Chapter 5 - Reclaiming What Was Lost
By 3:00 AM, the mansion was dead silent. Vivian had left in an estate car, slamming the door so hard it vibrated the garage walls. Eleanor had departed without another word, her pride too immense to apologize.
In the master wing—not the staff quarters—Rosa sat on the edge of a king-sized bed. Lily was fast asleep in the center of the soft mattress, clutching a plush bear Ethan had fetched from his store room.
Ethan walked in quietly, holding two mugs of warm tea. He sat in a chair across from Rosa, passing her a mug.
"Why didn't you tell me when you took the job here two years ago?" Ethan asked gently.
Rosa took a sip, looking down at the carpet. "When I applied through the agency, I didn't know Hargrove Estate was yours. By the time I realized it, I was desperate. Lily needed heart surgery when she was one year old. I spent every penny I had saved, plus loans. I needed a live-in job with good pay and housing."
Ethan closed his eyes, a violent pang of guilt ripping through his chest. "She had heart surgery... and I wasn't there?"
"She's healthy now," Rosa said softly. "When I saw you here, you looked so distant. You had changed, Ethan. You were dressed in five-thousand-dollar suits, talking about corporate buyouts. And then I met Vivian. She told the staff how her family was funding your new expansion. I thought... if I told you, I would ruin your life all over again. I thought you belonged in this world now, and we didn't."
Ethan set his tea down, slid out of his chair, and knelt right in front of Rosa, just as he used to in their tiny Atlanta apartment. He took her worn, calloused hands into his.
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"This world means nothing to me without the people I love, Rosa," Ethan said, his voice raw with emotion. "I built all of this because I thought if I became powerful enough, nobody could ever take away what was mine again. But I lost the only thing that actually mattered."
He looked up into her eyes. "I'm not letting you go again. Never."
