Chapter 26-Standing Together
By morning, it was over.
I let it ring twice—let myself stay there—before reaching for it.
Progress.
"He withdrew," Charlotte said without preamble. "Filed the motion first thing this morning. Cited 'newly discovered evidence' and 'errors in the initial complaint.'"
I closed my eyes and felt Richard's hand press against my back.
"So it's over."
"The Bar will still review the withdrawal. Standard procedure. But yes." Charlotte paused. "You won. Blaire, you won."
I should have felt relieved. Vindicated.
Instead, I just felt tired.
"Thank you," I said. "For everything."
"Thank Richard. He built half the case."
I glanced at him.
"I will."
Richard made coffee while I showered.
When I came out, he was leaning against the counter.
"Charlotte told me what you did."
He didn't move. Like this was easy.
"You already knew I was helping."
"I knew you were helping." My throat tightened. "I didn't know you were sitting outside my building for all those nights."
His expression shifted slightly.
"You were alone," he said simply.
"You could've walked away."
"I never wanted to."
I set down the mug and crossed to him. Let him pull me close.
"We're here now," I said against his chest.
"Yeah." His arms tightened around me. "We are."
My phone buzzed on the counter at 10:15. Morrison's name on the screen — and beneath it, finally, the meeting agenda notification I'd ignored for days. I answered on the fourth ring.
Richard's hand rested over mine on the counter. Not stopping me. Just there.
"Blaire." Morrison's voice was careful. Professional. "I heard the news about the complaint."
"It's been withdrawn."
"Yes." A long pause. "I also heard about the evidence your team presented. The fabrication. The five-year timeline."
I said nothing.
Waited.
"I shouldn't have—" He stopped. Started again. "I terminated the contract too quickly. Without investigating. I'd like to reinstate it. If you're willing."
I took a slow breath.
"I'll consider it. I'll need a revised contract with clear terms before we proceed. My office will send the requirements on Monday."
"Of course." Another pause, heavier this time. "And Blaire?"
"Yes?"
"I'm sorry. For not trusting you."
"Thank you."
I ended the call.
Richard's thumb brushed across my knuckles.
"You're taking him back."
"On my terms this time." I met his eyes. "He terminated without cause based on unsubstantiated allegations. The new contract will include termination protections."
Something warm flickered across his face.
I didn't need it — but I didn't mind it either.
Charlotte insisted on lunch.
We met at the bistro three blocks from the office—the one with the white tablecloths and the wine list longer than the menu.
She ordered champagne before I'd even sat down.
"We're celebrating."
"Charlotte—"
"You won. Crowe withdrew. Morrison wants you back. You're allowed to celebrate." She poured two glasses. "Also, you look different."
"Different how?"
"Less…" She tilted her head, studying me. The way her gaze moved—assessing but not clinical—reminded me she'd known me since I was twenty-three and pretending I had it all figured out. "Held together. Like you're not bracing for impact anymore."
I took a sip of champagne.
She was right.
"I stopped pushing people away," I said quietly.
"I noticed." Charlotte's smile held a hint of satisfaction. "Your father called this morning. He knows about the withdrawal."
My hand tightened on the glass.
"I need to talk to him."
"On your terms?"
"On my terms."
Charlotte lifted her champagne.
"To figuring it out."
I picked up my glass.
Clinked it against hers.
"To figuring it out."
Charlotte's house at six PM smelled like rosemary and bread.
Sunday dinner — the same ritual we'd had for years. Charlotte had started hosting it long before I understood what a standing invitation meant; she'd gradually folded people into it, the way she folded everything, until showing up felt like the most natural thing in the world.
My father had his usual chair. Richard's half-sister Emma and her fiancé James had been coming for months now, ever since Charlotte decided they counted.
This time, Richard was beside me on the drive over. This time, I wasn’t pretending to be Sunshine Blaire. This time, I was choosing to have a conversation I'd been avoiding for weeks.
"You don't have to do this today," Richard said.
