She made you promise two weeks before she died. Said she knew you'd try to martyr yourself. Said you'd work yourself to death out of guilt if someone didn't remind you that Lily needed a father who was alive and happy, not just alive and surviving. Ethan's throat closed. Sarah had been planning even at the end, even when she knew she wasn't going to survive.
She'd been making sure he'd have support. I wish she could have met Victoria. She's watching Mijo. Wherever she is, she's watching and she's glad. Lily appeared, demanding that her father come dance with her because the music was perfect for spinning.
Ethan let his daughter drag him onto the dance floor. He spun her until she was dizzy and giggling. Victoria joined them. The three of them dancing together in configuration that felt like it had always been this way, like the two strangers who'd met at a gala had always been meant to become family. The years that followed were imperfect in the best ways.
They moved into Victoria's penthouse permanently, but they kept Ethan's apartment, too, used it for storage. for nights when the city felt too big and they wanted somewhere smaller. Ethan finished his engineering certification got job at a firm that appreciated his practical experience and problem-solving skills. He still worked hard, still worried about money more than he needed to given Victoria's resources. Old habits were difficult to break, but he only worked one job now. Came home at reasonable hours, read Lily bedtime stories every night.
Victoria reduced her hours at Sterling Capital to something approaching normal. Delegated more, trusted her executive team to handle things she used to insist on controlling. The Meridian Holdings partnership succeeded beyond projections. Sterling Capital stock reached all-time highs. Business press wrote about Victoria's leadership with respect instead of skepticism.
They stopped questioning whether she deserved her position. started asking how other companies could learn from her approach. Lily grew up asking questions. When she was six, she asked why some people had big houses and others had small apartments. When she was eight, she asked why her daddy used to work three jobs when other daddies only worked one. When she was 10, she asked if Victoria had really kissed her father in front of 200 people before they were actually together.
They told her the truth about that one. The fake marriage. The media circus, Marcus' threats, the way two strangers had found each other in crisis and decided to build something real from something fictional. Lily thought about it for a long time. So, you lied to everyone.
Yes. Ethan didn't sugarcoat it. We lied because Victoria was in trouble and I wanted to help. It wasn't the right thing to do, but it was the thing we could do in the moment. But it worked out.
It did this time. But lying doesn't always work out. We got lucky. Do you regret it? Victoria answered this one.
I regret that I put your father in a position where lying seemed like the only option. I regret that my problems became his problems when he was just trying to do his job. She looked at Ethan. But I don't regret finding him. I don't regret that the worst night of my life led to the best thing that ever happened to me.