Chapter 10 - The Healing of Elena
That night, after Toby fell asleep holding his repaired excavator, Elena and Marcus sat together on the small sofa in the corner of the room.
Outside, the rain had cleared, leaving the Chicago night washed clean and shimmering with cool starlight.
"You really told Julian to let the Singapore deal go?" Elena asked quietly, leaning her head against Marcus's shoulder.
"I did," Marcus said. He rested his arm around her, pulling her close. "I'm stepping down as CEO next month. I’ll transition to chairman of the board. I can consult twenty hours a week from home."
Elena lifted her head, looking at him in disbelief. "Marcus, that company is your baby."
"No," Marcus said, looking over at the small figure sleeping peacefully in the hospital bed. "That company was my shield. He is my baby. You are my life. I hid behind balance sheets because I thought that being a provider was the only thing I was good at. I thought that if I let myself love you both completely, the world would find a way to rip it away, like it did with my dad."
Elena placed her palm against his cheek, feeling the rough texture of his beard and the warm tear sliding down his skin.
May you like
"Love is always risky, Marcus," she murmured. "You can't insure against heartbreak. But you can't live without it either."
"I don't want to live without it," Marcus said, his voice cracking. He leaned down and kissed her softly, a tender reunion of two people who had wandered in the dark and finally found their way back to the same hearth.
