Chapter 7 - THE WOMAN WHO REFUSED HIS MONEY
I offered Hannah a generous contract.
Private accommodations.
Medical coverage.
Paid leave.
Compensation for any time she chose to spend helping Leo.
And access to independent legal advice.
She read the document.
Then placed it on the table.
“No.”
I stared.
“No?”
“I won't sign this.”
“Why?”
“Because it makes me feel like I'm selling something that belonged to Lily.”
The words stopped me.
I looked down.
“I didn't mean it that way.”
“I know.”
She took a breath.
“But I can't do this as a transaction.”
I nodded slowly.
“What would make you comfortable?”
She thought for a moment.
“I want to stop working as a maid.”
“Of course.”
“I want to finish my nursing degree.”
I looked up.
“You were studying nursing?”
“Yes. Before Derek.”
She swallowed.
“Before everything.”
I waited.
“And I want to help Leo only when I choose to, with the doctors involved.”
I nodded.
“Done.”
She looked at me.
“Don't say done like you're buying a building.”
I almost smiled.
“Sorry.”
She continued.
“If you want to support my education, it needs to be separate from Leo's care. No conditions. No expectations.”
I considered.
Then nodded.
“We can arrange an independent scholarship fund through a legitimate foundation, with decisions made by people other than me.”
She looked surprised.
“You'd do that?”
“Yes.”
“Even if I never feed Leo again?”
“Yes.”
Her eyes filled.
“Why?”
I looked toward the nursery.
“Because you've reminded me that helping someone shouldn't mean owning their future.”
Hannah began crying.
I moved toward her.
Stopped.
“May I hug you?”
She nodded.
I wrapped my arms around her.
May you like
She cried against my chest.
And for the first time, I understood that sometimes the most powerful thing a man could do was offer help without demanding anything in return.
