Chapter 10 - The Glass House
The sun was setting over the Baltimore harbor, painting the sky in deep shades of violet, amber, and gold.
Inside the glass studio, the kiln was turned off for the evening, radiating a gentle, fading warmth into the room.
Elena sat on her workbench, a sketch pad open in her lap. Maya was leaning against the table, explaining her latest architectural concept for a public library with vaulted glass ceilings.
The studio door opened, and Damian walked in. He carried a tray with three steaming mugs of tea and a plate of shortbread cookies baked by Ruth.
“Intermission,” Damian announced, setting the tray down.
Maya laughed, closing her notebook. “Thanks, Damian. You know, for a guy who used to run shipping docks, you make surprisingly good tea.”
“I have many hidden talents,” Damian said dryly, handing a mug to Elena.
As Maya skipped out of the studio to check her phone, Elena took a sip of her tea, watching her husband over the rim of the ceramic mug.
“You’ve been quiet today,” she noted.
Damian leaned against the edge of the workbench, crossing his arms. “I was thinking about what your father said to me the first time I met him.”
Elena tilted her head. “Which time?”
“In this studio,” Damian said. “Before we were married. Before any of this happened.”
Elena’s expression softened. “What did he say?”
“He told me that glass is honest,” Damian quoted softly. “He said you can hide flaws in stone, and you can paint over wood, but glass tells you the exact truth about how it was made—every bubble, every twist, every patch of heat.”
He reached out, his fingers gently tracing the scar near Elena’s collarbone where the hidden device rested safely beneath her skin.
“He was right,” Damian whispered. “It tells the truth about everything.”
May you like
Elena set her mug down, wrapped her arms around his waist, and rested her head against his chest. She could hear the steady, strong beat of his heart—and beneath it, the quiet, reassuring hum of the life they had finally built out of the ruins.
Outside, the lights of the city flickered across the dark water, but inside the glass house, there were no shadows left to hide.
