Chapter 47
My stomach clenched, preparing me for more emotional pain as Thomas gripped my shoulder. It had come to the point where my anxiety went on high alert before almost every conversation.
Thomas quickly removed his hand.
“I didn’t mean to scare you. It’s just something I’ve been meaning to say. My brother has never compromised for anyone…not until you. That’s a big fucking deal for him. Don’t hurt him, Ellie. I’ve already lost one brother.”
I exhaled heavily.
“I don’t want to hurt him. I want to protect him.”
He touched my cheek, nodded, then pushed me through the door and walked away.
I ran up to the main suite, plopped onto the bed with my phone, and called Will.
He didn’t answer, and I didn’t leave a message. Voicemail was useless with him. He never listened to it. I sent a text message instead, hoping he would reply.
Please let me know you’re safe. Call me as soon as you can. I miss you already.
I dropped my phone on his pillow and stared at it, compulsively tapping the screen to wake it, waiting to hear from him.
A chill washed over me. I pulled the covers over me, stirring up the scent he’d left behind. The ring caught my attention then, sending my thoughts back to our shower, in his strong arms, when I knew without any doubt that I wanted to wear it.
I tapped on the phone again. Nothing.
Turning my hand to make the ring sparkle, I realized there had been no time to thank him or for us to appreciate it together. The band was a little loose, so I took it off to see where the jeweler might cut it for sizing.
My heart stopped.
He’d had something engraved inside the band.
Until my last breath. W
The script kind of made his W look like butterfly wings.
Immediately, I touched my neck, remembering the night he first kissed my lips and what he’d said about my birthmark, that it wasn’t a butterfly.
To lock that memory inside me forever, I slipped the ring back on and covered my heart with both hands. An aching lump grew at the back of my throat.
That inscription proved once more how committed he was to me. It reminded me to be more decisive, to be stronger. I couldn’t be his physical equal, but I could step my ass up and match his emotional strength.
Because really, staying out of his war room wasn’t strength. It wasn’t me giving him something. No, he needed a partner who gave him a little breathing room but without being ignorant.
I’ll never do that to him again.
When the sun came up, I still hadn’t heard back from Will. As more hours passed, the more I became anxious and worried.
Mary called out to me just as I hit the staircase to go down.
“Ellie, come and see me in my room. I’d quite like to chat before we go down, just the two of us.”
She waited in the corridor and led me into her sitting room.
“I don’t even know where to start,” she said.
“What’s wrong? Is it about Lissie?”
She smiled.
“Well, yes, I do want to talk about Lissie. But first, I want to know how you’re getting on, Ellie, truly. You’re like a daughter to me. We haven’t known each other very long, but nonetheless here we are, darling. You don’t need to hide your feelings from me.”
A lump knotted in my throat. I’d never had a mother, not since before my third birthday. I didn’t know what to say, so I just nodded.
“You’re still quite young, and I want you to know I’m here for you. Anything you need, Ellie. I can’t tell you that your life with my son will get easier. But I can say, he has the strongest mind, the most generous heart, and he’ll lead this family well. Most of all, he will never stop fighting for you, not in any way.”
Mary patted my arm, and I smiled.
“I believe that too. And thank you for being so amazing to Lissie and me.”
“You make him want more for this family.”
She hesitated for a minute.
“I miss Ethan terribly. His warmth, his generosity, even his sense of humor. Ellie, I know he made mistakes, but he loved this family with his whole heart.”
“I wish I’d had time to know him better.”
“I can see how much you miss Isabel and still grieve for her. Your grief will carry on, and it will change you. Someday, you’ll find your heart is lighter again. But the two of them, my Ethan and your Isabel, they left us such a precious gift.”
“You know…for sure?”
She nodded and then went to her dressing table for an envelope, handing it and then a letter opener to me as she sat back down on the sofa.
“We wanted absolutely no doubt to exist. I wanted there to be no valid disputes by anyone from Isabel’s past. And so Ethan had a paternity test done.”
“It’s still sealed,” I said.
“Yes, let’s open it now, darling.”
Carefully, I sliced open the envelope. The first thing that jumped out at me was Ethan’s signature for consent and the date—the first day we were all in London. I then skipped to the combined index result, where it indicated Lissie was Ethan’s child. I swallowed hard and steeled myself against a wave of sorrow.
She would never know him.
“When shall we tell her?” Mary asked.
“I think Will should be here when she finds out.”
Lissie would need him. He could ease her broken heart better than anyone.
“How long have you and Will known about this?”
“Will thought so right away. I realized the possibility when I compared the innocence in her eyes to John’s. She’s never had a father, and?—”
“—and now she has us, Ellie.”
I nodded.
“I’ve already made mistakes, Mary.”
With a warm smile, she rubbed my arm.
“As I have with my children. We do the best we can, and we ask for help when we need it. Ellie, nothing would make me happier than to help you raise my granddaughter.”
I nodded again, not knowing what else to say.
“There’s one more thing I wanted to see you about,” she said.
She fetched a wooden box from her closet and then popped open the lid to show me a delicate tiara covered in diamonds and sapphires.
“Maybe this isn’t quite the right time, but I do want you to have it.”
I ran my fingertips along the top, following the curves.
“You can wear it when you marry my son,” she added.
And then, as only a mother could do, she threw my own words back at me.
“See? He’ll come back home soon.”
A giggle slipped away from me.
“Thank you. For everything, really,” I said.
She put her arm around my shoulders and walked me to the door. Just before she dismissed me to the corridor, she whispered something close to my ear.
“Don’t thank me, Ellie…just save my son.”