21. Anika
— ? —
Anika
I woke in our bed.
For a moment, I just lay there, trying to remember the last time I’d done that. An eternity of mornings in Anwesha’s spare room, waking up alone, reaching for someone who wasn’t there.
Neil’s side was empty but still warm.
I found him in my studio.
He’d already set out fresh canvases. My favorite coffee was waiting on the table, still steaming. He was standing by the window, phone to his ear, wearing nothing but sweatpants slung low on his hips.
“No, William, I don’t care what the board thinks. You’re running things. Indefinitely.” A pause. “Because I said so. Because I’m the majority shareholder. Because I’m done putting work first.”
He turned and saw me in the doorway. His face broke into a smile that made my stomach flip.
“I have to go,” he said into the phone. “My wife just woke up.”
He hung up before William could respond.
“You’re stepping back,” I said.
“I’m stepping back.”
“From Franco Holdings. The company your father started, the one that failed and you had to rebuild.”
“The company I built instead of a marriage.” He crossed to me. Cupped my face in his hands. “William can handle the day-to-day. I’ll still own it. I just won’t run it anymore.”
Before I could respond, his phone rang again.
He glanced at the screen. “The restorer. About The Table.”
“Answer it.”
He did, putting it on speaker. A woman’s voice filled the room, calm and professional.
“Mr. Franco, I’ve examined the painting. The damage is significant but not irreparable. I can restore it, but there will be visible scarring.”
“Leave the scar,” I said.
Neil raised an eyebrow.
“It’s part of the story now. The painting survived. I want people to see that.”
The restorer paused. “That’s actually quite powerful. I can work with that.”
She hung up. My phone rang almost immediately.
“Theo’s people,” I said. “About Milan.”
I answered it.
“This is Anika Franco.”
The voice on the other end was efficient and accented. “Mrs. Franco. Mr. Lachlan wanted me to confirm that the Milan showing is moving forward. We have three galleries interested. If you could come…”
“I’ll be there.”
I hung up and looked at Neil.
“I’m coming,” he said.
“You have a company.”
“I have a wife.”
“For how long?”
“Forever.” He said it simply. Like it was the most obvious thing in the world. “If that’s what you need.”
I stared at him. At this man who’d forgotten my birthday and missed our anniversary and written terrible things in a diary I gave him.
“Fine,” I said. “But I’m working the whole time.”
“I’ll carry your bags and look pretty. Make sure Theo stays a gentleman.”
“You’ll hate it.”
“I’ll hate every second. And I’ll be there anyway.”
I laughed. The sound surprised both of us.
“One more thing,” I said. “Since the fourteen days are over, the rules are also over. All of them.”
He went still. “All of them?”
“You did two weeks with no money, no assistant, no shortcuts. You earned it back. Now you can have Giovani do everything for you again.” I walked to the counter, picked up his wallet where he’d left it last night, and handed it to him.
“The black card too. You can finally go back to your billionaire life.”
He took the wallet. His grin turned dangerous.
“You have no idea what you just authorized.”
“Scare me.”
He pulled me close. Kissed me until I forgot what we were talking about, until the only thing in the world was his mouth on mine and his hands in my hair.
When he finally pulled back, his eyes were bright with something that looked almost feral.
“Milan,” he said. “We’ll both be there.”