Page 106 of How to Fall for the Secret Billionaire
She pulls out a second mug.
“I’m listening.”
“Chamomile. No caffeine. No sugar. It’s rare. You’ll never find this on modern shelves.”
I grin. “Deal.”
We sit in silence for a moment, the two of us nursing our mugs like some unspoken ritual. The kettle hisses quietly behind us. The clock ticks loud on the wall.
“You scared her,” I say after a beat. “Margot.”
She nods slowly. “I scared myself, too.”
I glance at her, studying her face. There’s still color in her cheeks, a stubborn light in her eyes, but I don’t miss the fatigue.
“You sure you’re okay?”
“I’m not dead,” she says, dry as ever. “So yes. I’m okay.”
I chuckle, then turn serious. “I just don’t want her to go through that again. Any of it. You mean too much to her.”
Edie watches me for a long second. “And what about you?”
“What about me?”
“Does she mean too much to you?”
That lands harder than it should. I look away.
She hums, like she knows exactly what I’m not saying. Then sips her tea.
“This place has seen everything,” she says quietly. “Floods, recessions, heartbreak, joy. I’ve watched it bend and break and come back stronger every time.”
I nod, listening.
“But people?” Her voice softens. “People break when they carry too much alone.”
That lands. Right in the gut. I glance at her again, but she’s already looking at her mug, swirling the last inch of tea like it holds the answers.
“She’s been carrying a lot,” I say.
“Yes,” Aunt Edie murmurs. “Since she was a girl.”
I swallow. “I don’t want to add to it.”
“Then don’t.” She looks at me fully now. “Stay. Show up. Let her lean. That girl’s been the glue holding this whole place together, even when it nearly broke her. She deserves people who stay.”
My chest tightens. “I’m trying.”
“Good.” She pushes her mug aside. “Because she’s worth it.”
We don’t say much after that. Eventually, I help her up and walk her back to her room, both of us pretending we’re not sneaking.
“Thank you for the items you got,” she says kindly.
“How do you know?—?”
“Come on. I wasn’t born yesterday.” She refuses to say anything after.
