Chapter 143 Real Love Starts There
Chapter 143 Real Love Starts There
By Thursday, the apartment had become strangely aware of Sunday.
Nobody said it constantly.
But it lived underneath everything.
In pauses.
In unfinished thoughts.
In the way Elena kept checking her phone without realizing it.
Even Leo sensed something different, though his understanding of it remained deeply incorrect.
At breakfast he announced, very seriously, “I think Sunday is a ceremony.”
Alexander looked up from his coffee. “What kind of ceremony?”
Leo shrugged. “Adult ceremony. Everyone keeps talking quietly.”
Elena pressed her lips together to stop herself from laughing.
“That’s not a real category.”
“It is in my heart.”
Alexander leaned back slightly in his chair. “That’s concerning.”
Leo ignored him completely and kept eating strawberries with intense concentration.
The kitchen smelled like toast and coffee and the lavender candle Elena forgot to blow out the night before.
Morning light spilled across the counter.
Ordinary.
That was the strange thing lately.
The biggest moments in their lives kept arriving wrapped in ordinary days.
Elena’s father texted her Thursday afternoon.
Not long. Not emotional. Just:
Sunday. Six o’clock. Don’t let them bring unnecessary gifts.
Elena stared at the message for a full minute.
Then sent it to Alexander.
Three dots appeared immediately.
What qualifies as unnecessary?
Elena smiled despite herself.
Probably anything that looks expensive.
Another pause.
Then: My father breathes expensive.
That was unfortunately true.
Friday evening, Catherine called while Elena was finishing dinner.
Leo sat on the kitchen floor building what he claimed was “a dinosaur airport,” which seemed structurally unsafe.
Alexander was setting plates down when Elena answered.
“How are you feeling?” Elena asked.
“Better,” Catherine said. “Still offended by physical therapy, but better.”
“That sounds promising.”
“I’ve decided recovery is deeply inconvenient.”
Alexander mouthed accurate while reaching for the rice.
Catherine continued, “Your future father-in-law still terrifies Richard, by the way.”
Elena blinked. “What?”
“Oh yes. He’s pretending otherwise, but I’ve been married to him for thirty three years. I know his faces.”
Alexander stopped moving entirely.
“My father is nervous?”
“Nervous is too soft a word,” Catherine replied calmly. “He spent twenty minutes yesterday asking if bringing wine would look arrogant.”
Elena burst into laughter before she could stop herself.
Alexander looked personally offended by the information.
“My father?”
“The very same.”
From the floor, Leo looked up suddenly.
“Why is Grandpa scared?”
Three seconds of silence followed.
Then Catherine answered smoothly, “Because marriage is serious business.”
Leo considered that.
Then nodded once.
“Yeah. Mama gets scary when paperwork comes.”
Elena pointed at him. “That feels targeted.”
“It’s true.”
Alexander muttered, “He weaponizes observation.”
Catherine laughed softly through the phone.
And for a moment.
everything felt light again.
Saturday arrived slowly.
Warm weather finally settling over the city after weeks of rain.
Victoria showed up at the apartment around noon carrying coffee and absolutely no warning.
Alexander opened the door and sighed immediately.
“You have your own apartment.”
“I ignored it.”
She walked inside like she owned the building.
Technically, with Thorne money, maybe she did.
Leo looked up from the couch.
“Aunt Victoria!”
Victoria handed him a paper bag without stopping.
Leo opened it instantly.
Light-up dinosaur shoes.
The exact kind he’d wanted all week.
His entire body froze.
Then:
“They LIGHT UP.”
“Yes,” Victoria said dryly. “Please don’t become emotionally overwhelming about it.”
Too late.
Leo immediately jammed his feet into them without untying the laces properly.
Then started stomping around the living room like a tiny nightclub.
Elena emerged from the hallway halfway through the chaos.
“What is happening?”
Victoria handed her coffee.
“Bribery.”
“Fair.”
Alexander watched Leo nearly blind himself with excitement.
