do you want?”
His eyes met mine.
“A chance to meet my wife.”
The words were gentle.
Not clever.
Not demanding.
My heart moved before I could stop it.
“You have already met her.”
“No. I met a volunteer in Queens. Then I woke beside a woman who lied to a doctor because I asked her to.”
“You remembered that?”
“Every second.”
“You could barely speak.”
“I was still impressed.”
I looked away, suddenly aware of the ring on my hand.
Ethan touched it lightly.
“You are free to leave,” he said. “The trust has been amended. Your father’s debts are resolved through restitution, not through our marriage. You owe this family nothing.”
“And if I stay?”
His voice lowered.
“Then we begin again.”
A week later, Ethan walked twelve steps.
The entire family gathered in the rehabilitation room, though he had asked them not to.
Vivian stood near the
