Chapter 2 - THE THREE YEARS HE COULD NEVER GET BACK
Ethan didn't ask to hold Lily.
That surprised me.
Instead, he asked whether he could call a doctor to examine her wrist.
I agreed.
While we waited, he brought a chair into the parlor and sat several feet away from us.
Lily watched him curiously.
"Do you live here?"
"Yes."
"All the time?"
"Most of the time."
She looked around.
"That's a lot of house."
For the first time, Ethan smiled.
"It is."
"Do you get lost?"
"Sometimes."
Lily nodded solemnly.
"Mommy says big places need signs."
Ethan looked at me.
"I remember."
My chest tightened.
Four years earlier, we'd gotten lost in the Metropolitan Museum of Art because Ethan insisted he didn't need directions.
I'd teased him for an entire afternoon.
Now he remembered.
Of course he remembered.
He looked back at Lily.
"Your mommy is very smart."
She smiled proudly.
"She knows science."
His eyes lifted to mine.
"She does."
I looked away.
After the doctor confirmed that Lily had only a mild wrist sprain and bruising, Ethan asked if we could speak privately.
I settled Lily in the kitchen with Mariana, the housekeeper who had become our closest friend.
Then I followed Ethan into his study.
He closed the door.
For a moment, neither of us spoke.
Finally, he asked, "Why didn't you tell me?"
I stared at the carpet.
"Because your father had just been murdered."
"That wasn't your fault."
"I know."
"Then why?"
I swallowed.
"Because men were dying around you, Ethan. Your security doubled. You stopped answering your phone. You told me not to come near the estate."
His face tightened.
"I told you to stay away until I knew who was responsible."
"You didn't tell me when that would be."
He looked down.
"I know."
I continued.
"Then someone left a photograph of me outside my apartment."
Ethan's head snapped up.
"What?"
My hands began shaking.
"A photograph taken through my bedroom window."
His expression went cold.
"Why didn't you tell me?"
"Because there was a message on the back."
I swallowed.
"What message?"
I closed my eyes.
If you love him, disappear before he has to bury you too.
Ethan didn't move.
I watched the realization settle over him.
"You thought it came from my enemies."
"Who else?"
He turned away.
His shoulders tightened.
Then he asked the question I'd been dreading.
"Why come back here?"
I hesitated.
"Because the housekeeping agency didn't tell me whose estate it was until after I'd accepted the placement."
He looked at me.
"And when you found out?"
"I needed the money."
His eyes filled.
"Rosa."
I shook my head.
"Please don't make me feel ashamed."
His expression changed immediately.
"I'm not ashamed of you."
I looked away.
"I'm ashamed that I didn't know you needed help."
Silence.
Then he whispered, "I knew it was you the first week."
I looked up.
He nodded.
"I recognized your voice."
My heart stopped.
"Then why didn't you say anything?"
He swallowed.
"Because every time I approached, you looked terrified."
I stared at him.
"And I thought you had left because you no longer loved me."
The words hurt more than I expected.
Because they revealed the tragedy of our separation.
May you like
We had both believed we were protecting the other.
And we'd lost three years.
