Chapter 19: The Unfinished Canvas
Three months later, the east parlor of the Greenwich estate looked entirely different.
The heavy velvet drapes had been replaced with light, sheer linen that let the afternoon sun flood across the pale Italian marble. The grand piano—once treated as a untouchable museum artifact—was now covered in colorful sheet music, stickers, and occasional smudges from tiny fingers.
Outside, the boxwood hedges were trimmed neatly, no longer looking afraid to grow.
In the center of the parlor sat three-year-old Lily, her small fingers pressing clumsily down on middle C, letting out a clear, ringing note that echoed through the sunlit room.
Rosa stood by the doorway, leaning against Ethan’s shoulder as he wrapped his arms around her waist from behind.
"She's going to be a concert pianist," Ethan murmured, resting his chin on her shoulder.
"Or a biochemist," Rosa laughed softly, turning in his arms to wrap her hands around his neck. "Either way, she's definitely going to run this house."
Ethan smiled, pressing his lips softly to hers. "She already does."
Through the open French doors leading out to the garden, Eleanor could be seen sitting on a wrought-iron bench, reading a fairy tale aloud to Lily while the little girl chased a stray butterfly across the lawn.
The war was over. The past was buried. And the future stretched out wide, bright, and completely unwritten.
Ethan pulled Rosa closer, his fingers sliding over the diamond ring on her hand.
"So," Ethan whispered against her lips, a playful spark in his eye. "Where should we go for our real honeymoon? Paris? Tokyo? Or do you want to stay right here and redesign the entire corporate research facility?"
Rosa smiled, her dark eyes glittering with quiet anticipation as she looked out toward the sunlit gardens.
May you like
"Let's start with Paris, Mr. Caldwell," she whispered. "And then we'll see what else we can break."
TOBE CONTINUED
