Emily's POV
Monday morning arrived with the kind of nervous energy that made my hands shake as I buttoned Lily's new school uniform.
"Hold still, sweetheart," I murmured, working on the last button of her white shirt. The navy blue jumper with the school crest embroidered on the pocket lay ready on the bed, along with matching knee socks and the shiny black shoes.
"I can't hold still, Mommy!" Lily bounced on her toes, her eyes bright with excitement. "It's my first day at my new school! Do you think the other kids will like me? Will my teacher be nice? What if I get lost?"
"You won't get lost," I assured her, smoothing down her collar. "And of course they'll like you. How could they not? You're smart, kind and brave."
"As brave as a lion?" She grinned up at me.
"Braver than a whole pride of lions." I kissed her forehead. This moment felt precious.
After three days of exile, of wondering if our world was about to crumble again, I was clinging to normalcy with everything I had.
A soft knock at the door made us both turn.
"Come in," I called, expecting one of the staff to announce breakfast is ready.
Instead, Jenkins stepped into the room, his expression carefully neutral in that way that meant he was about to deliver a message he suspected I wouldn't like.
"Mrs. Hawthorne," he began, his voice gentle. "Mr. Hawthorne has asked that you dress appropriately this morning. He says you need to be somewhere."
My stomach dropped. After three days of being told to stay out of sight, now Victor wanted me "somewhere"?
"I'm taking Lily to school," I said, keeping my voice steady for my daughter's sake. "It's her first day. I need to be there with her."
Jenkins's expression softened with something that looked like sympathy. "I'm simply relaying the message, ma'am. Mr. Hawthorne was quite insistent."
I felt anger flare in my chest, hot and sharp and clarifying. Three days of being treated like I was invisible. And now, on the one morning that was about my daughter, about something that actually mattered, he wanted to summon me like a servant?
"Tell Mr. Hawthorne," I said, my voice tight with controlled fury, "that I'll get dressed when I'm done preparing my daughter for her first day of school."
Jenkins's eyebrows rose fractionally, but he nodded. "Of course, Mrs. Hawthorne. I'll relay the message."
After he left, I turned back to Lily, forcing a smile. "Come on, baby. Let's get you into that jumper."
Twenty minutes later, with Lily dressed and her new backpack packed with supplies, we made our way to the dinning room. I'd changed into a simple teal body fitted dress and a chocolate brown blazer, professional but not overly formal, my hair styled in a side parting and tucked behind my ear. Whatever Victor wanted I'm sure ready.
But nothing could have prepared me for what I saw when we reached the dining room.
Victor sat at the head of the table, and for a moment, I couldn't breathe.
He was dressed in a three-piece suit, Navy blue suit with subtle pinstripes, a crisp white shirt, and a deep burgundy tie. His silver-threaded hair was perfectly styled, his jaw cleanly shaven. But it was more than just the clothes. It was the way he held himself. The sharp, alert look in his eyes that I hadn't seen since the gala.
He looked like the Victor Hawthorne from the magazine covers. The man who'd built an empire. The billionaire CEO who commanded boardrooms.
He looked... alive.
Jenkins emerged from the kitchen carrying a covered dish, then stopped dead in his tracks when he saw Victor already seated. The silver dome he was holding wobbled dangerously before he caught it, his composure cracking in a way I'd never seen before.
"Mr. Hawthorne," Jenkins breathed, and there was wonder in his voice. Actual wonder. "Sir, you look... may I say, you look absolutely remarkable."
A ghost of a smile touched Victor's lips. "Thank you, Jenkins."
"If I may ask, sir... what's the occasion?"
Victor's eyes flicked to me, then away. "I'm going to the office."
The words landed like a bomb in the quiet dining room.
Jenkins set down the dish with trembling hands, and I realized with shock that the calm butler had tears in his eyes. "The office," he repeated, his voice thick with emotion. "Sir, that's... that's wonderful news."
"Mr. Hawthorne!" Lily's excited squeal broke the moment as she pulled free from my hand and ran toward him. "You look so fancy! Like a prince!"
Victor's expression softened as he looked down at her. "Good morning, Lily. Are you ready for your first day of school?"
"Yes! I'm so excited! Mommy says I'm going to make lots of friends."
"I'm sure you will." He reached out and adjusted the school crest on her jumper with surprising gentleness. "You look very grown up in your uniform."
I stood frozen, still trying to process what I was seeing. What I was hearing.
He was going to the office.
He'd listened. After all the fighting, all the pushing, all my desperate attempts to make him see that he was hiding from life... he'd actually listened.
But why now? Why today?
Was this about my advice, finally sinking in? Or was it guilt? Penance for the three days of exile, for the cruelty of his words during the dinner party? Was this his way of making amends without actually having to say he was sorry?
