Chapter 5 - The Woman Who Would Not Be Bought
Sebastian offered Rowan anything.
A private nurse.
A new apartment.
Security.
Medical care.
A trust fund for Daniel.
Rowan refused almost all of it.
“I do not want your money,” she said.
“It is not about money.”
“It has always been about money with your family.”
“I want to help.”
“Then help without controlling us.”
Sebastian nodded.
“What does that look like?”
Rowan looked surprised by the question.
Then she answered honestly.
“It looks like asking before you decide. It looks like showing up when you say you will. It looks like not sending lawyers to negotiate your place in Daniel’s life.”
“Okay.”
“And it looks like understanding that I do not know whether I can forgive you.”
Sebastian’s face tightened.
“You do not have to.”
“No,” Rowan said. “I do not.”
When Rowan was discharged two days later, she did not go with Sebastian.
Luke drove her and Daniel to a small house in Queens.
Sebastian followed in his Bentley at a distance, then parked across the street.
He watched Rowan carry Daniel inside.
He wanted to go to the door.
He did not.
Instead, he sent one message.
I am here if you need anything. No pressure. No demands.
Rowan did not reply.
But later that evening, a second message appeared.
Daniel has a doctor’s appointment Thursday at 10.
Sebastian stared at it.
Then typed only one word.
I’ll be there.
Thursday arrived.
Sebastian showed up early.
He sat in the waiting room while Daniel slept in a stroller.
He listened as the pediatrician explained feeding schedules, newborn jaundice, vaccinations, and warning signs.
He wrote everything down.
Rowan watched him from across the room.
“You do not need to take notes.”
“I do.”
“Why?”
“Because I have already missed enough.”
The doctor smiled faintly.
Rowan did not.
But when Daniel began crying during the appointment, Sebastian held his arms out.
“May I?”
Rowan hesitated.
Then she carefully placed Daniel against Sebastian’s chest.
Sebastian froze.
Daniel was warm and impossibly small.
His little body settled against Sebastian’s heartbeat.
For the first time, Sebastian held his son.
His tears fell silently.
Rowan looked away.
May you like
Not because she felt nothing.
Because she felt too much.
