25. Freya
— ? —
Freya
I walked out on Rex’s arm, head high, belly round, and every Waller turned to look.
The ranch lawn had been transformed into something out of a magazine.
White tents stretched across the grass, strung with thousands of tiny lights that would glow like stars once the sun set.
A live band played soft jazz near the fountain.
Waiters in crisp uniforms circulated with champagne and canapés, weaving between clusters of guests in their designer best.
And there, scattered across the manicured landscape like well-dressed landmines, was Rex’s entire family.
I recognized most of them from various dinners and gatherings over the past year. The aunts who’d whispered behind their hands. The uncles who’d made comments about my family’s financial troubles. The cousins who’d treated me like a curiosity at best and an intruder at worst.
They were all staring now, taking in my rounded belly, my hand tucked securely in Rex’s elbow, the diamond earrings he’d given me this morning.
“Ready?” Rex murmured.
“No.” I squeezed his arm tighter. “Let’s do it anyway.”
We made our way through the crowd, Rex stopping to exchange greetings, me smiling until my cheeks ached.
The family’s reactions ranged from barely concealed shock to something that might have been grudging respect.
A few of the younger cousins offered genuine congratulations on the pregnancy. Most just stared.
Then Louisa stepped forward, and the crowd parted around her like water.
She looked different than the last time I’d seen her. Smaller. The armor she’d always worn, that impenetrable shield of money and breeding and absolute certainty, was gone. In its place was something that looked almost like humility.
“If I could have everyone’s attention,” she said, her voice carrying across the lawn without the aid of a microphone. The crowd fell silent immediately. Louisa Waller didn’t ask twice.
She turned to face me directly, and I saw her hands trembling slightly at her sides.
“One year ago, I made a terrible mistake.” Her voice was steady despite the tremor in her fingers.
“I looked at Freya and saw only what she wasn’t.
I saw a woman from a family that had fallen on hard times.
A woman who’d come into our lives through circumstances I didn’t approve of.
A woman who wasn’t the daughter-in-law I’d imagined for my son. ”
The crowd was absolutely silent. I could feel Rex’s tension beside me, ready to intervene if this went wrong.
“I didn’t see what she was,” Louisa continued. “I didn’t see her strength, her grace, or the way she loved my son even when he didn’t deserve it. I didn’t see that she was exactly what this family needed, someone brave enough to stand up to us, even when we made it nearly impossible.”
She took a step closer to me, and her eyes were bright with unshed tears.
“I tried to drive you away. I was cruel, and I was calculated, and I was wrong.” Her voice cracked on the last word. “I’m not asking for your forgiveness. I’m not sure I deserve it. But I want everyone here to know that Freya Waller is my daughter-in-law, and I am proud to call her family.”
The silence stretched for a long moment. Then Louisa did something I’d never seen her do in all the months I’d known her.
She bowed her head.
“I’m sorry, Freya. Truly.”
I didn’t know what to say. All those months of hurt, of humiliation, of feeling like I would never be good enough. And here was the woman who’d caused most of it, apologizing in front of everyone she’d ever used as a weapon against me.
“Thank you,” I managed. “That took courage.”
Louisa nodded once, then stepped back into the crowd. Rex squeezed my hand, and when I looked at him, his eyes were suspiciously bright.
“My turn,” he said quietly.
Before I could respond, he was walking toward the small stage where the band had been playing. He took the microphone, and the music faded to silence.
“Most of you know me as someone who doesn’t make speeches,” Rex said, and a ripple of laughter went through the crowd. “I negotiate deals. I close contracts. I let my actions speak for me.” His eyes found mine across the sea of faces. “But there are some things that need to be said out loud.”
He paused, gathering himself.
“A year ago, I married the most incredible woman I’ve ever met.
And for that entire year, I failed her.” A murmur went through the crowd, but Rex pressed on.
“Not because I didn’t love her, I did. I do.
More than I knew how to say. I failed her because I was a coward.
Because it was easier to keep the peace than to protect my wife.
Because I let the people I loved hurt the person I loved most.”
His voice roughened. “Freya stood in rooms full of people who made her feel unwelcome, and I said nothing. She told me she was struggling, and I called her silly. She needed me to choose her, and I kept choosing comfort instead.”
He stepped down from the stage and walked toward me, the crowd parting to let him through.
“I’m not that man anymore.” He stopped in front of me, close enough to touch. “Or at least, I’m trying not to be. Freya has given me a second chance I don’t deserve, and I’m going to spend the rest of my life earning it.”
