Chapter 10 - Redemption’s Price
The relief that washed over Luke was so overwhelming that he nearly collapsed against her knees. He took her bare hand, pressing his lips to her knuckles, kissing them with a reverence he had never shown to any living soul.
"Thank God," he breathed, his voice cracking into a ragged whisper. "Thank God."
Sophia pulled her hand back gently but firmly. "Don't celebrate yet, Luke. The divorce papers are still valid."
Luke stood up slowly, brushing the dust from his knees. He looked transformed—the arrogance was dead, replaced by a fierce, protective resolve.
"Keep them," Luke said.
Sophia frowned. "What?"
"Keep the papers. Don't withdraw the petition," Luke said, looking directly into her eyes. "You have every right to divorce me. But give me six months. Let me court you. Not as the head of Morgan Enterprises, not as Isabella's son. Just as Luke. If at the end of six months you still want to sign the final decree, I will sign it without contesting a single word."
Sophia searched his gray eyes. For the first time in three years, she saw no shadows of Vanessa, no corporate calculations, no cold indifference. She saw only the man she had fallen in love with in college—the boy with fierce dreams and quiet devotion.
"Six months," Sophia said cautiously. "Separate residences. No public claims on me. And you stay away from my business."
"Agreed," Luke said without hesitation.
The next morning, Luke moved into an apartment three doors down from Sophia’s loft in the West Loop.
He didn't send ninety-nine red roses or diamond necklaces. Instead, every morning at seven, a thermos of decaffeinated organic ginger tea and a box of warm, fresh pastries from the bakery she loved were left on her doorstep with a simple handwritten note: *For you and the baby.*
He attended every prenatal appointment, sitting quietly in the waiting room until Sophia invited him in. He watched the first sonogram on the monitor, his eyes widening in pure wonder as the tiny heartbeat filled the examination room. When the technician printed the photo, Luke held it like it was the most valuable asset on earth.
May you like
By the fourth month, the wall between them was beginning to crumble. They shared dinners in Sophia's loft, talking about design, childhood memories, and nursery themes. Luke cooked for her, rubbed her swollen feet when she worked late, and stood guard outside her building during rainstorms just to walk her to her car with an umbrella.
He had become the husband she had always prayed for.
