All Chapters of THE WIFE WHO STOLE HIS HEART: Chapter 71 - Chapter 80

The lady with the kind eyes and soft voice sat across from me in a room that smelled like vanilla candles and had toys that looked too clean to actually play with. Dr. Sarah had curly hair like mine and wore glasses that made her look smart, which Great-Grandma Elena said was very important in grown-ups who help families."Emma, do you know why you're here today?" Dr. Sarah asked, holding a clipboard but not looking at it like most grown-ups did when they talked to me.I swung my legs from the big chair, my feet not quite touching the ground. "Because scary things happened to my family and now we need to talk about feelings so they don't stay stuck inside us.""That's exactly right. You're very wise for a five -year- old." Dr. Sarah smiled like she really meant it. "Can you tell me about the scary things?"I thought about Uncle Thomas and his sad eyes, about Sophia who used to be scary but then became sad like a lost dolphin, about Mommy and Daddy crying and the nice man James who got

"I see both," I admitted. "I see the man who fought Thomas Romano tooth and nail to protect Emma. I see the partner who merged our companies because he believes in us building something together. But I also see the ghost of the man who walked away when our relationship required more than he could give.""And Mikel, when you look at Bella, what do you see?"Mikel's gaze was intense as he studied my face. "I see the strongest woman I've ever known. The mother who would sacrifice anything for Emma's safety. The business partner who trusted me enough to merge our companies. But I also see the woman who chose someone else over me because she couldn't trust that I'd stay when things got difficult."The pain of our mutual wounds filled the space between us. Dr. Martinez let the silence stretch before speaking again."Both of you are relating to ghosts from the past rather than the people sitting in front of you today. Your fears are keeping you from

The boardroom felt different today, like walking through a museum of my own life. Forty-three years of Romano Enterprises board meetings, and this would be my last as CEO. The mahogany table reflected faces I'd known for decades, executives who'd watched me transform a struggling family business into Seattle's most powerful empire."Elena, are you certain about this?" Robert Chen, my CFO for twenty years, couldn't hide his concern. "The company has never been stronger. Your leadership—""Is exactly why this is the perfect time to step down." I straightened the papers in front of me, legal documents that would transfer control to the executive board while I maintained advisory status. "Romano Enterprises doesn't need me to survive anymore. That was always the goal."Through the floor-to-ceiling windows, Seattle's skyline sparkled in the afternoon sun. I'd helped build half those towers, negotiated deals that shaped this city's growth, wielded infl

My new school smells like vanilla candles and fresh paint, nothing like my old school that smelled like cafeteria mystery meat and fear. Oakwood Academy has fancy carpets everywhere and windows so clean they sparkle like diamonds, and all the grown-ups here smile like they actually want to be around kids."Emma Romano, welcome to kindergarten advanced placement," Mrs. Peterson says, kneeling down to my height in the big classroom with reading corners and science stations. "Are you excited for your first day?"I clutch my dolphin backpack tighter and nod, even though my tummy feels like it's doing somersaults. New schools are scary even when they're pretty, because you never know if the other kids will be nice or if they'll ask hard questions about why you changed schools in the middle of the year."Class, we have a special new friend joining us today," Mrs. Peterson announces, and twenty pairs of curious eyes turn toward me. "Emma, would you like to tell us something interesting about

The engagement ring caught the morning sunlight as I turned it slowly on my finger, still getting used to the weight of Mikel's promise. Three days since he'd proposed in Elena's garden with Emma bouncing beside him like an excited dolphin, and I was still processing the magnitude of what saying yes really meant."You're overthinking," Elena observed from her position at the kitchen island, where she was teaching Emma to fold napkins for our engagement celebration dinner. "I can practically hear the gears turning from here."I looked up from the legal documents spread across the dining room table—prenuptial agreements, partnership contracts, custody arrangements. The paperwork of love in the modern world."I'm not overthinking. I'm thinking properly for the first time in seven years." I held up the engagement contract Mikel had drafted. "Do you know what he did? He wrote a prenup that protects both our companies but gives me equal decision-making power in everything. Including Emma."