บททั้งหมดของ The Secret Heir’s Return : บทที่ 61 - บทที่ 70

The letter arrived on a Tuesday, three weeks after Damien had moved to Portland.Isabella found it in her mailbox, tucked between a grocery store flyer and a bill she couldn't afford to pay. The envelope was plain white, her name typed on the front in a font she didn't recognize. No return address. No postmark.She opened it in the kitchen, Lucas playing at her feet, the morning sun streaming through the window.Inside was a single photograph.Isabella's blood ran cold.The image showed her mother not Catherine, but Eleanor Vance. The woman who had given birth to her. The seventeen-year-old girl who had died of cancer, holding a stranger's hand, hoping her daughter would be loved.Except Eleanor wasn't dying in the photograph. She was standing on a beach, laughing, her arm around a man Isabella didn't recognize. The timestamp in the corner read three months ago.Her birth mother was alive.Damien found her sitting on the floor, the photograph clutched in her hands, Lucas pressed again

Autumn in Portland is like a promise.Isabella stood at the window of her small apartment, watching the leaves drift down from the trees, their colors blazing against the gray sky. Lucas was at preschool, learning his letters and making friends, and growing up too fast. She had the morning to herself a rare luxury.She should have been cleaning. Or working and or doing any of the hundred things on her to-do list.Instead, she was thinking about Damien.It had been four months since he had arrived in Portland. Four months of coffee dates and park visits and quiet evenings on her couch. Four months of watching him with Lucas, of seeing the father she had always hoped he could be.Four months of falling in love with him all over again.But she hadn't told him. Couldn't tell him. Was too afraid of what would happen if she did."Isabella." Damien's voice came from the doorway. "You're up early."She turned. He was leaning against the doorframe, his dark hair loose, his green eyes soft. He

A year passed like a whisper.Isabella stood in the nursery, the morning sun streaming through the curtains, a baby girl sleeping in her arms. Lily was two months old now a tiny thing with dark hair and green eyes and a temper that reminded her of Damien."Is she sleeping?" Damien appeared in the doorway, his voice soft."Finally." Isabella smiled, swaying gently. "She takes after you. Stubborn.""Stubborn?" He crossed the room, wrapping his arms around both of them. "I prefer to be persistent.""Persistent." She laughed. "Is that what we're calling it?"He kissed her forehead. "It's what we're calling love."Lily stirred, her eyes fluttering open. She looked up at her parents with an expression that seemed far too wise for her age."See?" Isabella said. "She's already judging us.""She gets that from you.""You think I'm judgy?""I think you're discerning." He took the baby from her arms, cradling her against his chest. "And I love you for it."The house was quiet that evening.Lucas

Five years had a way of softening memories.Isabella sat at her favorite restaurant, a small café on the waterfront, the same one where she had first met Henry, the same one where everything had changed. Lucas was at school, Lily was with Eleanor, and Damien was in New York, handling business that couldn't be done remotely.She was alone. For the first time in months, she was truly alone.She ordered coffee and a sandwich she didn't plan to eat, and she watched the waves crash against the shore."Is this seat taken?"She looked up.A man stood beside her table tall, broad-shouldered, with dark hair and blue eyes. He was handsome, she noticed, in an approachable way. Familiar, somehow, though she couldn't place his face."No," she said. "It's not."He sat across from her, setting his coffee on the table. "I'm Sebastian.""Isabella.""I know." He smiled. "I've heard a lot about you."Her heart raced. "From who?""My brother." He paused. "Damien."Isabella stared at him, her mind racing.

The wedding rehearsal was held on a Friday evening, under a canopy of string lights and stars.Isabella stood at the edge of the garden, watching as Sebastian paced back and forth, his hands shaking, his face pale. Miranda was inside the house, getting ready, surrounded by her bridesmaids and her mother, and the chaos that came with last-minute preparations."You're going to wear a hole in the grass," Isabella said."I'm going to have a heart attack." Sebastian stopped, looking at her. "What if she doesn't show up?""She's here. I saw her an hour ago.""What if she changes her mind?""She's not going to change her mind.""How do you know?"Isabella crossed the garden, taking his hands. "Because she loves you. Because she flew across the ocean to be with you. Because she's been waiting for this moment her whole life."Sebastian's eyes filled with tears. "What if I'm not good enough for her?""Then you try harder." She squeezed his hands. "That's what love is, Sebastian. Not getting it