Chapter 247: Trembling Hope
Ric reached out and took Cammy’s hand again, this time holding it firmly, grounding her to the moment. His thumb brushed soothing circles over her knuckles, his voice soft but unwavering.
"Alright," he said after a long pause. "We’ll stay here, Cammy. Just until we get Dylan’s custody back."
Cammy’s lips parted, stunned by how easily he agreed. She searched his face, expecting to see reluctance—but there was none. Only quiet understanding.
"But after that," Ric continued, his voice filled with a warmth that wrapped around her battered heart, "once everything is settled... we’ll find a real home. A real house. One with a huge backyard where Dylan and... the baby can run around. Somewhere that’s ours. Somewhere that feels like a new start."
A lump rose in Cammy’s throat at his words, and she had to look down to hide the tears that welled in her eyes. A new start. The idea sounded so simple when Ric said it—but it terrified her all the same.
Ric squeezed her hand, making her look at him again.
"The reason I’m agreeing to this," he said, his tone dropping lower, more serious, "isn’t because I don’t want you at the penthouse." He gave a soft, bittersweet chuckle. "God knows I want you there. I want you everywhere."
Cammy’s breath hitched at the raw honesty in his voice.
"But I work late, Cammy. Sometimes until midnight. And if you stayed in the penthouse alone, it would feel like a prison. And I’d be forcing you to live in a place where the silence would scream at you every night." He shook his head, a shadow crossing his features.
"I don’t want that for you. Not when you can be here... with Eve, with the Moores. People who care. People who can laugh with you and talk with you and make this place feel like home—even when I can’t be here yet."
Cammy closed her eyes, overwhelmed by the wave of emotion his words stirred inside her. It wasn’t just understanding. It was protection. It was love, in its purest, most unselfish form.