Chapter 6 - Healing at Calloway House
Three weeks later, Calloway House felt entirely different.
The oppressive aura of cold luxury had been replaced by genuine warmth. The staff no longer walked on eggshells in fear of Claire Ashford’s tyrannical outbursts; instead, they moved with renewed pride and ease.
In the master suite on the second floor, Margaret Hale sat propped up against plush silk pillows, looking out over the sprawling lawns of Long Island Sound. The fever had finally retreated, leaving her stronger, though her heart was still heavy with decades of unexpressed emotion.
A soft knock sounded at the door.
"Come in," Margaret said softly.
Ethan entered carrying a heavy silver tray—not as a master commanding a servant, but as a son serving his mother. On the tray was a bowl of steaming chicken soup, prepared exactly the way Margaret used to make it for him when he was a boy.
"How are you feeling today?" Ethan asked, pulling up a chair beside the bed and setting the tray across her lap.
"I feel like an empress in a castle I used to scrub," Margaret smiled faintly, though her eyes glistened with tears. "Ethan, you shouldn't be waiting on me. Walter can—"
"Walter is downstairs managing the estate, and I am right where I want to be," Ethan interrupted gently, sitting beside her. He took her hands in his. "Mom... I’ve spent the last three weeks undoing decades of deception. Dad and I have talked. The past cannot be rewritten, but the future belongs to us."
Margaret squeezed his fingers. "And Emily? Have you spoken to her?"
"Emily is moving into the estate tomorrow," Ethan smiled warmly. "I told her about everything. She was shocked, of course, but she said she’s just glad her aunt—her real mother—is finally getting the peace she deserves. I’ve also set up a trust fund to pay off her nursing school in full, plus a grant to open her own clinic when she graduates."
May you like
Tears spilled over Margaret’s eyelashes. "You didn't have to do that, Ethan."
"I had to do a lot more than that," Ethan whispered, leaning forward to kiss her forehead. "You gave up everything for me. Now, it’s my turn to take care of you."
