Chapter 9 - Healing and Wholeness
That evening, after putting Noah and Lily down to sleep in their cozy nursery, I sat out on the balcony of the penthouse.
The sun was sinking below the horizon, painting the Pacific Ocean in brilliant shades of gold, magenta, and deep indigo. The sound of the waves crashing against the shore was a soothing rhythm that washed away the last lingering shadows of my past.
Elena, who had moved down to San Diego to accept a position as my private family care coordinator and dear friend, walked out onto the balcony holding two glasses of sparkling cider. She handed one to me and sat down in the adjacent lounge chair.
"Penny for your thoughts?" Elena asked gently.
I took a sip of the cool cider, smiling as I looked out at the vast, open sea. "I ran into Claire today."
Elena raised an eyebrow. "Oh? How did that go?"
"She asked for money," I said simply. "For Mom and Dad, too."
"And?"
"And I said no," I replied, a profound sense of peace settling deep into my bones. "For the first time in my life, saying no didn't feel heavy. It felt like shedding a winter coat in the middle of summer."
May you like
Elena smiled, clinking her glass against mine. "You survived the worst crash of your life, Mara. You protected your children, you cut off the parasites, and you built an empire of your own. You didn't just survive—you won."
"We won," I corrected her, looking back toward the nursery where my twins were sleeping soundly. "All three of us."