He took my hands in his, right there in front of everyone.
“This woman is my wife. She’s the mother of my child. She’s the best thing that ever happened to me, and I’m done letting anyone, including myself, make her feel like she’s anything less than extraordinary.”
The silence that followed was deafening. Then, somewhere in the crowd, someone started clapping. Others joined in, until the whole lawn was filled with applause.
But I wasn’t looking at them. I was looking at Rex, at the vulnerability in his eyes, at the way he was holding my hands like I might disappear if he let go.
“I love you,” I said.
The words came out clear and strong, loud enough for everyone nearby to hear. Rex’s whole face transformed. Shock, then something so tender it made my heart ache.
“I love you,” I said again, because I’d promised him I’d say it here, in front of everyone, and because I meant it more than I’d ever meant anything in my life. “I love you, Rex Waller. I choose you. I’ll keep choosing you, every day, for the rest of our lives.”
He kissed me in front of his entire family, and I didn’t care who was watching.
The party continued around us, but everything felt different now.
Lighter. Like a weight I’d been carrying for months had finally been lifted.
People came up to offer congratulations, and for the first time, it felt genuine.
Even the aunts who’d whispered behind their hands seemed subdued, chastened by Louisa’s public admission.
I excused myself to get some water, pregnancy had turned me into a constantly thirsty camel, and made my way to the dessert table. The spread was ridiculous: three kinds of cake, a chocolate fountain, towers of macarons in every color.
“Quite a show.”
I turned to find Annie standing behind me, a champagne flute dangling from her perfectly manicured fingers. She looked beautiful, as always, in a designer dress. But there was something ugly in her expression.
“Annie.” I kept my voice neutral. “I wasn’t sure you’d come.”
“Wouldn’t miss it.” She took a sip of champagne, her eyes raking over my belly. “The prodigal daughter-in-law returns. Complete with a baby to seal the deal. Very strategic.”
“I’m going to pretend you didn’t say that.”
“Why? It’s true, isn’t it?” She stepped closer, lowering her voice so only I could hear. “Everyone knows what you are, Freya. A gold digger, just like your father. You saw an opportunity and you took it. The only difference is you’re better at playing the long game.”
I should have been the bigger person, turned my back, let her bitterness poison only herself.
But I was done being the bigger person.
“You know what’s interesting, Annie?” I set down my water glass and turned to face her fully. “I spent months wondering what Rex saw in you. Wondering if there was something I was missing, some connection I didn’t understand.”
Her smile faltered slightly.
“But there wasn’t, was there? There was nothing. You were just a woman throwing herself at someone else’s husband, hoping that if you tried hard enough, you could take what wasn’t yours.”
“Rex and I have history-”
“You have childhood memories. That’s not the same thing.” I stepped closer, and she actually backed up. “My father made mistakes. A lot of them. But at least he was honest about who he was. He never pretended to be something he wasn’t just to manipulate people.”
Annie’s face went red. “You don’t know anything about me.”
“I know you spent two weeks in my home, eating my food, sleeping in my guest room, while you tried to steal my husband.” My voice was calm, almost pleasant.
“I know you answered his phone when I called and told me he was too busy to talk to me. I know you manufactured every stumble, every fall, every excuse to put your hands on him.”
“He wanted-”
“He never wanted you.” The words cut through whatever excuse she’d been about to make. “Not once. Not ever. You were convenient and familiar and there, and he was too polite to tell you to leave.” I smiled. “But he’s not too polite anymore. And neither am I.”
Annie’s face crumpled. For a moment, she looked almost pitiable, a woman who’d gambled everything on someone else’s marriage failing and lost.
“You should go,” I said quietly. “There’s nothing for you here.”
She went.
I watched her cut through the crowd toward the parking lot, her champagne abandoned on the dessert table.
“That was the hottest thing I’ve ever seen.”
I turned to find Rex standing behind me, his eyes dark with something that made my pulse quicken.
“You were watching?”
“I’m always watching you.” He closed the distance between us, his hands finding my waist. “The way you handled her… God, Freya. I’m not sure I’ve ever been more attracted to you than I am right now.”
“We’re at a party. Your party. Our party.”
“I don’t care.” He took my hand, already pulling me toward the house. “Upstairs. Now.”
“Rex-”
“Now.”
I let him lead me away, leaving the party and the guests and the weight of everything we’d survived behind us. There would be time for socializing later. Time for thank-yous and goodbyes and all the polite necessities of hosting.
Right now, there was only this. Only him. Only us.