Eleanor pulled her fur coat around her shoulders, giving Lucia one final glare of utter defeat before walking out the front doors into the dark night.
The heavy doors shut, leaving the grand foyer in peaceful silence.
Lucia: Marcus... you didn't have to send her away like that.
Marcus: Yes, I did. Nobody is ever going to disrespect you or our child ever again.
Marcus turned to her, gently taking her apron off and setting it aside on the hall bench.
Marcus: Mrs. Gable!
The elderly head housekeeper walked into the foyer, her eyes lighting up with genuine joy the moment she saw Lucia.
Mrs. Gable: Oh, Miss Lucia! You're back!
Lucia: Hello, Mrs. Gable...
Marcus: Mrs. Gable, please prepare the master bedroom suite immediately. Get Miss Lucia some warm tea and comfortable clothes.
Mrs. Gable: Right away, Mr. Sterling! It is so wonderful to have you home, dear.
Mrs. Gable hurried up the marble stairs, leaving Marcus and Lucia standing together in the warm light of the foyer.
Marcus: David is drafting the paperwork right now. First thing tomorrow morning, two million dollars will be wired directly to your personal bank account.
Lucia: Marcus, I told you I don't care about the money—
Marcus: That is your legal right. But more importantly, I am transferring fifty percent of the Sterling Group shares into a private trust fund for our baby.
Lucia gasped, looking up at him in complete shock.
Lucia: Half of the company?!
Marcus: This child is a Sterling. And you are the woman I love.
Lucia: Marcus... we have so many broken pieces between us.
Marcus: Then we will fix them together, one day at a time.
Marcus reached into his pocket, pulling out a small velvet box he had carried with him for months, never able to let it go.
He opened the latch, revealing the original platinum wedding ring Lucia had left on the table the day she walked away.
Marcus: I never stopped loving you, Lucia. Will you let me be a father to our child? Will you give me a second chance to be your husband?
Tears of happiness filled Lucia's eyes as she looked down at the gleaming ring.
Lucia: Yes, Marcus... yes.