Four
1609 Words
Vanessa closed the guest suite door and leaned against it hard, like the wood was the only thing keeping her upright. Her hands were already shaking when she pulled the phone out. Frieda’s name stared back at her. She hit call and pressed the phone to her ear, breathing shallow, fast.
Frieda picked up on the first ring.
“V, thank God. I’ve been losing my mind over here.”
Vanessa tried to speak, but her throat closed. She swallowed twice, eyes already stinging.
“I’m… I’m here,” she managed. “Just tell me. Please.”
Frieda’s voice softened immediately. “Okay, honey. Breathe with me. In… out. I’ve got you.”
Vanessa tried. It didn’t help much.
Frieda kept going, voice steady but kind.
“Damian was in the building again this morning. Brought a lawyer — some overpriced suit I’ve never seen. They went straight to HR demanding your location for ‘official correspondence.’ I told them you were on approved leave and unreachable. They didn’t like that. Becky was trailing them, phone out, snapping pictures like she’s collecting evidence for court. She posted a story an hour ago — her and Damian at the coffee bar, caption ‘Real leadership shows up when it counts.’ It’s not even subtle anymore.”
Vanessa pressed her palm to her mouth, trying to hold the sob in. A tear slipped free anyway.
Frieda heard it. “Hey, hey. You’re okay. You’re okay. I’m right here.”
“The board?” Vanessa asked, voice cracking.
Frieda sighed. “They’re spooked. Someone leaked that you’re ‘off-grid’ and ‘emotionally unavailable’ for the merger. They’re asking if you should stay lead or hand it off. Damian’s lawyer dropped hints about ‘post-divorce instability’ and ‘questionable judgment.’ And V…” Frieda’s voice dropped lower. “He filed the emergency custody motion. They’re saying you’re unfit. That you abandoned Maya for a vacation fling. That you left her in danger by disappearing to Alaska without a plan. They’re pushing for immediate review.”
The sob Vanessa had been holding broke free. She slid down the door until she was sitting on the floor, legs folded, phone trembling against her ear.
“He’s… he’s coming for her,” she choked out.
Frieda’s voice cracked too. “I know, honey. I know. But listen to me — he’s not getting her. He’s not. We’re fighting this. I’ve got our lawyer drafting a counter right now — proof of your leave, proof Maya’s safe, Damian’s entire history of harassment. We’re throwing everything at it. You’re not alone in this. You hear me? You’re not alone.”
Vanessa was crying openly now — quiet, shaking sobs she couldn’t stop. “I left her… I left her in danger…”
“No,” Frieda said firmly. “You didn’t. You took her somewhere safe. You got her out of his reach. You did the right thing. He’s the one who’s dangerous. Not you. Never you.”
Vanessa pressed her face into her free hand. “I’m scared, Frieda. I’m so scared.”
“I know,” Frieda said softly. “I know you are. And it’s okay to be scared. But you’re strong. You’ve been strong this whole time. And Maya’s safe right now because of you. Hold on to that. Hold on to her. We’re going to get through this.”
Vanessa nodded even though Frieda couldn’t see it. “I… I’ll call you tomorrow. I need to think.”
“Take the time you need,” Frieda said. “But think fast. I love you. I’ve got your back. Whatever you decide, I’m with you.”
The line went dead.
Vanessa stayed on the floor, phone still pressed to her ear like it might bring Frieda back. Tears kept coming. Quiet, steady, unstoppable. She felt hollowed out. Every word Frieda said replayed in her head — “abandoned,” “unfit,” “danger.” She thought about Maya sleeping in the next room, innocent, trusting, and the fear hit her like a wave. What if she lost her? What if Damian won? What if she’d already lost everything by coming here?
A soft knock.
She didn’t answer.
The door opened anyway. Nikolas stepped in, saw her on the floor, and didn’t say anything. Just closed the door quietly and slid down the opposite wall, knees up, arms resting on them.
They sat like that for a long time.
No words.
Just her soft, shaky breathing and the house creaking in the cold.
Finally she spoke, voice wrecked.
“You knew.”
“Some,” he said low. “Not the custody filing. Not tonight.”
“You should’ve told me.”
“I was trying to give you one day. One day where Maya didn’t have to feel any of it.”
