Chapter 10 - The Family We Choose
Three weeks later, the hospital room was filled with sunlight.
Maya was sitting up in bed, looking tired but incredibly alive.
The heart surgery had been a complete success.
Her cheeks had color again, and for the first time in years, her breathing was steady and strong.
"You really didn't have to bring all this," Maya laughed, looking at the mountain of gifts on her bed.
Evan, Caleb, Noah, and Luke were crowded around her, fighting over who got to show her their drawings first.
"Dad said we had to buy the biggest balloons in the store," Luke announced proudly, pointing to a massive metallic unicorn floating against the ceiling.
I stood in the corner of the room, watching my sister laugh with the boys who had become my second family.
The door to the hospital room opened quietly.
Adrian Vale walked in, carrying two cups of terrible hospital coffee.
He handed one to me, standing close enough that our shoulders brushed.
"She looks good," Adrian said, his voice a low rumble.
"She looks alive," I corrected softly.
"Because of you."
"Because of you," he countered, turning his head to look at me.
"You fought for her, Nia."
"Just like you fought for us."
The last three weeks had changed everything in the Vale household.
The mansion was no longer lifeless.
There were toys in the hallways, drawings on the expensive refrigerator, and laughter echoing down the grand staircase.
I was no longer just the nanny surviving a seventy-two-hour trial.
I was part of the foundation holding them all together.
"You know, Marcus's trial is coming up," Adrian mentioned casually, taking a sip of his coffee.
"The police have all the evidence they need."
"You went to the police?" I asked, genuinely shocked.
Adrian smirked, a hint of the dangerous man still lurking beneath the surface.
"You told me I needed to set a better example for the boys."
"So, no basement interrogations this time."
I laughed, shaking my head in disbelief.
"You're learning, Mr. Vale."
"Call me Adrian," he said softly, his eyes dropping to my lips for a fraction of a second before returning to my eyes.
"Okay, Adrian," I replied, feeling a sudden, warm flutter in my chest.
Across the room, Luke knocked over a cup of water, and Caleb immediately blamed Evan.
Chaos erupted in the small hospital room.
Adrian sighed, but there was a genuine smile on his face.
"Should we go handle the monsters?" he asked.
"Together?" I asked.
May you like
"Always," he promised.
I walked toward the boys, knowing that my life was messy, complicated, and entirely perfect.