Or worse, did he still need me by his side for appearances? After explicitly ordering me to stay out of sight, why would he suddenly want me accompanying him to the office?
"Emily." Victor's voice cut through my spiraling thoughts. His eyes met mine. "You'll be accompanying me."
My jaw actually dropped. "I... what?"
"To the office," he said, as if it were the most obvious thing in the world. "I'd like you there."
"No, I'll be taking my daughter to her first day of school. You can either join us or wait."
The words came out sharper than I'd intended, laced with all the anger and hurt I'd been swallowing for three days. I needed him to understand that I had priorities too. That my daughter came first. That he couldn't just snap his fingers and expect me to fall in line after everything he'd put me through.
Victor was silent for a long moment, and I braced myself for anger, for that cold fury.
But instead, he simply said, "Then we'll drop Lily off on our way."
"What?" The word came out as a squeak.
"We'll take Lily to school first," he repeated, his voice calm. "Afterwards, we'll head to the office. Steve can drive us."
"Really?" Lily bounced on her toes again. "Both of you are taking me to school? That's the best first day ever!"
I stared at Victor, searching his face for some hint of what this meant. This compromise. This... flexibility. This was so unlike him, so at odds with the rigid control he usually demanded.
"Emily?" His voice was quieter now, almost uncertain. "Is that acceptable?"
Was it acceptable? I didn't know. I didn't know what any of this meant or what game he was playing or why my chest felt so tight it was hard to breathe.
But Lily was looking at me with those hopeful eyes, and Victor was offering something I'd never thought he would…compromise. Space for my priorities alongside his.
"Yes," I managed. "That's... that's acceptable."
---
Breakfast passed in a haze. Victor ate with purpose, checking his phone periodically, already slipping into the mindset of the CEO he'd been before the accident. Jenkins hovered nearby, unable to hide his joy at seeing his employer dressed for the office, heading back to the life he'd abandoned five years ago.
I pushed food around my plate, my appetite gone, replaced by a churning mixture of confusion.
When we finished, Victor called for Steve.
The driver appeared within minutes, and the look on his face when he saw Victor nearly undid me.
"Mr. Hawthorne." Steve's voice cracked. He stood in the doorway, his cap clutched in his hands, staring at his employer like he was seeing a ghost. A good ghost. A miracle. "Sir, it's... it's really good to see you like this."
"Steve." Victor's voice was gruff but not unkind. "We'll need the car brought around. We're dropping Lily at school first, then heading to the office."
"The office." Steve repeated the words like a prayer. "Yes, sir. Right away, sir. I'll have the car ready in five minutes."
He practically ran from the room, and I heard him calling to Jenkins in the hallway, his voice thick with emotion.
Jenkins appeared moments later, carrying Victor's briefcase. His hands trembled slightly as he held it.
"Your briefcase, sir. I took the liberty of ensuring all your necessary documents are inside. Phone chargers, business cards, your tablet."
Victor accepted it with a nod. "Thank you, Jenkins."
"Sir." Jenkins's composure finally cracked completely. "If I may say... it's an honor to see you returning to the office."
"Thank you, Jenkins," Victor said again, softer this time. "For everything."
---
The drive to Lily's school was filled with her excited chatter. She pressed her face to the window, pointing out landmarks, asking questions about her new classroom, wondering aloud if they'd have art class today and could she please, please, please paint a picture for Mr. Hawthorne's office?
Victor listened attentively, answering her questions with patience I didn't know he possessed. Steve drove carefully, his eyes flicking to the rearview mirror every few seconds, as if he couldn't quite believe what he was seeing.
When we pulled up to the school, Lily grabbed my hand and Victor's simultaneously.
"Come on! Let's go see my classroom!"
I expected Victor to beg off, to wait in the car, to maintain his distance. But he simply nodded and asked Steve to help him with his wheel chair as he transfered himself as Lily pull him toward the entrance.
The looks we got as we entered were priceless. Other parents stopped mid-conversation to stare. Teachers doing double-takes. The principal, Mrs. Morrison, nearly dropped her clipboard when she saw Victor Hawthorne…THE Victor Hawthorne, wheeling himself through her halls with Lily holding his hand.
"Mrs. Hawthorne! Mr. Hawthorne!" Mrs. Morrison recovered quickly, her professional smile snapping into place. "How wonderful to see you both. And Lily, don't you look smart in your uniform!"
We went through the motions...meeting Lily's teacher, Miss Cynthia, a young woman with kind eyes and a warm smile. Seeing Lily's classroom with its bright decorations and tiny desks. Watching my daughter find her assigned seat and carefully arrange her new supplies in her cubby.
