Chapter 38

Ella

I wasn’t sure what made me answer my phone at seven in the morning, but when I did, Will requested that I go next door with a small bag packed and warm clothes. He asked me not to ask any questions, but instead accept that he was surprising me and taking me to a special place. I was confused since the last we talked he didn’t even know if he wanted to be with me anymore and was unsure about joining me and the baby in Cambridge. I was trying to be understanding, knowing he had a life here in New York, but it was hard not to be hurt by the fact that he was struggling with this decision. I had hoped it would be a no-brainer for him.

When I got to his apartment, Will kissed me on the cheek, handed me a coffee mug, and got Avery dressed in warm clothes, including a hat, a scarf, and gloves. New York was cold, but it wasn’t even snowing out, so I wasn’t sure why he was dressing us like we were trekking to the Arctic. I shook my head and went along with everything, figuring there was no point in fighting it. I was already invested. We rode in the car to the private airport and pulled up next to a private jet.

“Where are we going?” I finally asked.

“Cambridge,” he said, smiling and ushering Avery and me onto the plane.

The place was definitely impressive, even more stylish than my apartment in Cambridge that my mother had had professionally decorated. My father was rich, but I had never been on a private jet before. I could now understand why rich people opted for this instead of flying first class on a commercial flight. It was like flying inside your house, and you could barely even feel the plane moving once it was in the air. There was a bar at the front of the cabin, televisions all throughout, seating for around eight people, and in the back was an entire bedroom with a queen-sized bed.

“I used to fly all over the world in this plane,” Will said when he noticed me looking at everything. “I wanted it to feel as much like home as possible.”

“Oh,” I said, nodding my head. “So why are we going to Cambridge? Are you taking me back to Harvard already?”

He laughed, shaking his head, and then turned back to the window, watching the clouds fly past. The flight was short, and when we landed, there was a car waiting for us inside the hangar. I looked out at all the snow everywhere and smiled, feeling like I had finally gotten back home. As we drove, I looked out the window. We passed the dorms I’d lived in the year before and then went right past my rental apartment. Will wasn’t talking, but every once in a while, Avery would lean up and whisper something in his father’s ear. Great. I was now being duped by a kindergartner as well as his father. I let out a deep breath and just decided to relax, knowing they weren’t going to tell me anything.

We drove through the downtown area of Cambridge and off into the suburbs. We weaved through one of the richest neighborhoods in the city and finally slowed down and turned into a long driveway. I gawked out the window at the beautifully landscaped yard, the tall black iron fence that encircled the property, and the giant fountain that sat in front of the house. The place was gorgeous, and massive. Absolutely massive. If I ever lived in a place like that, I would definitely need a staff just to keep the place clean. Still, it was a dream house. Whoever lived there hadn’t put up any Christmas decorations, which was a bummer since this house was a perfect one to go nuts with. It was the kind of house I had always hoped I would own someday.

We pulled around the fountain and stopped in front of the large, cascading stairwell that came from the front door. I looked up at the massive wooden double doors painted blue with intricately designed cutouts. They were definitely custom made and possibly even hand carved. It was an absolutely gorgeous place.

“Do you know the people who live here?” I asked.

“You could say that.” He smirked, got out of the car, and came around to my side.

Avery reached out his hand and helped me out of the car before running off into the snow-covered yard. I stopped and looked up at the tall, cathedral pillars that jutted up from the porch. This place was so beautiful, and I could only imagine who I was going to meet when I got inside.

“Do you like this house?” Will asked.

“Of course,” I said. “It’s absolutely amazing.”

“Good,” Will said, pulling a set of keys from his pocket. “I bought it for us.”

“Surprise, Ella!” Avery yelled out, and he ran in circles around us, giggling loudly.

“Oh my Gosh,” I said, completely stunned. “Are you serious? I mean, what about your company?”

“I’ve done the research, and I can work remotely most of the time,” he said. “I’ll have to take the jet to New York every once in a while for certain clients and meetings, but like you saw, it’s a quick ride. I even plan on putting in a private runway at the back of the property so that I don’t have to go to the airport to fly out. For the most part, though, I can work from home.”

“Will, I don’t know what to say,” I said. I was in complete shock.

