Chapter 259: 2 Months Later
2 months later…
Millie pushed open the gate of a modest two-story house, its white picket fence gleaming under the mid-afternoon sun. The house sat in a quiet suburb, its pale blue siding and neatly trimmed lawn exuding calm. A ramp led to the front door for Clara, who lived here now with a 24-hour carer.
Millie knocked, and a carer—a kind-faced woman in her forties—answered, ushering her through the cozy living room, where sunlight streamed through sheer curtains, to the backyard.
Clara sat at an outdoor table, a woven canopy shading her, a mug of coffee in her hands. Her face was still pale, faint scars marking her cheek from the explosion, her eyes unfocused, clouded by the blurred, dark vision the blast had left her. A cane rested against her chair, and the carer hovered nearby, ready but unobtrusive.
“Millie,” Clara said, a smile breaking through her fatigue as she tilted her head toward the sound of footsteps.
Millie smiled, her heart lifting at Clara’s voice, and sat across from her, setting her bag down. “Sorry I’m late,” she said, pouring herself coffee from a carafe. “How’re you today, Miss_marketplace March?”
Clara smiled but shrugged, her fingers tracing the mug’s handle. “Getting by. The carer’s a godsend, as always. Keeps me from losing my mind. But honestly, Millie, why can’t Aidan hire a hot one? I’m picturing a steamy fling with a chiseled male nurse, late thirties, with a killer jawline.” She fluttered her lashes dramatically.
Millie burst out laughing, nearly spilling her coffee as she shook her head. “Oh, Clara.”
“What about you, though? Fill me in. How’s Ethan?”
“He’s okay.” Millie leaned back, the wicker chair creaking, and sipped her coffee, the warmth grounding her. “Just… figuring things out,” she said.
Clara nodded, her head tilting as she listened. “Have you reached out to your mom?”
Millie’s fingers tightened on her mug, her gaze dropping to the table’s wood grain. “No,” she said. “I haven’t. I’m not sure it’s worth the trouble.” She paused, then added, “She wouldn’t care if I disappeared for years. Never has.”
Clara’s brow furrowed, her hand reaching out, finding Millie’s with practiced care. “I get it,” she said softly. “But sometimes it’s not about them caring. It’s about you closing that door for yourself.”
Millie managed a small smile, squeezing Clara’s hand back, but didn’t respond. She shifted the topic. “Speaking of old ties, you won’t believe what Bert pulled when he heard about what happened to Cedar Ridge. He had the nerve to demand ‘damage fees’!”
“Damage fees? For what?” Clara’s eyebrows lifted, a spark of curiosity in her clouded eyes.
“Exactly!” Millie leaned forward. “Anyway, Cheri shut him up fast—handed him a fat payout and made him sign an NDA to keep quiet about our days working for him.”
Clara let out a low whistle, a faint grin tugging at her lips. “That weasel,” she said, shaking her head. “Bet he’s lounging on some beach now, sipping cocktails.”
They laughed, the sound soft but genuine. Millie felt a quiet gratitude for Clara’s presence, even in the shadow of her recovery.
Clara sipped her coffee, her unfocused eyes settling on the space where Millie’s voice came from, a thoughtful pause in her expression. “I think Aidan’s avoiding you.”
Millie’s brow furrowed, her fingers pausing on her mug. “How so?”
“He came by this morning,” Clara said, leaning back in her chair. “Said he’d stay for lunch. But when I mentioned you were coming, he suddenly had ‘important stuff’ to attend to.”
Millie’s lips pressed together. “Yeah,” she said quietly. “I think he’s avoiding me.”
“When did you two last talk?”
Her gaze drifted to the jasmine vines curling around the fence. “When you were discharged from the hospital,” she said. “We had a long talk in your room. I’m not sure if you could hear us—you were pretty out of it.”
Clara shook her head, a faint smile on her lips. “No, I was gone the whole time.”
“Well, we talked,” Millie said, her fingers tracing the mug’s rim. “He asked about my feelings for Ethan, then Evan.”
“What’d you say?”
She exhaled, her shoulders slumping slightly. “I told him what he needed to hear. That Evan and Ethan have been a huge part of me, just as he has. It’s embarrassing, but… I’ve shared important, memorable moments with all three of them.” She paused. “Then he said he wanted me to choose him, to go with him. But after what happened to you, I guess he felt so guilty his mind changed.”
Clara’s brow lifted. “Guilty?”
“He blamed himself for what happened to you,” Millie said, her eyes glistening briefly. “Marionne, the explosion—all of it. I think he felt that, while you were in bed, fighting for your life because of him, getting back with me would be selfish.”
Clara’s expression softened. “He still loves you, you know.”
Millie nodded. “I know.”
“What about Evan? Heard from him?”
She shook her head. “No.”
“Are you happy with your decision?”
She opened her mouth, her thoughts tangled in the weight of Clara’s question. “I’m not sure,” she said finally. “I don’t know if I made a decision or if Evan made it for me. He just… left me at the hospital, you know.”
“Maybe he wasn’t ready to hear your answer,” Clara said softly. “Or your decision.”
She shrugged, her eyes distant. “I don’t know.”
Clara reached out, her hand finding Millie’s with a gentle squeeze. “But are you happy right now, Mills?”