And through it all, Victor was... present. Not just physically there, but actually engaged. Asking Miss Cynthia about the curriculum. Nodding approvingly at the classroom setup. Treating this moment…Lily's first day…special.
When it was time to say goodbye, Lily threw her arms around my waist. "I love you, Mommy."
"I love you too, baby. Have the most amazing first day."
Then, to my shock, she turned to Victor. "Bye, Mr. Hawthorne! Thank you for bringing me!"
She hesitated for just a moment, then gave him a quick hug that barely touched his shoulders before running back to her desk.
We left her there, settling into her seat next to a curly-haired girl who was already showing Lily her pencil case, and made our way back to the car.
Steve was waiting, and the moment Victor was settled and I was in beside him, we pulled away from the school.
Toward Bricks and Brains headquarters.
Toward Victor's return.
---
The building dominated the skyline, thirty-two stories of steel and glass, the company logo gleaming at the top. BRICKS AND BRAINS in bold letters that caught the morning sun.
I'd seen it from a distance, of course. Everyone in the city knew this building. But I'd never been inside. Never imagined I'd be arriving here beside Victor Hawthorne himself, watching him prepare to walk back into his empire.
Steve pulled into the executive entrance, and I saw people already gathering. Word must have spread. Victor was coming in. After five years, the ghost was returning to his castle.
Steve came around to help with the wheelchair, and I saw his hands shake slightly as he did so.
"Ready, sir?" he asked quietly.
"Ready," he said.
We entered through the executive entrance, bypassing the main lobby. But even here, in this private space, I could feel the energy. The anticipation.
The elevator ride to the top floor was silent except for the soft hum of machinery. Victor stared straight ahead, his hands gripping the armrests of his wheelchair, and I realized he was terrified.
After all the pushing, all the challenging, all my insistence that he needed to come back... I'd never fully considered how much courage this would take. How much fear he was facing down with every floor we climbed.
The elevator doors opened.
And I stopped breathing.
The entire floor had gathered. Every employee, from executives to assistants to interns, lined the hallway. A banner stretched across the reception area: "WELCOME BACK, MR. HAWTHORNE."
For a moment, Victor didn't move. Couldn't move. He sat there in his wheelchair, staring at the sea of faces, at the banner, at the evidence of how much his return meant to these people.
Then someone started clapping.
Within seconds, the entire floor erupted in applause that echoed off the glass walls.
Victor's secretary, a woman in her thirties with black hair and tears streaming down her face, stepped forward. "Mr. Hawthorne. Welcome home."
Her voice broke on the last word.
Victor cleared his throat. Once. Twice. His mask was cracking, the emotion threatening to break through.
"Thank you, Laura," he managed, his voice rough. "Thank you all."
He wheeled forward, and the employees parted to let him through. But they kept clapping. Kept smiling. Several were openly crying.
A young man, probably an intern, given his nervous energy…wiped at his eyes and said to his companion, "I've never even met him before, but I've heard the stories. He built all this. And he's back."
An older executive, distinguished and gray-haired, approached and clasped Victor's hand. "It's damn good to see you, Victor. Damn good."
"James." Victor's voice was tight. "How are you?"
We made our way through the crowd, and I felt like I was watching something sacred. This wasn't just a CEO returning to his company. This was a man being welcomed back into life by people who genuinely cared about him. Who'd missed him. Who'd been waiting five years for this exact moment.
Victor introduced me to everyone we passed. "This is my wife, Emily." The pride in his voice was unmistakable, and it made my chest tight.
The employees welcomed me with genuine warmth, as if my presence somehow made Victor's return even more real. More permanent.
We finally reached Victor's office, a massive space with floor-to-ceiling windows overlooking the city. The desk was clear, the furniture polished, everything ready and waiting as if he'd only been gone a day instead of five years.
Laura hovered in the doorway. "I've cleared your calendar for today, sir. Thought you might want time to settle in. But the board has requested a brief meeting at two o'clock, if you're amenable. Just to... to welcome you officially."
Victor nodded. "That's fine, Laura. Thank you."
She left, closing the door softly behind her, and suddenly it was just the two of us in this enormous office with the whole city spread out below.
Victor wheeled himself to the window and sat there, staring out at the skyline. His shoulders were rigid, his hands placed on the armrest.
I stayed near the door, unsure of my role here. Unsure of everything.
"Thank you," he said finally, not turning around. "For pushing me. For not letting me hide."
The words should have filled me with triumph. Vindication. But all I felt was a deep, aching sadness.
Because I knew…we both knew…that this changed nothing about what was broken between us. Nothing about the cruelty or the wound that still bled in my chest.
He'd taken my advice. He'd come back to life.
But he still hadn't apologized. Not really.
And I wasn't sure he ever would.