Chapter 175

Chapter 175
Lily's POV

Andrea was quiet for a moment. Then she said, "That's a good reason. But you need to understand—the court won't necessarily see it that way. The court will see a child who could have private tutors, the best medical care, international opportunities. They'll see stability and resources. And they'll ask why you'd want to take that away from him."

"Because those things don't matter if he loses himself in the process," I said. But even as I said it, I heard how naive it sounded. How idealistic.

Andrea must have heard it too, because she said gently, "Mrs. Carter, I'm not trying to discourage you. I'm trying to prepare you for what this fight will look like. If you decide to go forward, you need to go in with your eyes open."

After the call ended, I sat staring at the blank screen. I'd hoped for answers, for a clear path forward. Instead, I felt more trapped than ever.

I looked down at my phone, at the string of unanswered messages from Ryan. Please talk to me. Please let me explain.

My finger hovered over the screen. Part of me wanted to call him, to tell him about the lawyer's assessment, to ask if we could find another way. But I knew what would happen. He'd promise to change, to give me more freedom, to make things better. And maybe he'd even mean it. But the fundamental problem would remain: as long as I was Ryan's wife, as long as William was the Carter heir, we would never truly be free.

The door handle rattled. I jumped, my heart pounding, before I heard Ryan's voice.

"Lily? Can we please talk?"

I looked at William, asleep in his bassinet. At my laptop, still open to the video call screen. At the locked door between me and my husband.

"Not now," I called back. My voice sounded steadier than I felt.

There was a long pause. Then: "I'm not giving up on us. On our family. Please don't shut me out."

I heard his footsteps retreating down the hall. I waited until the sound faded completely before I let myself breathe again.

My phone buzzed. Not Ryan this time—my mother.

I stared at her name on the screen, my finger frozen over the answer button. Megan must have called her. Megan must have told her what was happening.

I answered.

"Lily." Mom's voice was calm, but I could hear the worry underneath. "Megan told me you're in trouble."

And just like that, I was crying. Not the quiet, controlled tears I'd been holding back all morning, but deep, gasping sobs that shook my whole body.

"Mom, I don't know what to do. The lawyer said I'm going to lose. They're going to take William away from me, and I can't—I can't let that happen, but I don't know how to stop them—"

"Lily, listen to me." Her voice cut through my panic. "I don't care what that lawyer said. I don't care about odds or resources or any of that. You're William's mother. You have every right to fight for him."

"But Mom, you don't understand. Ryan's family, they have everything. Money, lawyers, this whole estate with medical staff and—"

"I don't care," she said again, more forcefully this time. "Lily, you're my daughter. William is my grandson. If you need me, I'm coming to you. Right now. Today."

"You can't—you're still working, and Dad—"

"Your father and I have been talking," Mom said. "I was going to wait another two years to retire, but if you need me now, I'll do it now. I can come to Denver. I can help you take care of William. I can be there so you can keep working, so you can show that judge or whoever that you have support, that you're not doing this alone."

I couldn't speak. My throat was too tight.

"Lily, baby, listen to me. That lawyer told you about resources and support systems, right? Well, I'm your support system. Me and your father. We're not rich, and we can't give William what the Carters can, but we can give him something they can't. We can give him a family that loves him for who he is, not what he represents. Isn't that what you said you wanted for him?"

"Yes," I whispered.

"Then let us help you. Let us be there for you. You don't have to do this alone."

After we hung up, I sat in the growing darkness of my room, my mother's words echoing in my head. You don't have to do this alone.

Andrea had said I needed a support system. Well, now I had one. It wasn't nannies or medical staff or a mansion in Aspen. It was my mother, willing to give up her job two years early to help me. It was Megan, finding me lawyers and calling my parents when I was too scared to do it myself.

It wasn't much, compared to what Ryan could offer. But maybe—just maybe—it would be enough.

I picked up William from his bassinet and held him close. He made a small sound and nuzzled against my chest, still half-asleep.

"Your grandma's coming," I whispered to him. "She's going to help us. We're going to be okay."

I didn't know if that was true. Andrea's assessment had made it clear that the odds were against me. But my mother had said something else, something that cut through all the legal analysis and resource comparisons: Some battles are worth fighting even if you might lose.

This wasn't about winning anymore. It was about making sure that someday, when William was old enough to understand, I could look him in the eye and tell him that I'd fought for him with everything I had. That I hadn't given up, even when everyone told me I should.

That I'd chosen him over everything else—the Carter name, the money, the security, all of it.