chapter 45

The next few weeks went by surprisingly fast.

Judith was now officially forbidden from going to the office unless absolutely necessary, which meant she spent most of her time working from home and complaining about it.

Nobody sympathized.

Especially not Liam.

"I'm bored."

Liam glanced up from his laptop.

They were sitting in the library at the Lux estate, both supposedly working.

"That's unfortunate."

Judith narrowed her eyes.

"You don't care."

"I care deeply."

"You don't sound like it."

Liam smiled without looking up.

"I've heard this exact complaint seventeen times this week."

"You're exaggerating."

"It was nineteen."

Judith grabbed a cushion and threw it at him.

Unfortunately, she missed.

Liam looked far too pleased with himself.

Before she could launch a second attack, her phone rang.

She glanced at the screen.

Her mother.

Immediately suspicious.

"Hello?"

"Don't make plans for Saturday."

Judith frowned.

"What plans?"

"You don't need to know."

That was never a good sign.

"Mom."

"Saturday. Seven o'clock."

The call ended.

Judith stared at her phone.

Liam looked amused.

"What happened?"

"I think my mother is planning something."

"That's terrifying."

"Exactly."

───

Saturday arrived much faster than Judith would have liked.

At seven o'clock sharp, she walked into the main dining hall of the Lux estate and immediately stopped.

The room was full.

Not with strangers.

With family.

Both families.

The Lux family.

The Smith family.

Even Ethan and his mother were there.

Julian stood near the bar looking annoyed.

Ava was eating before dinner had officially started.

Richard was laughing at something Victoria had said.

The entire scene felt strangely surreal.

"What is this?"

Eleanor appeared beside her.

"A family dinner."

Judith stared.

"We've had family dinners before."

"Not like this."

Before Judith could ask what that meant, Liam walked into the room.

His eyes immediately found hers.

It happened so naturally neither of them seemed aware of it anymore.

That alone made Eleanor smile.

The poor idiots had spent years pretending they weren't in love.

At least they had finally caught up.

───

Dinner turned out to be much more entertaining than expected.

Mostly because both families had very strong personalities.

And absolutely no interest in behaving themselves.

At one point, Richard and Liam's father started arguing about golf.

Neither of them even played golf regularly.

Yet somehow the argument lasted twenty minutes.

Julian and Ava spent most of the evening insulting each other.

Nobody intervened because everyone secretly enjoyed it.

Even Ethan seemed more relaxed than he had in months.

Judith noticed it immediately.

At one point, she found herself sitting beside him while the others were distracted.

"How are you?"

Ethan smiled.

"That's usually my question."

"Answer it anyway."

He looked across the table.

Toward the people laughing.

Toward Liam.

Then back at her.

"I'm okay."

For the first time, she believed him.

There was still sadness there.

Of course there was.

But there wasn't bitterness.

No resentment.

No anger.

Just acceptance.

"I want you to be happy, Judith."

The words were simple.

Sincere.

Exactly the kind of thing Ethan would say.

Her heart squeezed.

She reached over and squeezed his hand.

"Thank you."

Ethan smiled.

Then stood.

"Now stop looking guilty."

"I don't look guilty."

"You absolutely do."

And just like that, the moment passed.

───

Halfway through dessert, Eleanor suddenly stood.

That should have worried everyone.

It certainly worried Judith.

Whenever her mother stood during dinner, something dangerous usually followed.

Eleanor tapped her glass lightly.

The room became quiet.

"Oh no."

Judith muttered.

Liam immediately looked concerned.

"What does that mean?"

"My mother is about to embarrass me."

Unfortunately, she was right.

Eleanor smiled at the room.

"I would like to make a toast."

Several people cheered.

Judith considered hiding under the table.

"We've all had a difficult year."

Eleanor's gaze moved around the room.

"There were misunderstandings. Mistakes. Broken relationships."

Her eyes briefly landed on Liam and Judith.

"But there were also second chances."

The room grew quieter.

Even Ava stopped eating.

A miracle.

"I think life gives very few opportunities to fix something truly important."

Eleanor raised her glass.

"So tonight, I'm grateful that some people were wise enough not to waste theirs."

The meaning wasn't subtle.

Not even slightly.

Everyone looked at Judith and Liam.

Everyone.

Including the waiters.

"This is horrible."

Judith whispered.

Liam was trying not to laugh.

That made it worse.

Then something unexpected happened.

Victoria stood as well.

"Oh, if we're embarrassing our children, I'd like to contribute."

Liam nearly dropped his glass.

"No."

"Yes."

The smile on Victoria's face was dangerous.

"Do you know how long Liam talked about Judith after the divorce?"

Liam looked horrified.

The room immediately became interested.

"Mother."

"No, let me finish."

Even Julian looked entertained.

Which meant Liam was doomed.

Victoria continued.

"He became impossible to live with."

The room erupted into laughter.

"He worked constantly. He was miserable. And every conversation somehow came back to Judith."

Liam covered his face.

Judith was laughing too hard to help.

"At one point," Victoria continued, "I considered locking them both in a room until they figured things out."

More laughter followed.

By the time she finished, Liam looked ready to disappear.

Judith hadn't laughed this much in months.

And strangely enough, neither of them minded being the target.

Because for once, people weren't laughing at them.

They were laughing with them.

───

Much later, after dinner ended and most of the guests had gone home, Judith and Liam found themselves alone on the terrace.

The night air was cool.

Comfortable.

For a while, neither spoke.

Then Liam looked toward her.

"You enjoyed that far too much."

Judith grinned.

"You were blushing."

"I was not."

"You absolutely were."

He sighed.

"Traitor."

She laughed.

The sound made him smile.

Then his expression softened.

"I like this."

"What?"

"This."

He gestured vaguely toward the house.

Toward the laughter still drifting through the open windows.

Toward the family they had somehow built around themselves.

"It feels right."

Judith followed his gaze.

For a moment, she didn't answer.

Because he was right.

It did feel right.

Not perfect.

Not flawless.

Just right.

And after everything they'd been through, that was more than enough.

She slipped her hand into his.

A simple gesture.

One that felt completely natural now.

Liam looked down at their joined hands and smiled.

Neither said anything else.

They didn't need to.

For the first time in a very long time, both of them knew exactly where they belonged.