Vanessa laughed — short, broken. “You don’t get to decide that for me.”
“I know.”
Quiet again.
Then she looked at him.
“Why did you leave? Ten years ago. No more bullshit. Truth.”
Nikolas exhaled slow, like the question had been waiting forever.
“I found out Damian had forged documents. They would’ve ruined your dad’s reputation — fake embezzlement, forged signatures. It would’ve killed your scholarship, your future. He was going to leak it unless I backed off. So I made it look like I betrayed you. I left so he’d back down. I figured if I stayed, he’d burn everything to keep us apart.”
Vanessa stared.
“You decided for me.”
“I decided I’d rather lose you than watch him destroy you.”
Tears came again. Harder this time. She pressed her face into her knees.
“You could’ve told me,” she whispered.
“And risk him following through?” He shook his head. “I couldn’t. I thought you’d hate me, but you’d be safe. I could live with that.”
Maya stirred. A sleepy mumble.
Vanessa wiped her face fast.
Nikolas stayed quiet.
Maya appeared in the doorway, rubbing her eyes, hair wild.
“Mommy? Why are you on the floor?”
Vanessa forced a smile. “Just talking to the prince.”
Maya padded over, climbed into Vanessa’s lap, and looked at Nikolas.
“Are you staying forever?”
Nikolas’s throat worked.
He looked at Vanessa.
She didn’t answer right away.
Finally she said, “We’re figuring it out, baby.”
Maya nodded. “Okay. But tomorrow we finish the castle. And more cookies.”
Vanessa kissed her head. “Deal.”
Maya yawned. “Can the prince read me a story?”
Nikolas looked at Vanessa.
She nodded.
He stood, offered Vanessa a hand.
She took it.
They walked Maya back to bed.
Nikolas read the dragon book in that low voice.
Maya was asleep in minutes.
In the hallway, Vanessa turned to him.
“I don’t know how to forgive you yet,” she said quietly.
He nodded. “I know.”
“But I don’t want you to leave.”
His eyes softened. “Then I won’t.”
She looked at him — really looked — and for the first time in ten years the space between them didn’t feel like a wound.
It felt like a question.
Morning came with pale gray light.
Grant knocked early.
“Roads are open enough. Tow truck can get your SUV today. Highway to the airport is still dicey — another day, maybe two.”
Vanessa stood in the kitchen doorway, coffee in hand. Maya was at the table eating heart-shaped pancakes Nikolas had made.
She looked at him.
He looked back.
“I’m not running,” she said.
He exhaled like he’d been holding his breath for years.
“Then we stay,” he said. “We face the gala. We face him.”
Maya looked up. “We’re staying? For more castle time?”
Vanessa smiled — small, tired, real. “For more castle time.”
Nikolas set a plate in front of her.
Their fingers brushed.
This time she didn’t pull away.
Later that morning Maya was already in snow gear, bouncing by the door.
“Fort round two! Let’s go!”
Vanessa rubbed her temples. “Baby, Mommy’s exhausted today. I need to rest a bit.”
Maya’s face fell for a second, then she looked at Nikolas.
“Can we still build?”
Nikolas crouched to her level, voice gentle but firm.
“Yeah, we can still build. But your mom needs to sleep. She’s been up late dealing with grown-up stuff. She’ll feel better if she rests. We’ll make the fort extra big so she can see it from the window when she wakes up. Deal?”
Maya thought about it, then nodded slowly. “Deal. But you have to make it epic. Like, dragon-proof epic.”
Nikolas smiled. “Dragon-proof epic. Got it.”
Maya hugged Vanessa quick. “Sleep good, Mommy. We’ll save you a throne.”
Vanessa hugged her back tight. “I know you will.”
Maya grabbed Nikolas’s hand and tugged him toward the mudroom.
Vanessa watched them go — Maya chattering about battlements and flagpoles, Nikolas nodding seriously like he was receiving military orders.
She closed the door to the suite, sank onto the bed, and let the tears come again.
She cried for everything she’d lost.
She cried for everything she might still lose.
She cried for the girl who used to believe love was simple.
She cried for the woman who was still trying to believe it could be again.
Outside, Maya’s laughter drifted up from the courtyard.
Vanessa closed her eyes.
- Writer
