Chapter 14 - THE WOMAN HE CHOSE
Two years after I entered the Duca penthouse, I completed my early childhood development certification.
Matteo attended the ceremony.
So did Leah.
My mother cried through most of it.
I had spent years believing my life would always be defined by unpaid bills and impossible choices.
Now I had a qualification.
A career.
And a future I could imagine without fear.
I accepted a position with a nonprofit organization supporting children affected by trauma.
It meant leaving my role as Leah's nanny.
That decision was harder than I expected.
Leah cried when I told her.
“Emmy go?”
I knelt beside her.
“I'm going to work somewhere else.”
She stared at me.
“Come back?”
I smiled.
“Of course.”
She wrapped her arms around my neck.
“Promise?”
I nodded.
“I promise.”
Matteo watched from the doorway.
Later, he asked me to dinner.
Not as my employer.
Not as Leah's father asking for help.
As a man who had spent two years learning what love could look like after loss.
We went to a small restaurant near the river.
He looked nervous.
I smiled.
“Matteo Duca, are you afraid of a date?”
He laughed.
“Terrified.”
I raised an eyebrow.
“Why?”
He looked at me.
“Because this matters.”
My heart softened.
He reached across the table.
“Emily, I don't want you to feel responsible for fixing me.”
I nodded.
“I know.”
“I don't want you to feel obligated because of Leah.”
“I don't.”
He took a breath.
“Then may I ask you something?”
I smiled.
“Yes.”
“Would you let me take you on another date?”
I laughed.
“Yes.”
He smiled.
And for the first time, we began something that belonged to us.
Not to grief.
Not to obligation.
May you like
Not to the past.
To us.
