12. Ellie
— · —
Ellie
Our bedroom was exactly as I’d left it.
That was the first thing I noticed, standing in the doorway with my coat still on and the quiet of the house pressing in from all sides. The maid had obviously been through. The surfaces were dust-free, and the throw pillows were arranged just perfectly. Everything was in order, with one exception.
My note was still there.
On the dresser. Two months old now, the paper was slightly curled at one corner. My goodbye had been hastily scrawled on it. I’d written it in heartbreak and anger. I’d written it before I knew what was growing inside my womb. If I’d known, would I have done anything differently?
I didn’t know.
The drive here had taken four hours, plenty of time to mull Victoria’s offer over and over in my head.
Five million dollars. Even after living in this house for two years, after seeing the outrageous number in my joint checking account, that number was staggering.
Five million dollars, plus another five million for the little bean growing inside of me when she turned eighteen.
It was, as Victoria pointed out, a secure future.
One where I was in complete control. The kind of security no one could ever take away from me.
Five fucking million dollars.
Sitting on the edge of the bed, I stared at the closet doors, struggling to contemplate my next steps. To organize my thoughts and figure out what to do. How best to do it.
Five million dollars. What the hell does someone even do with that kind of money? I wouldn’t have a palace. This place always felt so damn cold. Not like a warm and cozy home.
A loud commotion distracted me, and I got up and walked to the doorway. Two men grunted under the weight of an enormous box as they carried it up the stairs. Lorne, dressed in his butler uniform, stood at the railing. “Do not scratch the walls!” he bellowed. “There is plenty of space.”
“Lorne? What’s going on? What is this?”
He turned, his eyes widening in surprise, but when he smiled, it was warm and welcoming.
“Mrs. Montgomery.” He stepped around the men with their boxes, unhurried.
“I had not realized you’d returned. Welcome home.
These are the items Gideon had ordered for the nursery.
I think he’d hoped that we would get it put together before you arrived, but this is probably better.
A mother-to-be should have a say in how the nursery looks, but I think you’ll be pleased, and if you’re not, we can return it all. ”
“Jesus, please be pleased,” the man grunted.
“That is hardly professional,” Lorne snapped. The two men made it up the steps with a sigh of relief and moved down the hall. Curious, I followed behind them. The room next to ours was Gideon’s office, but it was completely empty.
“Is this room all right?” Lorne asked me.
“I don’t understand,” I said, avoiding the question. “Gideon ordered all of this?”
“Yes, ma’am. It’s a butter yellow. Frankly, I think it’s adorable. He called me yesterday to tell me that you’re having a girl, and I am so pleased. I am so looking forward to young life in the home again. Just the thing to bring it back to life.”
Gideon had only known about the baby for a few days. He must have ordered all of this when he was alone in town and had it specially delivered. In fact, when I stepped closer to the box and ran my hands over it, I glanced at the shipping label.
He’d ordered it from town. I knew Cherub Cheeks well. From the moment I’d arrived, I’d spent nearly every day in the baby store, looking at everything in wonder.
“Lady?” the man grunted. “Is this the room?”
“I…”
The front door opened downstairs. “Can’t believe you made me take a rideshare! Have you lost your mind!”
“I told you to get out, and I’m not going to keep saying it.”
Gideon and Victoria. What in the world? I moved to the top of the stairs.
Below, Gideon had his back to me, one hand on the front door he’d apparently just come through, still holding it open in pointed suggestion.
Victoria stood in the entry hall, immaculate as always, her composure the slightly brittle kind that meant she was working to maintain it.
“You can’t just go barging out there looking for her.”
“I won’t have to. Haven’t you just so elegantly pointed out that money has an excellent way of bribing people? I’m sure with five million dollars, your driver will be more than happy to tell me where he dropped my wife off,” Gideon snarled.
“Five million dollars? To my chauffeur? Why not give him ten?” Victoria yelled.
“Why not fifteen? Hell, let’s make it twenty, and he’ll probably drive me to her. That’d be nice and neat. Lorne!” Gideon bellowed. “I need the number to my mother’s driver and a change of clothes. In fact, pack a bag. I’m not sure how long I’ll be gone.”
“Gideon!” Victoria hissed.
“Haven’t you figured it out, Mother? I don’t care that Ellie took the money.
In fact, I’m glad of it because now I can prove to her that none of this means anything to me.