“Look, Ella, I want to be there for not just the baby, but for you, too,” he said, taking my hands. “I love you more than anything in this world, and I can’t imagine not being a family with you, Avery, and the baby. I can’t imagine living my life without all of you. Everything I’ve done in my life has led me to the point where I can make this decision. I’m lucky I have that ability. I have an extremely successful company, and now it is your turn to chase your dreams. I want you to be free to do whatever you want and still have me, Avery, and the baby waiting at home for you at the end of the day.”

“I can’t believe this,” I said, bursting into tears. “Thank you so much, Will. Thank you for the house, but especially for choosing us.”

“It wasn’t a choice,” he said, putting his arms around me and pulling me close. “I can’t be away from you, and I won’t be absent from our child’s life. I want both our children to grow up seeing what a beautiful and healthy relationship looks like. We have a lot of making up to do, but I wanted to make sure we were comfortable, safe, and settled. I wanted our baby to have a nursery and Avery to have the best room he could have. We’ve all been through so much and we all deserve to be happy. I think this is the first step in that process. Now, let’s go check out the house.”

I smiled and walked up to the doors before heading through the giant entryway and into a marbled entrance. In front of me was a huge staircase that started on the left and wound up and around to the right. The ceiling was as tall as the house, and I wondered how in the world we would keep it clean. As if he could read my mind, Will leaned in and whispered to me.

“Don’t worry. We’ll hire a cleaning company.”

I laughed and followed him around the house, watching with love as Avery went flying through the open spaces, excitement flowing through him. It warmed me so much to know that I would get to stay with Avery. I loved him very much. After seeing the expansive downstairs and all the wings, we headed upstairs to where the bedrooms were located. I walked toward the master bedroom, opened the doors, and stepped inside.

“It’s beautiful, isn’t it?”

I turned around quickly and smiled at seeing Will’s mom standing there. She put her arms out and smiled at me, pulling me into a big hug. It felt so good to see her, and I already felt at home in the new house.

“I’m so excited for you guys,” she said. “This house is absolutely gorgeous, and that baby is going to be so happy here with the three of you. Welcome to our little family, Ella.”

“Thank you,” I said happily, hugging her again. “This is just all so much to take in, but I couldn’t have imagined a more perfect surprise even if I’d tried. Thank you for helping Will when he needed guidance through all of this.”

“That’s what a mother does,” she said with a wink. “You’ll figure that out soon enough.”

“Grandma!”

Avery came tearing around the corner and jumped right into her arms, hugging her tightly. She closed her eyes and squeezed him, making me choke up a bit. Avery was so happy, and I was just beyond thrilled with everything.

“Do you like our new house?” Avery asked. “Daddy says we get to live here.”

“I do,” she said, smiling. “What do you think?”

“I think it’s so big, I’ll be exploring forever,” he replied. “And to make it so much better, we get to live here as a family. That means that Ella will be my mommy. Well, my other mommy since my first one is in heaven.”

“That’s right,” she said, looking up at me and winking. “And she loves you so much. Both of them do, actually.”

“Me too,” he said, smiling at me.

After we toured the entire house, we jumped in the car and went out to eat. I took the four of us to a little Italian restaurant I always loved to go to when I was there for school. We sat down at the table and ordered our food before launching into a full-blown conversation about what we wanted the nursery to look like.

“I think it should be trucks and dinosaurs,” Avery said.

“What if you have a little sister?” I asked. “She might not like trucks.”

“Ew,” he said, wrinkling his nose. “You didn’t tell me it could be a girl.”

We all laughed as Avery shook his head fervently. Will explained that a little sister would be just as amazing as a little brother. I didn’t think Avery bought it, but he shrugged his shoulders and went back to coloring on his kid’s menu.

“I don’t know about the nursery, but I would love to throw you a separate baby shower from the one your parents are going to throw,” Will’s mom said. “We have so many friends and family that will want to celebrate this, and we could hold it at our house in the country.”

“I would love that,” I said, smiling. “Thank you. I would still want you to come to the one my parents will throw, if for no other reason than to keep me sane.”

She laughed. “I wouldn’t miss it for the world. I can keep your mom occupied. We come from the same background. You didn’t know I could be the rich old lady, too, did you?”

I gasped. “Not you,” I said with a laugh. “It’s all right. Will can be a rich old man when he wants to be.”

“Hey, hey, no old jokes, lady.”

I sat back, listening to everyone talk, laugh, and just be what I always wanted: a family. I was extraordinarily happy, something I didn’t think I had ever felt before. The root of all of it, though, was the love I had for Will, and there was nothing that could change that.