Chapter 201 Two Hundred& One

Chapter 201 Two Hundred& One
EMMA POV

Three Years Later

The arena was packed.

Like, actually packed. Standing room only. People had been lining up since morning for tickets.

This was the playoff game everyone had been waiting for.

And Ryan was playing. My man was the star.

He'd had an incredible season. Goals, assists, leadership, everything. The coaches loved him. The fans loved him. The scouts loved him.

Tonight was the game that could change everything.

I sat in the family section with Grace, who was now five years old and completely obsessed with her daddy's hockey.

She was wearing her Ryan Blackwell jersey, the one he'd signed for her last week.

"Mommy, when does Daddy play?" she asked for the hundredth time.

"Soon, baby," I said. "Very soon."

I was nervous.

Not about Ryan's ability to play. He was incredible. But about what this game meant.

The team had just offered him a contract extension. Five years. Eighteen million dollars a year.

Eighteen million dollars.

More money than I'd make in my entire life as a lawyer.

And he'd asked me before signing it. He'd wanted to make sure I was okay with it. That we were okay with it.

I was more than okay with it.

But tonight was about proving he was worth every penny.

The game started. Ryan skated out with his team, and the crowd erupted.

I felt Grace grab my hand.

"That's my Daddy," she said proudly.

"That's your Daddy, my love " I repeated .

First period was intense.

Their opponents were aggressive. They were playing like they had something to prove.

And Ryan played like he always played. Smart. Fast. Focused.

He got the puck. He set up a play. His teammate scored.

The crowd went crazy.

Grace jumped up and down. "Did you see that?!" she asked me.

"I did," I said. "Your daddy is amazing."

Second period, Ryan scored.

A beautiful goal. He came down the ice with speed, dodged a defender, and slipped it past the goalie.

The arena exploded.

People were on their feet screaming and cheering.

I was on my feet too, holding Grace, both of us screaming.

By the end of the second period, the score was three to one. They were winning.

Third period was defensive. Their opponents fought back hard. It was close.

But Ryan and his team held strong.

When the final buzzer sounded, they'd won four to two. And Ryan had two goals and one assist.

The crowd erupted again.

I watched as Ryan skated over to the family section and looked up at us.

He pointed at Grace.

She screamed and jumped up and down.

"He sees me! Daddy sees me!" she kept saying.

After the game, we went to the family area where they let us see the players.

Ryan came out, still in his gear but showered, with his hair wet.

He picked up Grace immediately.

"Hi, princess," he said. "Did you enjoy Daddy play?"

"You were so good!" she said. "You scored two goals!"

"I did," he said, kissing the top of her head. "All for you."

He looked at me over Grace's head.

"Hi, beautiful," he said.

"Hi," I said. "You were incredible."

"Wait until you hear what the team wants to talk about," he said, smiling.

"The contract extension?" I asked.

"They want to talk about a ten-year deal," he said quietly. "They want me to be the face of the franchise."

I couldn't speak.

Ten years. That was his entire career at this point. That was his legacy.

"What did you tell them?" I asked.

"I told them I'd think about it," he said. "I want to talk to you first."

"Ryan," I said. "That's incredible. You deserve that."

"We deserve that," he said. "Because this is us. We're building this together."



The next morning after a long game night and making Grace fall alseep when she wouldn’t stop talking about the game, I had my own big moment.

I in my office at the law firm when my boss called me in.

"Emma," he said. "Close the door."

I closed the door and sat down.

"I have news," he said. "That case you just won. The one everyone said was unwinnable."

"Yes?" I said, my heart racing.

"It's being featured in the national legal journal," he said. "Your strategy is being studied in law schools. You've become famous in the legal community."

"Okay," I said slowly.

"And because of that," he continued, "I want to make you co-chair of our litigation department."

I stared at him.

"Co-chair," I repeated.

"You'd be running the department with me," he said. "You'd have control over cases, you'd mentor junior associates, you'd have final say on strategy. And your salary would double."

I couldn't breathe.

My salary was already substantial. But double?

That would mean I made almost as much as Ryan now.

I couldn’t believe my ears… Ryan just got a ten year deal and I just got a promotion.

"When would this start?" I asked.

"Immediately," he said. "If you want it."

"I want it," I said. "I absolutely want it."

I walked out of his office in a daze.

I called Ryan immediately.

"I'm co-chair," I said without preamble.

"Of what?" he asked. “”Whose chair honey?”

"Of the litigation department," I said excitedly. "My boss just promoted me. I'm running the department."

"Emma!" he screamed. "That's amazing! Oh my God, I'm so proud of you!"

"I'm so proud of you too," I said. "Ten-year contract?"

"I'm taking it," he said. "I'm signing tomorrow. We're doing this. We're both doing this."

That night, we hired a babysitter and went out to celebrate .

Just the two of us.

We went to the most expensive restaurant in the city. The one we'd always said we'd go to when we made it.

Well, we'd made it.

Ryan was in a suit. I was in a dress. We looked like grown-ups. Successful, powerful grown-ups.

"Can you believe this?" Ryan asked, looking at me across the table.

"No," I said. "Five years ago, I was in the hospital with a newborn thinking I'd never sleep again."

"Five years ago, I was terrified I wasn't going to be a good father," Ryan said.

"And now?" I asked.

"Now I'm signing a ten-year contract to be the face of a professional hockey franchise," he said. "And my wife just became co-chair of a major law firm."

"We're killing it," I said.

"We are," he agreed. "Together."

He reached across the table and took my hand.

"I want to tell you something," he said. "Something I've been thinking about."

"Okay," I said.

"I want another baby," he said.

I froze.

"What?" I asked.

"I want Grace to have a sibling," he said. "I want to do this again. The pregnancy, the newborn phase, all of it. But this time, we'll do it with money and stability and peace. This time, it will be planned and beautiful."

"Ryan," I said. "We just got to a place where we could breathe."

"I know," he said. "But I want this. I want to build our family. And I want to do it as the successful people we've become."

I thought about it.

About being pregnant again. About labor. About newborns and sleepless nights.

And about doing it all with Ryan by my side. With money in the bank. With success and stability and a daughter who would help us.

"Okay," I said. "Let's do it. Let's have another baby."

He smiled so big I thought his face might break.

"Really?" he asked.

"Really," I said. "But not right now. Let's enjoy this success first. Let's enjoy being us. And then we'll grow our family."

"I can work with that," he said.

When we got home, the babysitter was just leaving.

Grace was asleep.

We checked on her and found her curled up in her bed, still wearing her daddy's jersey.

"She's perfect," Ryan whispered.

"She is," I agreed.

We went to our room and I changed out of my dress.

Ryan pulled me into his arms.

"I love you," he said. "I love that you're my wife. I love that we're successful. I love that we have Grace. I love our life."

"I love you too," I said. "I love that we survived everything and got here. I love that Grace gets to grow up watching her parents be powerful and successful and in love."

"What do you think she'll become?" Ryan asked.

"Anything she wants," I said. "Because we're going to teach her that she can be anything."