Chapter 4 - Rebuilding Trust
The upstate estate was quiet when I returned.
The contrast between the vicious, screaming boardroom and the peaceful, snow-dusted woods was jarring. I stood on the porch for a long time, watching the wind rustle the pine trees, letting the toxic energy of Manhattan bleed out of me.
When I walked inside, the smell of cinnamon and baked apples filled the air.
I found them in the sunroom.
Mave was sitting on the floor, her legs crossed, building a massive tower out of colorful wooden blocks. Posie was sitting opposite her, a look of fierce concentration on her little face. She had my chin. She had my nose. It was like looking into a living, breathing time machine.
"Okay, Posie," Mave whispered, holding her breath. "Careful. One more block."
Posie reached out with a chubby little hand. She placed a red block on the very top of the wobbly tower.
It held.
"I did it!" Posie cheered, clapping her hands.
"You did it!" Mave laughed, pulling her into a hug.
I stood in the doorway, my chest aching with a mixture of profound joy and deep regret. I had missed so many of these moments. First words. First steps. Scraped knees and bedtime stories.
I cleared my throat softly so I wouldn't startle them.
Mave looked up. Her smile faltered for a second before she masked it with a polite, guarded expression. She was still terrified of me. Not of me, but of what I represented. The wealth. The power. The world that had crushed her.
"Garrett," she said, standing up and smoothing down her jeans. "How was the city?"
"Messy," I admitted, loosening my tie and throwing my suit jacket over a chair. I walked over and sat cross-legged on the floor, right next to the block tower.
Posie stared at me. Her large gray eyes blinked slowly. She wasn't afraid, but she was cautious.
"Hi, Posie," I said softly.
"Hi," she whispered.
"That's a very tall tower. Did you build it all by yourself?"
She nodded proudly. "Mommy helped a little. But I did the red one."
"The red one is the hardest," I agreed solemnly. "Do you want to knock it down?"
Her eyes widened. "Can we?"
"That's the best part of building things," I smiled. "Tearing them down and making them better."
Posie giggled, a bright, musical sound that healed a crack in my soul I didn't know I had. She swung her little arm and smashed the tower. The blocks clattered across the hardwood floor.
For the next hour, I sat on the floor, building and destroying castles with my daughter. Mave sat on the sofa, watching us. I could feel her eyes on me, analyzing my every move.
When Mrs. Gable came to take Posie for her afternoon nap, the room suddenly felt very empty.
Mave wrapped her arms around her knees. "You're good with her."
"I want to be," I said honestly. "I want to be a father, Mave."
She sighed, looking out the frost-covered window. "Garrett, I read the news while you were gone. Hail Industries is in free-fall. The Ashfords are launching a hostile takeover. Coraline went on national television this morning."
I groaned. "What did she say?"
"She cried," Mave said dryly. "She played the heartbroken bride perfectly. She said you suffered a mental breakdown and were manipulated by a con artist. Me."
I rubbed my temples. "Let them talk. I resigned today, Mave. I transferred my shares to Posie's trust. I am no longer part of that machine."
Mave turned to me, her eyes wide with shock. "You gave up everything?"
"Not everything," I said, looking at her intensely. "Just the things that didn't matter."
I moved from the floor to the sofa, sitting a respectful distance away from her. "Mave, I have millions of dollars in personal accounts that they can't touch. I have properties. I can start a new company tomorrow. But none of it means anything if I don't have you and Posie."
Tears welled up in her eyes. "Garrett... it's been three years. I'm not the same girl you fell in love with. I'm broken. I'm exhausted. I'm just trying to survive."
"Then let me take care of you," I pleaded, reaching out and gently taking her hand. Her skin was rough, calloused from hard labor. It broke my heart. "You don't have to survive anymore, Mave. Just live. Give me a chance to prove that I am not my mother."
She looked down at our joined hands. A single tear fell, hitting my thumb.
May you like
"Okay," she whispered. "Okay, Garrett. One chance."
It was a small victory. But it was enough to start rebuilding.
