Chapter 19 - The Family We Choose
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Two weeks later.
The morning sun washed over the Lake Forest estate, bathing the grand foyer in warm, golden light.
The broken glass had been replaced. The bullet holes in the marble had been meticulously filled and polished. The dark, suffocating fog that had hung over the Vale mansion for two long years was completely gone.
Tyler’s heart transplant had been successfully performed three days prior at the estate’s private medical facility by top surgeons from New York. He was currently resting comfortably upstairs, his prognosis exceptional.
I sat on the velvet sofa in the sunroom, sipping tea, watching Noah play on the lawn outside.
Noah was kicking a soccer ball, laughing loudly as a golden retriever puppy chased after his feet.
Dominic walked into the sunroom, dressed in a sharp charcoal suit, holding two plates of fresh breakfast pastries. He set them on the small table beside me and sat down, pulling me into his side.
I rested my head against his chest, listening to the steady, strong rhythm of his heart.
“He called me Mommy yesterday,” I whispered softly, looking out at Noah.
Dominic’s arm tightened around my waist, pressing a gentle kiss into my hair.
“You saved his life, Clara,” Dominic said, his deep voice thick with emotion. “You saved both of our lives. You brought light back into a house that was dead.”
He reached into his jacket pocket and pulled out a small, velvet-lined mahogany box, setting it gently in my lap.
May you like
I looked up at him, my heart skipping a beat. “Dominic...”
“You came here as a cleaner to save your brother,” Dominic said, looking directly into my eyes with an intensity that made my breath hitch. “You became his nanny. But I don't want a nanny, Clara. I want a wife. I want a queen for my empire.”
