Chapter 8 - ASHES TO EMPIRESThe penthouse was utterly silent.
Nora Beck exhaled a long, shaky breath, running a hand through her hair. “Well. That was certainly more dramatic than opening presents.”
Damon walked over to Nora, his expression softening. “Thank you, Nora. You didn't have to throw your career away for me.”
“It wasn't a career, Damon. It was a cage,” Nora smiled faintly. She looked over at Cassandra and the twins, then back to Damon. “I think you have more important matters to attend to than corporate restructuring.”
“Take the rest of the year off, Nora,” Damon said. “Full salary, plus a very generous bonus.”
“Merry Christmas to me,” Nora chuckled, turning toward the elevator. “I’ll see myself out.”
When the elevator chimed again and Nora was gone, the vast penthouse felt suddenly intimate, quiet, and sacred.
Damon turned around slowly.
Cassandra was standing by the Christmas tree, her arms wrapped tightly around herself, watching him with wide, emotional eyes. Luke and Violet were happily playing with a box of leftover gift ribbons on the rug, completely oblivious to the multi-billion-dollar war that had just been fought and won over their heads.
Damon walked across the floor until he stood just inches from Cassandra.
“You gave it all away,” she whispered, her voice trembling slightly. “Your empire. Your shares. Everything you spent ten years building out of spite.”
“It wasn't out of spite,” Damon corrected softly, reaching out to gently cup her cheek. His thumb brushed away a stray tear she hadn't realized she’d shed. “Well, maybe at first it was. But last night, standing on that airplane and looking down at you and the kids... I realized I was building a monument to my own fear.”
He looked down into her dark, beautiful eyes, pouring every ounce of his soul into his words.
“I was terrified of being helpless. I was terrified of failing you. So I ran away and built a fortress of money because I thought it would keep the pain out.” Damon smiled ruefully, a gentle self-mocking tilt of his lips. “Turns out, the fortress was just a prison. And the only thing that could set me free was you walking back into my life.”
Cassandra’s breath caught. She reached up, her small hand pressing against his chest, right over his beating heart.
“You really gave up control of your company for us?” she asked, the last barrier of skepticism finally crumbling away.
“I’d give it a thousand times over,” Damon whispered. “You are my real empire, Cassandra. You and Luke and Violet. That’s the only legacy I ever cared about.”
Cassandra choked back a sob, a bright, radiant smile breaking through her tears. “You’re an idiot, Damon Prescott.”
“I know,” he murmured, leaning down. “Will you give this idiot a second chance?”
Before Cassandra could answer, a small pair of arms wrapped around Damon’s leg.
He looked down. Luke was staring up at him with those brilliant green eyes, holding up the grey stuffed elephant.
“Giant,” Luke announced solemnly. “Barnaby wants to know if we can live here forever.”
May you like
Damon laughed—a deep, rich, genuine sound that echoed through the glass-walled penthouse for the first time in a decade. He dropped to one knee, scooping both Luke and Cassandra into his arms, pulling them against his chest.
“Yes, buddy,” Damon whispered, burying his face in Cassandra’s soft hair as the Denver snow fell gently outside the glass. “Forever.”
