When she turned to leave, Jonas was standing in the doorway. You're good with them, he said softly, with all of them. They're easy to love. Jonas stepped into the room looking down at his sleeping daughter. Rose doesn't remember her mother well.
She was so young when Sarah died. Sometimes I wonder if she's mourning the idea of having a mother more than the actual person. Both are valid to mourn. I know. Jonas turned to Lena, but it made me realize something.
These children need a mother, not just someone to cook and clean, but someone who'll hold them when they cry. Who'll make their lessons fun. Who'll see them for who they are and love them anyway. He paused. They need you, Lena.
Jonas. I'm not trying to manipulate you. I'm stating a fact. In 3 weeks, you've become essential to this family. We need you.
I need you. His voice dropped. Not just as a helper, as a partner. As someone I can count on when the days are hard and the work seems endless. As someone who understands what it takes to keep all of this He gestured around from falling apart.
Lena's vision blurred. I'm scared, she admitted again. So am I. But maybe that's okay. Maybe being scared means we're taking it seriously.
That we understand what we're building could matter. They stood in the dim room, their sleeping children around them. The weight of the decision pressing down like a physical thing. And in that moment, Lena realized something. She might not love Jonas the way poets wrote about love, but she loved this.
The life they'd built together in 3 short weeks. The family they'd become. The purpose she'd found in caring for these children who needed her as much as she needed them. Maybe that was enough. Maybe that was everything.
Ask me, she whispered. Jonas went very still. What? Ask me to marry you properly. So I can give you a proper answer.
In the darkness, she saw his throat work. Then he took her hand, his voice rough with emotion. Lena Crowell, will you marry me? Will you be a mother to my children and a partner in this life we're building? Will you take a chance on us, even though we're both scared and neither of us knows if this will work?
Tears spilled down Lena's cheeks. Yes. God help me. Yes. Jonas pulled her into his arms and Lena felt something settle into place.