Chapter 6 - The Foundation of Home
Ethan pulled into the motor court. The reporters were still there, but he didn't care. He walked past them, his head held high. He found Maria in the garden. She looked terrified, watching the gates.
"I quit," Ethan said, walking up to her.
"What?" she asked.
"I quit being the 'boy king,'" he said. "I liquidated the shares. I kept the development firm, but I’m stepping down as CEO. I’m moving the office to a smaller space. I’m selling the estate."
"Selling?" Maria asked, glancing at the mansion. "Where will we go?"
"Anywhere you want," Ethan said, taking her hands. They were calloused, strong, and warm. "I have enough saved to live a life. A real life. One where I don't have to check the security feeds, and where I don't have to worry about who is stealing what. I just want to worry about Mia’s bedtime stories."
Maria looked at him, her eyes searching his. She saw the truth there. The coldness was gone. The fortress was dismantled.
"You're crazy," she whispered, smiling.
"Maybe," Ethan said, pulling her closer. "But I'm happy."
Mia ran out of the house, holding a new, clean paintbrush. "Mr. Ethan! Are we painting today?"
Ethan knelt, picking the little girl up. He looked at Maria, and then at the mansion that had once felt like a tomb but now felt like a beginning.
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"No, Mia," he said, kissing Maria’s forehead, right where the butterfly paint had been days before. "Today, we start the real work. Today, we build a home."
And for the first time in his life, Ethan Cole didn't feel the need to test the foundation. He knew, with absolute certainty, that it would hold.
