Chapter 16
Mara and Evan became engaged again two years after the gallery.
I did not approve it.
I did not forbid it.
I asked one question.
“Why?”
Evan answered:
“Because I want to.”
Mara answered:
“Because if he changes his mind tomorrow, I still have to respect it.”
Good enough to begin.
Not proof.
Beginning.
The new ring was different.
Evan chose it with her.
No Whitfield family ceremony.
No council dinner.
No alliance announcement.
Derek was not invited.
Mara’s parents attended quietly.
Carlo did not.
At the small dinner afterward, Evan’s prosthetic began hurting.
He removed it.
Right there.
At the table.
No retreat.
No private room.
No performance of toughness.
Mara moved a chair closer.
Then stopped.
“Want help?”
Evan looked at her.
“No.”
She nodded.
And sat back down.
That tiny moment mattered more than the engagement speech.
She had once taken away what he needed so he would ask.
Now she offered and accepted no.
Control replaced by consent.
Slowly.
Imperfectly.
Real.
Later Evan caught me watching.
“What?”
“Nothing.”
“You have boss face.”
“I have brother face.”
“Worse.”
Probably.
He looked at Mara across the room.
“You think I’m making a mistake?”
“Maybe.”
He laughed.
“Thanks.”
“I also think you’re allowed to make your own.”
That made him quiet.
Then:
“Dad would like that.”
I thought of the cassette.
May you like
“Yes.”
He would.
