Chapter 19 - THE SECOND CAKEMia's fifth birthday arrived on a warm September afternoon.
Elena ordered a simple cake.
Chocolate.
Strawberries.
Vanilla frosting.
No four tiers.
No gold.
No sugar pearls.
Just a cake.
When Damian arrived, Mia ran into his arms.
“You're late.”
“I'm two minutes early.”
“You're late in my feelings.”
Damian laughed.
Elena shook her head.
“Where did she learn that?”
“Probably from you.”
“Definitely from you.”
Mia pulled them both toward the kitchen.
“I have a surprise.”
On the table was a small box.
Inside was the old dollar bill.
The same one she had carried to the Cross estate.
Now it was laminated.
Across it, Mia had written in purple crayon:
FOR MOM.
Elena's eyes filled.
“You kept it.”
Mia nodded.
“It's important.”
Damian looked at Elena.
“She understands more than we think.”
Elena crouched.
“What does it mean?”
Mia answered simply.
“It means Mama is worth everything.”
Elena hugged her.
For a moment, the past disappeared.
There was no billionaire.
No housekeeper.
No scandal.
No villain.
Only a mother holding her daughter.
And a man standing nearby, realizing that love had entered his life without asking permission.
Later that evening, after Mia fell asleep, Damian and Elena sat on the balcony.
The city was quiet.
Damian reached for her hand.
“Can I tell you something?”
Elena smiled.
“You can.”
“I don't know what the future looks like.”
“Neither do I.”
“But I know I want you in it.”
Elena looked at him.
May you like
This time, she didn't look away.
“Then we'll see what happens.”