"I know." I unbuckled my seatbelt. "But I'm ready."
Inside, Charlotte had set the table for six. My father sat in his usual chair, reading glasses perched on his nose as he reviewed something on his phone. Emma and James stood by the window, both of them careful and observant in the way I'd come to recognize.
She caught my eye.
Gave me a slight nod.
"Blaire." My father stood. "I heard the news. Congratulations."
"We need to talk."
His smile faltered.
"Of course. Should we?—"
"Here is fine." I moved to the couch. Richard followed, sitting beside me. Close enough that our legs touched. "Charlotte. Emma. James. You can stay."
Charlotte settled into the armchair across from us.
My father remained standing.
"Blaire, if this is about?—"
"You knew about Crowe for weeks. You hired security to watch my building. You made choices for me while I thought I was protecting myself."
"I was trying to protect you." My father's voice was firm. Certain. "Crowe is dangerous, Blaire. You exposed him five years ago and destroyed his career. Did you really think I was going to stand by and do nothing when he came after you?"
"That wasn't your choice to make."
"You're my daughter." He said it like that settled everything. "You don't understand what it's like watching someone you love walk into a situation that could destroy them?—"
"I understand exactly what that's like." My hands were calm on my lap, but my pulse was hammering in my throat. "I lived through Rowan. I know what it takes. And I survived it."
"You shouldn't have had to." His jaw tightened. "I thought if I could just handle it quietly, you wouldn't have to go through another public battle. After everything with Rowan, I thought?—"
"You thought you could control the outcome by controlling what I knew.
" I held his gaze. "You decided what I needed to know and what I didn't. You controlled the information to control the outcome.
You thought you knew better than me what I could handle.
" I took a breath. "Rowan said he was protecting me, too. "
The room went still.
Something passed across my father's face like he'd been struck.
"Blaire, I would never—" His voice dropped. "I'm your father. Everything I did was to protect you."
"I know." My throat was tight, but my voice didn't waver. "I think you love me. I think you were terrified. I think you genuinely believed you were doing the right thing." I felt Richard's hand settle over mine. "But you were wrong."
He looked at me for a long moment.
Then he looked down at his hands.
The room was quiet except for the ticking of Charlotte's grandfather clock and the low simmer from the kitchen.
"I acted like protecting you mattered more than listening to you," he said finally. "Like your choices belonged to me instead of you." The admission hung between us, quiet and raw. "I'm sorry. For keeping it from you. For thinking I knew better."
"I need you to tell me when something affects my safety or my career," I said. “Don’t handle it. Tell me. Even when it's hard."
"That's going to be difficult for me." He said it honestly. "Every instinct I have says to stand between you and anything that could hurt you."
"I know. But I need you to try. And if you fail at it sometimes, tell me that too. That's how this works."
He nodded slowly.
Emma moved from the window, her hand briefly touching my shoulder as she passed.
"I love you," I told him. "But I need you to trust that I can handle the truth. That your job isn't to manage my life — it's to be my father."
"I will try to do that." His voice was barely above a whisper.
Richard's thumb traced a circle against the back of my hand.
Charlotte stood.
"Dinner's ready," she said gently. "Let's eat."
Richard drove us home in comfortable silence.
My hand stayed in his the entire way.
That night, I turned in his arms.
Found him still awake, watching me in the dark.
"Hi," I whispered.
"Hi."
His hand came up to cup my face.
"I love you," he said.
The words settled in my chest like they'd always belonged there.
"I love you too."
No hesitation this time.
I kissed him.
Slow and deep and full of everything I was feeling.
When I pulled back, I settled against his chest.
His heartbeat constant beneath my ear.
"Richard?"
"Yeah?"
"Thank you. For waiting."
His arms tightened around me.
"Thank you for letting me in."
I fell asleep with Richard's fingers tangled gently in my hair.
Just him holding me like staying mattered.
Just me letting someone matter.
Just love.
And I wasn't pushing it away anymore.