Chapter 9 - Storm on the Estate
Three weeks after the fallout at the Plaza Hotel, a peaceful quiet settled over the Berkshire Mountains.
Eleanor Whitaker and Richard Cartwright were out on bail, facing federal charges of fraud, extortion, and conspiracy. Their corporate empires were crumbling, while Whitaker Global’s board unanimously voted me in as the sole Chairman and CEO.
The sun was setting behind the pine ridge as I walked along the gravel path near the lake on the Ridge Estate.
Mara walked beside me, her hand comfortably entwined in mine. A few yards ahead, the four boys were laughing as they threw flat stones across the calm water, trying to make them skip.
"They skipped four times, Daddy! Look!" Max yelled, waving his arms wildly.
"Five times next, Max!" I called back, smiling warmly.
Mara leaned her head against my shoulder as we walked. "I still feel like I'm going to wake up in that small apartment upstate, Ethan. Sometimes I wake up at three in the morning and run to their room just to make sure they're still sleeping in real beds."
I stopped walking, turning her to face me, taking both of her hands in mine.
"You're never going back to that life, Mara," I said softly, brushing a dark strand of hair behind her ear. "You and the boys are my entire world. Everything I built, everything I own, means nothing if I don't have you to share it with."
She looked up into my eyes, her cheeks flushing with a soft, beautiful rose hue. "Ethan..."
I reached into my inner coat pocket and pulled out a small velvet box.
Mara gasped, her hands flying to her mouth.
I didn't offer her the old diamond ring I had bought for Brielle—that ring had been thrown into the East River three weeks ago.
I opened the box to reveal a custom-designed ring featuring a central emerald—the exact color of Mara's eyes—surrounded by four small, brilliant-cut diamonds representing our four sons.
I dropped to one knee on the soft grass by the lake.
"Six years ago, I was robbed of the chance to make you my wife," I said, my voice thick with emotion. "Mara Lin, you are the strongest, most incredible woman I have ever known. Will you marry me, and let me spend the rest of my life making up for every second we lost?"
Behind us, the four boys stopped skipping stones. They stood in a row, watching us with wide eyes and massive grins.
"Say yes, Mommy!" Micah shouted. "Say yes so we can eat the cake!" Max added, making us both laugh.
Tears slipped down Mara's cheeks, but they were tears of pure happiness. She knelt down beside me on the grass, throwing her arms around my neck, pulling me into a fierce, loving kiss.
May you like
"Yes," she whispered against my lips. "Yes, Ethan! A thousand times yes!"
The four boys squealed with delight and charged across the lawn, piling on top of us in a massive, chaotic family hug on the grass as the golden rays of the setting sun wrapped around us.