“You’re his favorite now.”
“I know.”
Victoria sat beside Elena on the couch while Leo continued aggressively glowing across the apartment.
Then quietly:
“You nervous?”
Elena stared into her coffee.
“Yes.”
Victoria nodded once like that answer made sense.
“Your father difficult?”
“Not intentionally.”
“That’s worse sometimes.”
Elena glanced at her.
Victoria leaned back slightly.
“My father was difficult intentionally for years.” A pause. “At least accidental damage usually comes with guilt.”
That landed deeper than Elena expected.
Because underneath Victoria’s sharpness always sat honesty.
Sometimes brutal honesty.
Elena exhaled slowly.
“I don’t even know what tomorrow is supposed to look like.”
“Awkward,” Victoria answered immediately. “Probably emotionally restrained. Richard will overthink his breathing. Catherine will compensate by becoming aggressively sincere.”
“That sounds accurate.”
“Alexander will stare at you every six seconds to make sure you’re okay.”
Elena looked toward the kitchen automatically.
Alexander was indeed already watching them.
Victoria followed her gaze and sighed.
“He’s subtle as a brick.”
“He tries.”
“He fails.”
Still—
there was affection in her voice now.
Not irritation. Not distance.
Family had softened her carefully over time.
Not completely. Just enough.
Victoria reached over and squeezed Elena’s wrist lightly.
“You’ll be alright tomorrow.”
“You sound confident.”
“I’m experienced.”
“With what?”
“Emotionally dysfunctional wealthy families.”
Elena laughed quietly.
“That should be on a business card.”
“It probably is somewhere.”
That night, after Leo finally exhausted himself and fell asleep wearing one glowing shoe, the apartment settled into silence again.
Elena stood on the balcony wrapped in one of Alexander’s sweaters.
The city stretched below them in gold and motion.
Cars moving endlessly.
Windows glowing in distant towers.
Someone laughing somewhere far beneath them.
Alexander stepped outside a minute later carrying two glasses of wine.
“Thought you might need reinforcement.”
“I definitely do.”
She accepted the glass carefully.
Alexander leaned beside her against the railing.
Neither spoke immediately.
The quiet between them had become easy.
Then Elena finally said softly:
“What if tomorrow goes badly?”
Alexander didn’t answer instantly.
Not because he lacked reassurance.
Because he considered things honestly before speaking.
Finally:
“Then we leave.”
Elena looked at him.
“SERIOUSLY That’s your solution?”
“My solution is you.”
Simple. Direct. True.
Alexander took a slow sip before continuing.
“I’m not marrying your father.”
That startled a laugh out of her.
“Good.”
“I’m serious.”
He turned toward her fully now.
“If tomorrow becomes uncomfortable or difficult or disappointing…” His voice softened slightly. “That doesn’t change how I feel about you.”
The city wind moved lightly through her hair.
Elena looked down at her glass briefly.
Then admitted quietly:
“I spent a long time thinking love only lasted until things got complicated.”
Alexander’s expression changed immediately.
Not pity. Never pity.
Just understanding.
“And now?”
Elena looked back at him. Now came harder. Because now meant hope. Now meant permanence. Now meant risking belief.
Finally she said softly:
“Now I think maybe real love starts there.”
Something in Alexander’s face softened completely at that.
He reached for her slowly.
Fingers brushing hers first.
Then holding.
“You know,” he murmured, “you’re getting dangerously romantic lately.”
Elena leaned lightly against his shoulder.
“Must be your influence.”
“Impossible. I’m emotionally unavailable.”
“You proposed on a balcony with candles.”
“That was strategy.”
She laughed softly under her breath.
Then quieter:
“You really think tomorrow will be okay?”
Alexander looked out across the city again.
Lights everywhere. Lives everywhere.
Time moving forward whether people were ready or not.
Then he looked back at her.
“No,” he admitted honestly.
Elena blinked once.
Alexander’s hand tightened gently around hers.
“I think it’ll be real.”
And somehow—
that felt more important.