Chapter 16
754words
"The board meeting is tomorrow," Victoria announced at breakfast. "Olivia, you should attend."
"Me? Why?"
"As Alexander's wife, you need to understand company operations." Her tone brooked no argument. "And we need to show the board a united family front."
Alexander spoke softly beside me: "She's right. Jonathan may have fled, but he still has allies on the board."
I nodded in agreement. Since that night when we discovered Alexander could communicate, the three of us had formed a tight alliance. Victoria handled business and legal matters, I managed Alexander's recovery and public image, and Alexander provided strategic guidance.
"One more thing," Victoria added. "Ethan Reed has been requesting to see you. He says he has important information."
I felt Alexander's hand tighten slightly around mine.
"Do you think I should see him?" I asked him.
"It's your decision," he answered, his voice still raspy but growing stronger each day. "But he might know about Sophia and Jonathan's plans."
***
That afternoon, I met Ethan in the garden. He looked haggard, with dark circles under his eyes.
"Thank you for seeing me," he said, genuine gratitude in his voice.
"Victoria said you have important information."
He nodded, pulling a folder from his briefcase. "Sophia left this behind. She ran—took our money, but forgot to destroy these."
I opened the folder to find correspondence between Sophia and Jonathan, detailing their plan: using Ethan's company technology to gain control of Blackwood Group through a hostile takeover.
"They used me," Ethan said bitterly. "And I was too blind to see it."
I closed the folder. "Why give this to me?"
"Because it's the right thing to do." He paused. "And this."
He handed me a small box. I opened it to find my parents' pendant, intact.
"I got it back from Sophia," he explained. "I know what it means to you."
I stared at the pendant, feeling a rush of complex emotions. This small object that once represented everything I had lost now felt like a relic from another life.
"Thank you," I finally said.
Ethan looked at me, his eyes full of regret. "I made a terrible mistake, Olivia. I lost the best thing I had."
"Yes, you did," I said quietly.
"Do you love him?" he suddenly asked. "Blackwood?"
The question caught me off guard, but I found I didn't need to think about the answer. "Yes, I do."
Ethan's expression was pained but accepting. "He's a lucky man."
"No," I corrected. "I'm the lucky one."
As Ethan left, I felt a strange sense of peace. That chapter was closed.
***
Returning to Alexander's room, I found him attempting to stand with the help of his therapist.
"Weren't you supposed to wait for me?" I chided, but couldn't help smiling at his progress.
"Wanted to surprise you," he said, with that smile I'd grown to love—slightly crooked but entirely genuine.
After the therapist left, I showed Alexander the documents Ethan had given me. "These might be useful against Jonathan."
He quickly reviewed them and nodded. "Very useful. I'll have Mother look at them."
Then he noticed the small box in my hand. "What's that?"
I opened the box to show him the pendant. "My parents' heirloom. Ethan got it back from Sophia."
Alexander examined it carefully. "Beautiful. Like its owner."
I felt my cheeks warm. Though we were legally married, this intimacy was still new and exciting.
"You know," I said, "I once thought this was the most important thing in the world."
"And now?"
I placed the pendant on the bedside table. "Now I know what truly matters."
Alexander reached out, gently touching my cheek. His movements were steadier than weeks before, but still carried a tender reverence.
"Olivia," he said softly, "thank you for seeing the real me."
I leaned closer, our foreheads touching. "Thank you for helping me find the real me."
In that moment, in the quiet room, the connection between us was more real than any legal document or social expectation. Our marriage had begun as a transaction but had become something far more precious.
And with Jonathan still at large and Sophia's schemes not fully exposed, our story was far from over. But for now, in Alexander's embrace, I felt safer and more hopeful than ever before.
Whatever challenges the future brought, we would face them together.
