Hundred and Sixty One

Hundred and Sixty One

He chuckled ,“Yeah… about that.”

My brows drew together. “What do you mean, about that?”

Declan leaned against the edge of my desk, folding his arms with that infuriatingly smug look that usually meant I was about to be blindsided. “I didn’t just walk in here to growl at a few gossipy workers, Willow. I came because there’s something I need to tell you.”

I narrowed my eyes. “Declan.”

He tilted his head, his grin boyish. “I bought it.”

I blinked. “Bought what?”

“The nonprofit,” he said, so casually that it didn’t register at first. “Ashwell Industries acquired the foundation last week. The papers went through yesterday.”

The silence that followed was deafening. I stared at him, my mouth falling open.

“You…you what?”

He shrugged like he’d just said he picked up milk on the way home. “Acquired it. Folded it under one of our development wings. New structure, new funding. It was messy before, too many board disagreements, not enough resources. Now it’s clean. Stable. Its under my name, and I’ve bought it with some of my share of the company, so my parents have no say in it.”

I shot to my feet, heat crawling up my neck. “Declan, are you out of your mind? You can’t just…just buy my job!”

He held up his hands, like he was trying not to laugh at my outrage. “Relax. It’s not your job. It’s your work. There’s a difference. Plus, I work here, too.”

“There is not a difference,” I snapped. “You can’t just swoop in with your billions and…”

“Billions is an exaggeration,” he cut in smoothly, that damn smirk tugging at his mouth.

I glared. “Don’t you dare joke right now.”

He sobered instantly, his eyes softening. “Okay. No jokes. Listen, baby, this wasn’t about me flexing power. It was about you. About giving you space to do what you’re brilliant at without having to fight tooth and nail for scraps of funding. I wanted to help you keep doing what you love. I know you’re good at this, you care about it, and I want you to lead it.”

I opened my mouth, closed it, tried again. “Declan… that’s…God, it’s insane. It’s too much.”

“Not for me,” he said quietly.

I pressed a hand to my forehead, pacing. “I can’t take this. It’s charity!”

“It’s not charity,” he interrupted, firm now. “It’s amends.”

That stopped me. I turned to look at him.

His jaw was tight, his eyes steady, but there was pain there too, old and raw.

“If we hadn’t happened when you were in college,” he said slowly, carefully, “if I hadn’t blurred every line that should have stayed sharp, you would have had an academic career. You were brilliant, Willow. You could’ve gone anywhere. I wrecked that path. I tainted it just by being in it.”

I shook my head. “Declan, no.”

He shook his head, cutting me off. “Let me do this for you. Let me give you back some of what I took. You’ve spent years here. Working your ass off, definitely not getting paid what you deserve. You shouldn’t have had to. And if this…this acquisition, this foundation under my name, if it gives you the freedom to just be brilliant without burning yourself out, then it’s not charity. It’s me finally doing something right by you.”

My throat tightened. He had…bought a company for me.

I wanted to argue. To tell him I’d built my own life, that I didn’t need him to swoop in and fix things. But the truth was… part of me ached at the offer.

Because he was right. I’d loved research. Loved writing papers, diving into ideas, building something academic. But that path had been scorched the moment Mara threatened me, the moment I chose to disappear. I’d made peace with it, or thought I had. Until now.

And now…the thought of leading the non profit. Bringing in my ideas, doing real work, it was…

Declan’s eyes softened further, voice dropping. “Let me give you a future that feels like yours again. Not Jacob’s. Not mine. Yours.”

Despite myself, I said, “I don’t know if I can accept this.”

He reached out tentatively, his fingers brushing mine. “You don’t have to decide today. Just… think about it. And know that it’s not about me owning you. It’s about me giving back what I took without even realizing it. And I promise, you will full control.”

I stared at him, his face so open, so damn earnest.

I sank slowly back into my chair, the adrenaline ebbing. “So what…what would that mean for me?”

“You’d lead it,” he said without hesitation. “Full autonomy. I’ll sit on the board, sure, but you’d be the one in charge. You’d run programs the way you want. Hire who you want. Shape the mission. No more scrambling for approval from people who don’t understand the work.”

“You want me to run it? Completely? Everything?”

“Yes.” His mouth curved into a small smile. “Who else? You already do the work. You already lead half the projects without the title. I just want to give you the space to make it official.”

I laughed at that, half hysterical and half incredulous. “Declan, this is insane. I was worried about getting my report in on time this week. Now you’re offering me…what? An empire?”

“Not an empire,” he corrected lightly. “A foundation. Your foundation. Our foundation, if you’ll let me say it like that.”

I covered my face with my hands, laughter spilling out despite the tears. “You are impossible.”

“Persistent,” he said, leaning closer, his smile tugging wider. “Not impossible.”

I lowered my hands, shaking my head. “I can’t believe I’m even considering this.”

“Does that mean you’re considering it?” His tone was teasing, but his eyes were so hopeful it made my heart twist.

I let out a shaky breath. “If I say yes… this has to be about the work. Not about us. Not about you buying me, or saving me, or…”

“Willow.” His voice was steady, no trace of humor now. “This is about you. About you getting the future you should’ve always had. If you say yes, it’s because you want it. That’s all.”

I studied him, the sincerity in his voice blew me away. And then, slowly, the tension in my chest loosened.

“Okay,” I whispered. “Okay. I’ll do it.”

Declan’s smile broke across his face, wide and happy and so full of relief it made my stomach flip. He reached for me, pulling me up into his arms before I could protest.

“You have no idea,” he murmured into my hair, “how much it means that you’re letting me do this. That you trust me enough.”

I clung to him, my laughter muffled against his shirt. “I’m not sure I trust you. I just… don’t have the energy to fight you right now.”

He pulled back just enough to meet my eyes, grinning. “I’ll take it.”