“I’m sorry.”
Nora whispered:
“You say sorry a lot.”
Alexandra laughed through tears.
“I’m working on it.”
That night Alexandra slept in Ethan’s guest room.
She could have returned to a hotel.
She did not want to be far.
Ethan almost refused.
Then Nora said:
“She can stay.”
That ended it.
At 2:13 a.m., Alexandra woke.
She did not know where she was.
For one terrifying second, she thought the entire day had been a dream.
Then she saw the hallway night-light.
A child’s drawing taped to the wall.
She got out of bed.
Nora’s bedroom door was partly open.
Alexandra stood outside.
She did not enter.
Nora slept beneath a purple quilt.
The silver locket rested on the bedside table.
Alexandra covered her mouth.
Ethan appeared behind her.
He whispered:
“You okay?”
“No.”
They moved to kitchen.
He made coffee.
“You drink coffee at two?”
Alexandra asked.
“Single parent.”
“Fair.”
They sat.
No Nora between them now.
The tension changed.
Alexandra said:
“You could lose her.”
Ethan stared at his mug.
“Yes.”
“I told you I won’t—”
“I believe you mean it.”
“That’s not same as knowing.”
“No.”
“What are you afraid of?”
Ethan looked toward hallway.
“Everything.”
“If DNA confirms, you’re her mother.”
“I am.”
“You have money.”
“Power.”
“Connections.”
“I have a mortgage.”
“A pickup that needs brakes.”
“And a daughter who thinks Friday pizza is a constitutional right.”
Alexandra almost smiled.
Ethan continued:
“I know what courts say about adoption.”
“I know I'm legal father.”
“But I also know people.”
“They see biological mother who spent eight years grieving.”
“They see billionaire.”
“They see headline.”
“What happens when Nora wants you?”
Alexandra’s chest tightened.
“She can want both.”
“Can she?”
“Yes.”
“You sound certain.”
“I have to be.”
Ethan stared.
Alexandra leaned forward.
“I am not asking you to trust my money.”
“Trust my selfishness.”
He frowned.
“What?”
“If I tear you away from her, she will hate me.”
“If I force her to choose, I lose.”
“If I become the person who takes her father away, I destroy any chance of being her mother.”
“I want her too much to do that.”
Ethan looked at her for a long time.
Then laughed softly.
“That is the strangest reassurance anyone has ever given me.”
“It’s honest.”
“Yes.”
He rubbed his face.
“What if she doesn't want you?”
Alexandra went still.
There.
The fear she had not said.
She stared at her coffee.
“Then I learn to survive that too.”
Ethan’s expression softened.
Alexandra whispered:
“I survived believing she was dead.”
“I can survive being alive where she doesn't need me.”
“But I don't know if I can survive hurting her.”
Neither spoke.
Then Ethan said:
“Hannah would have liked you.”