He pulled Khloe into a hug, held her while she cried into his shoulder for the second time in four months, and hated himself for letting this happen again for believing that someone like Selena could ever really choose them over the empire she'd built. Selena didn't call that night or the next day. When she finally showed up three days later, she had dark circles under her eyes and a folder in her hands. "I need to show you something," she said. They sat at the kitchen table.
Khloe was at school. The house quiet except for the ticking clock above the sink. Selena opened the folder and slid a document across to him. What is this? A counter offer to Global Tech.
She pointed to a highlighted section. I told them I'd accept the acquisition on one condition. I stay on as a consultant, not CEO. I work remotely from Connecticut, travel to Seattle once a quarter for board meetings. They get my name and my expertise, but someone else runs day-to-day operations.
Ethan scanned the document. They agreed to this. Not yet. Marcus is presenting it to their board this afternoon. She folded her hands.
They might say no. They might tell me it's all or nothing, but I had to try. Why? Because you were right about all of it. She looked exhausted.
I stood here four months ago and promised I was done choosing the company over you. And the second I got tested on that, I failed. I started planning how to move you to Seattle before I even considered turning them down. You were excited. I get it.
But excitement isn't an excuse. I made a promise to you and to Chloe, and I almost broke it for money I don't even need. She reached across the table, took his hand. I have enough, Ethan. more than enough. The company is already worth more than I could spend in five lifetimes.
I don't need $4 billion. I need you. What if they say no? What if they pull the offer completely? "Then they pull the offer, and I keep running my company from Connecticut and coming home to you every night." You'd really walk away from that much money?
I already walked away from it the second I sent Marcus that counter offer. She squeezed his hand. I'm done pretending I can have everything. I choose this. I choose us.
Ethan pulled her close and she came without hesitation, burying her face in his neck. I'm sorry, she whispered. For making you feel like you had to compete. For making Chloe think I was leaving. You're here now.
That's what matters. What if it happens again? What if another opportunity comes up and I start spiraling? Then I'll remind you what you chose and you'll remind me that I'm being unreasonable and we'll fight about it and make up and keep going. She laughed against his shoulder.
That sounds exhausting. Welcome to relationships. They stayed like that until the clock chimed noon. Then Selena's phone buzzed. She pulled it out, read the message, and her face went carefully blank.
Marcus, she said, and Global Tech rejected the counter offer. They want me in Seattle full-time or they walk. Ethan's heart sank. So, it's over. Yeah.
Selena set down the phone. It's over. No acquisition. No 4 billion. Just me and my moderately successful tech company that I'll keep running from my dining room table.
You sound okay with that. I am okay with that. She smiled and this time it reached her eyes. Turns out there are more important things than being a billionaire. Like what?
Like making it to Khloe's spring recital next month. Like teaching you how to fix that wobbly table you've been ignoring for a year. Like being here. The table's not that wobbly. It absolutely is.
When Khloe came home from school that afternoon, she found them both in the kitchen. Selena was making pancakes, real ones, not paid for ones. And Ethan was attempting to fix the table leg with duct tape and hope. "You stayed," Khloe said to Selena. "I stayed." For how long?
"For as long as you'll have me." Khloe studied her for a long moment. Then she grabbed a fork and sat down at the table, which immediately wobbled despite Ethan's repairs. Dad's bad at fixing things, she announced. I noticed, Selena said. Maybe you should do it.
I'm bad at fixing things, too. Then we're all bad at it. Chloe stabbed a pancake. But I guess we can try together. Selena met Ethan's eyes over Khloe's head, and he saw the relief there, the gratitude, the understanding that they had almost lost this and barely managed to pull it back.
That night, after Khloe was asleep, they sat on the porch in the cold March air and didn't talk about work or money or Seattle. They just sat, shoulders touching, watching the neighborhood settle into darkness. I was thinking, Selena said eventually, about moving in. Actually, moving in, not just staying over four nights a week and keeping my apartment as backup. Ethan turned to look at her.
You want to move in here with the wobbly table and the Iron Man shower curtain? With the wobbly table and the Iron Man shower curtain with you and Chloe and whatever chaos comes next. That's a big step, I know. But I'm tired of having one foot out the door. I'm tired of keeping an escape plan.
I want to commit to this fully. What about when it gets hard? When we fight again, then I'll go for a drive and come back. Or you'll go for a walk and come back. But we both come back.
That's the point. Ethan pulled her closer. Okay. Okay. Yeah.
Move in. Let's be a family. Selena kissed him, and it felt different this time. less desperate, more certain, like they'd finally figured out what they were doing, even if they had no idea how to do it. The moving process took two months because Selena kept finding reasons to delay. Too much work.
Too many meetings, too complicated to coordinate. Finally, Ethan realized she was stalling. "You're scared," he said one night. "I'm not scared. You've rescheduled the movers three times.