You want to give her five million? I will sign over the entire family fortune and the company.
I’ll even drop the Montgomery name because the fucking family legacy means absolutely nothing to me without her.
She is the love of my life. There is nothing that I would not sacrifice for her, including you, Mother.
As of now, we are done. Feel free to disinherit me because you are never going to see or hear from me again. ”
Victoria gasped. The two men set the box down with wide eyes, and Lorne clutched his chest. Rolling my eyes at the drama of it all, I started down the steps and stopped halfway. “That’s enough,” I said sternly.
Gideon and Victoria both looked up at me, but all I cared about was Gideon. His entire face changed as he grinned up at me. I couldn’t help but smile back.
“There is no need to pay twenty million dollars to chase me down because I have not gone anywhere, although Jake is a lovely man, and I suspect he would do a lot of good with that kind of money. His father is ill, you know. I told him that we would take care of his medical bills.”
“You’re here,” Gideon murmured.
“I am. I took no money from your mother, nor did I sign anything - not the contract or the divorce papers. I left because, in the face of all that temptation, I knew exactly what I wanted, and I needed some time and space to figure out how to make it work.”
“And?” Gideon walked up the first couple of steps. “What is it that you want, Ellie?”
I took a deep breath. “We married because we were hopelessly in love with each other and thought love would conquer all, but life is hard, and if you don’t make a plan for the hard things, they will take over.
I will not make the same mistake twice. We nearly lost each other, Gideon, so this time, we do it right. We talk it through.”
He moved up two more steps toward me. “Everything of mine is yours.”
This man was absolutely ridiculous. “When I married you, you destroyed every plan I had for myself, every single part of my identity. I was going to be a nurse. I was going to make a difference. Instead, I became your wife. Not only can that not happen again, but you also can’t make that same mistake.
The Montgomery legacy is yours. The company.
I don’t want any of that, although I will stand by your side and help you as an equal partner in every decision while I figure out what is right for me. ”
Another two steps. “As long as you let me be your partner in the life that you build for yourself.”
“Of course.” I turned to Victoria. “And you. We are family. We may never like each other, but that’s fine.
Many in-laws don’t. But I want my daughter to have as much family as possible.
I want her to have the kind of relationship with a grandmother that shaped me, and without you, she won’t.
But I can’t make that decision for you. Only you can.
Gideon is my family, and you are welcome to be a part of that.
You just have to choose to do so with a kind heart.
Even despite all of this, I would be happy to have you. ”
Mouth slightly open, Victoria stared at me.
Gideon bounded the rest of the way up the stairs and immediately wrapped his arms around me and kissed me deeply. I softened in his embrace and inhaled deeply.
I was so fucking in love with this man that it wasn’t even remotely funny.
“You don’t have to forgive her,” he said quietly, for me only. “You don’t owe her anything.”
“I know. This isn’t out of necessity. It’s something I truly want to do, Gideon. She is your mother, and I love you so desperately. She loves you too. This is probably the only way she knows how to show it.”
“God, say it again, baby. Please.”
With a slight chuckle, I smiled and wrapped my arms around his neck.
“I love you, Gideon. I loved the man who walked into that diner two years ago and immediately decided to sweep me off my feet. I loved the man who courted me in such a whirlwind fashion that I could barely breathe. I loved the man I married, and I even loved you when I left you. That has never changed. We may never have an easy life.”
“Significant bumps, probably,” he agreed. “But I can take every one as long as you talk to me. When something’s wrong, when you’re drowning, when I’m doing something idiotic. Just tell me, and I’ll fix it.”
“And if you’re the one drowning?”
“Then I’ll tell you. We do it together this time. My entire heart is yours, Ellie. It’s always been yours, and I will protect it with every breath. I swear it. We will do it right this time. I won’t risk losing you a second time.”
He kissed me warmly and sweetly, but when he pulled back, there was a frown on his face.
“What?” I asked in alarm.
“There are two strange men standing by the railing and crying.”
“That would apparently be the delivery men for Cherub Cheeks,” I told him as I cocked my head. “They are delivering our nursery furniture. I’m told it’s done in a very sweet butter yellow.”
He ducked his head. “Shit. Um… surprise?”
“Surprise, indeed.”
His hand cradled my belly. “My two beautiful girls. Welcome home.”