Ysis #3
My voice cracked despite my best efforts to keep it together.
“Instead, every time I start to relax something else happens. We lost Aretha and still have to plan a service for that. Your mother almost died and Marius is still out there. Everywhere I turn it feels like this war is stealing moments I’ll never get back. ”
I rested my head against his chest and closed my eyes. “I’m scared I’m bringing our babies into chaos.” He was quiet for a long moment before turning me around to face him.
“No. They’re coming into love.” His hands found my face, brushing away the tears I couldn't keep from falling.
“They’re coming into a family that’s gone fight like hell for them.
They’re coming into a home where they will never question whether they were wanted.
They’ll grow up knowing laughter before fear, peace before survival, and opportunity before struggle.
” He smiled softly, resting his forehead against mine.
“They won’t remember this war, Troublemaker. By the time they’re old enough to understand the world, this chapter, it’ll be long behind us.”
“I hope so.”
“I know so.” His confidence settled me in a way nothing else could. He kissed my forehead before taking my hand.
“Come on.”
“Where we going?”
“I wanna show you something.” He led me out of the nursery and downstairs to his office. The moment he opened the door, I narrowed my eyes at him suspiciously.
“Kade...”
“What?”
“Now is not the time for your freak, nasty mentality.”
“My what?”
“You heard me.”
“You really think that’s where my mind at?”
“I know my husband.”
He laughed under his breath. “Come here.”
Walking around his desk, he pulled me in front of him until we were standing beside the large framed photograph from our wedding that sat on a credenza against the wall. He lifted the frame, revealing a concealed safe built into the wall behind it.
“Three...seven...two...six,” he said making me key in the combination.
“What’s that?”
“The day you walked in my life and changed the course of it forever.” He breathed in my ear as the lock clicked.
The heavy door swung open. Inside sat neatly organized stacks of paperwork alongside velvet jewelry boxes, family heirlooms, cash, a pair of secured firearms, and one thick manila envelope that looked as though it’d been opened and updated more than once.
He reached inside, removed the envelope, then locked the safe again before returning the picture to it's place. Taking my hand, he guided me toward his desk and lowered himself into the chair, pulling me gently into his lap.
“What is all this?”
“Our future.” He placed the envelope across both our laps before opening it.
“I know paperwork ain’t romantic, but neither is leaving the people you love trying to figure everything out.”
I felt my stomach tighten. “Kade...”
“Hear me out.” His thumb traced slow circles across the back of my hand. “When I built Myles Tech, I wasn’t just building a company. Every investment, property, acquisition, and decision I’ve made has been with one goal in mind.”
He turned the first page toward me. “I wanted to make sure my family would never have to start from zero.” One by one, Kade patiently walked me through every page inside the envelope, never once rushing me or making me feel embarrassed whenever I stopped him to ask another question.
He explained how over the years he’d purchased homes throughout the country and abroad, not because he cared about collecting houses, but because he wanted our family to always have somewhere to land no matter where life carried us.
He showed me the commercial buildings that generated income every month, the business acquisitions he’d made behind the scenes, investment portfolios that continued to grow while we slept, and educational trusts he’d already established for our twins before they’d even entered the world.
There were retirement accounts, long-term investment strategies, insurance policies, and family trusts structured to protect not only us, but generations of children whose names we hadn’t even chosen yet.
Every page I turned revealed another piece of a future he’d been quietly building while I was busy simply trying to survive each day.
Every document seemed to answer a question I hadn’t thought to ask yet.
What happens when the twins start school?
Already handled. What if we wanted to spend a summer overseas?
Already planned for. What if one day our grandchildren decided they wanted to start businesses of their own?
Kade had somehow thought that far ahead too.
It wasn’t just money sitting in bank accounts.
It was peace of mind tucked neatly inside manila folders, every signature and every investment serving as another promise that our children would inherit opportunities instead of obstacles.
He explained each page with patience, translating financial language into something I could understand, never once making me feel overwhelmed or incapable.
“See this here? This account making money whether I’m awake or knocked out.
That building over there paying for itself because the tenants covering the mortgage every month.
This company own stock in this company, which own stock in another company.
Before you know it, the money start stacking on top of itself. ”
“My mama’s taken care of.” He tapped another section.
“Our babies are taken care of.”
Then he looked at me. “And my wife is taken care of.”
I swallowed around the lump forming in my throat.
“I need you involved in all of this,” he continued.
“Not because I expect you to become a financial expert overnight, but because I trust you.
If we're making decisions that shape our future, I want your fingerprints on every one of them.
I don't want you hearing about our life after I've already built it. I want you helping me build it.”