Chapter 5 - Unmasking the Heart
Two days after the gala, a massive summer thunderstorm rolled over Greenwich.
Lightening flashed across the dark sky, and thunder rumbled so violently it rattled the leaded glass windows of the Ralston mansion.
At nine o'clock, after settling the boys into their beds, Hannah walked down to the glass conservatory at the back of the house to close the overhead vents before the rain came in.
The conservatory was a lush, tropical oasis filled with rare orchids, wide palm trees, and glass walls overlooking the canyon.
As she turned the brass wheel to close the high vents, a flash of lightning illuminated a figure sitting on a stone bench surrounded by white roses.
It was Victor.
He sat in the dark, a half-empty glass of scotch resting in his hand, staring out into the roaring storm.
“Victor?” Hannah asked softly, stepping through the foliage.
Victor didn't turn around, but his shoulders relaxed slightly at the sound of her voice. “The thunder usually wakes Theo,” he said quietly. “I came down here to make sure he wasn't crying.”
“He’s fast asleep,” Hannah said, walking over to stand beside his bench. “Ethan is sleeping next to him. They built a fort under the bed.”
A faint, bittersweet smile touched Victor’s lips. “Of course they did.”
He set his glass down on the stone table and stood up. He looked at Hannah in the dim, blue light of the storm.
“Hannah,” Victor murmured.
“Yes?”
“I haven't been honest with you.”
Hannah tilted her head, her pulse picking up speed. “About what?”
Victor stepped closer, closing the distance between them until she could smell the warm scent of rain, cedarwood, and scotch lingering on his skin.
“When Eleanor died,” Victor said, his voice dropping into a raw, painful whisper, “I locked my heart in a vault. I told myself that if I never let another person in, I would never have to feel that crushing, agonizing destruction again. I built these walls. I worked eighteen-hour days. I hired nannies to do the emotional work I was too terrified to do myself.”
He reached out, his long, warm fingers gently tracing the line of her jawline.
“And then a broke, stubborn woman walked into my dining room with eleven dollars in her bank account and threw a tray of chicken on my table,” Victor continued, a raspy, emotional laugh escaping his chest. “You challenged me. You protected my sons. You stood up to my board members, your ex-husband, and the entire high-society circle... and you made this dead house feel like a home again.”
Hannah’s breath caught in her throat. Her heart was hammering against her ribs like a trapped bird. “Victor...”
“I’m terrified, Hannah,” Victor confessed, his dark gray eyes locked onto hers with a fierce, intoxicating vulnerability. “I am terrified of loving someone again. But I am more terrified of waking up tomorrow and watching you walk out of my life.”
Hannah reached up, placing her soft hand over his on her cheek.
“I’m not going anywhere, Victor,” she whispered, tears pooling in her hazel eyes. “I spent my whole life looking for a place where I belonged... and I found it right here. With you. With the boys.”
Victor let out a low, ragged breath.
He leaned down, cupping her face in both of his massive hands, and brought his lips down onto hers.
The kiss was everything the storm outside was—fierce, powerful, consuming, and electric. It washed away five years of Hannah’s pain and three years of Victor’s grief. Hannah wrapped her arms around his neck, pulling herself flush against his hard, warm chest, kissing him back with every ounce of passion she had kept buried inside her soul.
When Victor finally pulled back, resting his forehead against hers, both of them gasping for air, a sudden giggling sound echoed from behind a wide monstera plant near the glass door.
Victor stiffened. Hannah spun around, her face flushing bright pink.
Five small heads popped out from behind the large green leaves.
Mason, Noah, Oliver, Theo, and Ethan were huddled together in their flannel pajamas, holding flashlights.
“I told you!” Mason whispered loudly to Noah. “I told you Dad was gonna kiss her!”
“You owe me two potato pops!” Noah whispered back aggressively.
Oliver adjusted his small flashlight. “The structural angle of the kiss was very impressive.”
Theo looked up at Hannah with his big, gray eyes, a rare, radiant smile lighting up his face. “Does this mean you’re staying forever?”
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Victor looked down at Hannah, his arm wrapped securely around her waist, pulling her close to his side. A bright, genuine laugh—a sound his sons hadn't heard in three years—echoed through the glass conservatory.
“Yes, Theo,” Victor said, his voice ringing with absolute certainty. “She’s staying forever.”
