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‘Oh, Larenzo.’ She stared at him helplessly; she could not imagine what hearing that must have felt like. A whole new and worse kind of grief.
‘The thing is, I never even guessed. I never doubted, growing up, that he cared about me. Oh, I was suspicious at first, of course I was. But the more time he spent with me, the safer I felt... I really did think he loved me, like a son.’ He shook his head slowly. ‘Even when he betrayed me, I thought how it must have hurt him. How it must have been a hard decision to make. What a fool I am,’ he spat, his voice thick with disgust. ‘What a blind fool.’
‘You’re a person who, despite everything, believes the best of people. That’s not a bad thing, Larenzo.’
‘I took the blame because I loved him,’ he said starkly. ‘I could have fought it. I might have even won. But I didn’t because I wanted to spare him. Spare the man who felt only contempt for me.’ He looked away from her. ‘It makes me feel sick.’
‘But Bertrano is the sick one, Larenzo. Sick and sad and cruel to treat anyone, much less a child, that way. Don’t blame yourself for his evil.’ She took a step towards him, longing to touch him, to hold him, but afraid even now he might pull away. ‘Don’t let his evil taint what we have.’
The silence stretched on as Larenzo kept his face averted. Emma had no idea what he was thinking, but she felt instinctively that their whole lives hung in the balance of this moment.
‘I thought I loved you,’ he said finally. ‘But I’m not sure any more I know what love is.’
‘I know what love is,’ Emma answered. ‘Love is waking up in the night with Ava. Love is the three of us laughing around the dinner table. Love is turning over in bed and seeing you sleeping with a smile on your face that I know I put there. And,’ she finished, her heart starting to pound, ‘love is trusting that we’ll keep going no matter what happens. We’ll stay together and we’ll battle it out. I won’t walk away and neither will you, and neither of us will let the other try to.’ She felt her lips tremble and she blinked the tears back. ‘Please, Larenzo.’
‘Dada!’ Ava squealed, jerking them out of the intensity of the moment. Emma watched, her breath held, as her daughter toddled towards Larenzo, stumbling as she reached him so he caught her in his arms and brought her up to his chest. He closed his eyes, his lips brushing Ava’s hair.
‘I’m sorry,’ he whispered. Everything in Emma protested until Larenzo opened his eyes and gazed at her with so much hunger and need and love she nearly swayed where she stood. ‘I’m sorry for putting you through so much. I’m sorry for being so...imperfect.’
‘We’re all imperfect.’
‘I’m sorry for hurting you.’ He stood up, Ava still in his arms, and walked towards her. ‘I love you, Emma. And I’m so thankful you stayed and fought for me. For us.’
‘Me too,’ she whispered, and then he was folding her in his arms, and even better he was kissing her, as Ava patted both their cheeks.
‘Dada,’ she crowed. ‘Mama.’
‘Family,’ Larenzo said, and kissed Emma again.
EPILOGUE
One year later
‘CAREFUL NOW!’ LARENZO called as Emma mounted the stepladder. She threw him a teasing glance over her shoulder and took another step up, the star in her hand.
It was Christmas Eve, and she was putting the star on top of their tree. Outside the city was blanketed in snow, and only that morning they’d had a birthday party for Ava, with Meghan and Ryan and his new baby sister Ella coming into the city to celebrate.
It had been a wonderful, crazy year, full of excitement and joy. So much joy. Emma had finally submitted her photographs and had had her first exhibition in SoHo. In May the investigation had finally concluded and Larenzo’s innocence had been proclaimed in all the papers. The gossip had trickled away, and Larenzo’s business had gone from strength to strength, as he’d built his client list and invested in innovative new technology.
They’d moved from the luxurious penthouse apartment to a Brownstone overlooking the park, with bedrooms for the children they hoped one day to have. Ava was already obsessed with babies, and Emma was looking forward to introducing her to a new brother or sister, whenever it happened.
Now she stood on her tiptoes and perched the star on top of the tree.
