet. I need some time to think.”
She nods, picking up another stone. “I like him, you know. Even if his mom is kind of snobby.”
“You barely know him, Madison.”
“I know he makes you happy. Or did, before today.” She skips the stone successfully, watching it bounce three times before disappearing. “You haven’t been this happy since…I don’t know if I’ve ever seen you this happy, actually.”
Her words hit me with unexpected force. She is right—Jack had brought a joy to my life I hadn’t experienced before. The question is whether that joy had been built on a foundation of lies.
My phone buzzes in my pocket. I pull it out to see a message from Jack.
Jack: I should have told you everything from the beginning. I was wrong and I'm sorry. No excuses. I understand if you need space. Just please let me know you're safe.
Simple. Direct. No justifications.
I show the message to Madison, watching her reaction.
“See?” she says after reading it. “He knows he messed up.”
“Knowing and doing something about it are different things,” I point out.
“True.” She hands back my phone. “But at least he’s not making excuses like Dad always does.”
Again, the comparison to Troy gives me pause. Jack had deceived me, yes. But there is a fundamental difference in how he is handling the aftermath—with responsibility rather than deflection.
With cold fingers, I type a response:
Sophia: At Lake Wanaka with Madison. We're safe. Need time to think.
His reply comes immediately:
Jack: Thank you. Take all the time you need. We'll be here when you're ready.
We . His family. The McKenzies. The dynasty I’d unwittingly stepped into.
“What did he say?” Madison asks, peering over my shoulder.
“That we should take all the time we need.”
She nods approvingly. “That’s good. Not pushy.”
I tuck my phone away and stand, brushing sand from my jeans. “We should head back soon if we want to reach the estate before dark.”
“Does this mean you’re going to give him a chance to explain?” Madison asks, hope evident in her voice.
“It means I’m going to listen,” I say carefully. “That’s all I can promise right now.”
She seems satisfied with that. As we walk back to the car, I feel oddly calm. The tears I’d held back in Madison’s presence will have to wait, but her perspective has provided something valuable—a reminder that behind the deception is a man who has brought genuine happiness into our lives.
Jack had deceived me, yes. But is it the end? I don’t know yet.
What I do know is that I won’t make any decisions from a place of hurt and anger. Madison is with me. We are safe. We have time to figure out what comes next.
I start the SUV, adjust the mirrors, and remind myself once more: “Stay left. Everything’s different here.”
Different, but not necessarily wrong. Just a new reality I need to learn to navigate.
“Mom?” Madison says as we pull out of the parking lot. “No matter what you decide about Jack, I’m glad we came to New Zealand. It’s beautiful here.”
I reach over and squeeze her hand. “Me too, sweetie. Me too.”