Chapter 67 I'm Getting Over it
Lara's pov
Three years after the wedding, my life looked completely different.
I woke up every morning in my father's estate.
The same house I grew up in.
The same garden where I used to play as a child.
Damien had restored everything perfectly.
Sometimes I walked through the rooms and remembered.
My father reading in his study.
My mother baking in the kitchen.
All those memories were happy now.
Not painful anymore.
My company was doing better than I ever imagined.
Montgomery Tech Solutions had grown so much.
We started with fifteen employees.
Now we had over two hundred.
Offices in three cities.
Clients all over the country.
My father would have been so proud.
I thought about that a lot.
How he built something from nothing.
How Lucas destroyed it.
How I built it again.
Stronger this time.
Better.
Preparing for the IPO took six months.
Meetings with lawyers. Accountants. Investment bankers.
So many papers to sign.
So many decisions to make.
It was exhausting.
But also exciting.
On the morning of the IPO, I could barely eat breakfast.
"Mommy, why are you so nervous?" Ethan asked.
"Because today is a very big day for my company."
"Are you going to be on TV?"
"Maybe."
"Cool. Can I tell my friends?"
I laughed. "Yes, you can tell your friends."
They led us out to the trading floor.
It was loud. Chaotic. Exciting.
I stood at the podium with the bell in front of me.
Damien on one side. Ethan on the other.
Cameras flashing.
People clapping.
The coordinator counted down.
"Five... four... three... two... one..."
I rang the bell.
The sound echoed through the whole building.
Everyone cheered.
I looked at the screen.
Montgomery Tech Solutions was trading.
The price kept going up.
Up. Up. Up.
By the end of the day, the company was valued at fifteen billion dollars.
Fifteen billion.
I couldn't even understand that number.
A few weeks later, something unexpected arrived.
A letter.
From the prison where Lucas's sisters were.
Veronica.
I almost threw it away without opening it.
But curiosity got the better of me.
I opened it.
Lara,
I saw you on the news. Ringing that bell. Living your perfect life.
I want you to know that I hate you. I will always hate you.
You destroyed our family. You put Lucas in prison. You put us in prison.
But what I hate most is that you won. You got everything. Money. Success. Happiness.
While we rot in here.
I hope you're happy with yourself.
Veronica
I read it twice.
Then I did something I never thought I'd do.
I laughed.
Actually laughed out loud.
Because she still didn't get it.
Still thought I was the villain.
Still blamed me for Lucas's choices.
For their choices.
I threw the letter in the trash.
Where it belonged.
We drove to the old neighborhood.
Found the exact curb where Damien had picked me up ten years ago.
Someone had put a small bronze plaque there.
I didn't know who.
Maybe Damien.
I knelt down and read it.
Here is where everything changed.
Where the ending became the beginning.
Where death became life.
Tears filled my eyes.
"Did you put this here?"
"Two years ago. I wanted to mark the spot."
"It's perfect."
We sat on the curb together.
Just like that first night.
"If someone had told me that night what my life would look like ten years later, I wouldn't have believed them," I said.
"No?"
"No. I would have thought they were lying."
"What would you have not believed?"
"That I'd rebuild my father's company. That I'd be happy. That I'd trust someone enough to marry them."
"And Ethan?"
"Definitely wouldn't have believed the Ethan story. That's too crazy."
Damien laughed. "It is pretty crazy."
"But it's our crazy."
"Yes it is."
At home, Ethan was already asleep.
I checked on him like I did every night.
Pulled his blanket up.
Kissed his forehead.
"Goodnight, baby."
In our bedroom, I got ready for bed.
Damien was already under the covers.
"Come here," he said.
I climbed in next to him.
He pulled me close.
"I love you," he whispered.
"I love you too."
"Are you happy?"
I thought about the question.
Really thought about it.
Was I happy?
Yes.
For the first time in my entire life, I was completely, totally, honestly happy.
"Yes. I'm happy."
"Good. That's all I ever wanted."
We fell asleep like that.
Holding each other.
Safe.
Loved.
Home.
And somewhere far away, in a maximum security prison, Lucas Ward sat in his cell.
Alone.
Still thinking about me.
Still obsessed.
Still destroying himself.
But I didn't know that.
Didn't think about him.
He was gone from my life.
A ghost from a nightmare I'd finally woken up from.
And I was free.
Really, truly free.
To live.
To love.
To be happy.
And that's exactly what I was going to do.