"Hello, Mr. Blair," Maria said. "I'm Maria—I was married to Catherine's father. And this is my son, Samuel. Congratulations on your marriage, by the way."

There was a strange look in Maria's eyes, something like worry and mistrust. Catherine's stomach churned—she knew she deserved it, but it was painful to see. She swallowed hard and looked up at her stepmom again, and her heart froze. The look was directed at Sean—not at her.

​​

"Sean is great," Catherine said, trying to diffuse the tension. "I'm very blessed to have him as a husband."

The words eased some of the tension in the room, but it still lingered. Sean sat stiffly beside her, and Maria shot glances his way.

"I have to say you've changed, Catherine," Maria said. "I'm happy to see it."

The guilt slammed into Catherine with enough force to make her gasp. The last time she'd seen Maria, she'd called her a bitch and slammed a door in her face. She squirmed on the sofa, wishing she'd been reborn before any of that had ever happened.

"Maria, I'm sorry," she said.

Maria waved the apology away with a flick of her hand. Catherine dug her fingernails into her palms and looked down at her lap. The silence in the room grew heavy and long.

"So, Samuel is in Year 10 at school now, right?" Catherine finally asked.

"Year 11, actually," Samuel said.

"And his marks were amazing," Maria said.

"Wow," Catherine said, forcing the word out around the growing lump in her throat. "You must be so proud."

"I am," Maria said. "I was trying to find the right time to tell you."

The kind statement only worsened Catherine's guilt. She knew that Maria would never have reached out to her to tell her about Samuel. The things she's said to her the last time they saw each other had been unbelievably cruel and hurtful.

"Well," Catherine finally said, trying to make her tone light. "At least one of us turned out smart. Our father would be proud of."

Out of the corner of her eye, she saw an uncertain smile spread across Samuel's face. The last time she'd seen him, she'd called him a bastard and accused Maria of cheating on her father. The memory-filled her with another hot flush of shame.

"Don't sell yourself short," Maria said. "You're quite bright too. And besides, you know Samuel—he's always been a handful."

"He is a boy," Catherine said. "I think it's normal for them to get into some trouble. Of course, everyone says that girls can be so much worse."

Silence descended on the room again, and Maria shifted awkwardly on the edge of the chair. Sean cleared his throat, and Catherine started to stand. A part of her wanted to stay and apologize, but another part of her wanted to turn and flee. It was unbearable to sit in the horrible musty room and make small talk about the past.

"Well," Maria said. "Since you're here already, why don't you all stay for lunch? I'm afraid we don't have much in the fridge, but I'll send Samuel out to the supermarket."

Catherine hesitated. She desperately wanted to have lunch with Maria and Samuel—before her father died, family meals had been one of the brightest parts of her day. They'd all gathered around the table and shared the best and worst things that had happened to them, laughing and making jokes the entire time.

But she didn't want to be a burden on Maria—feeding three extra people would be expensive. Besides, they couldn't talk freely with Sean and Levi in the room. The two men were silent, but their very presence made everything awkward and stiff.

"Thanks, but we have to be on our way," she said.

Maria nodded, "Next time, then. I can make your favorite spinach and sausage lasagna or perhaps my famous tomato basil soup."

Catherine's eyes filled with tears—Maria remembered her favorite foods.

"Of course," she said. "Next time."

As she crossed to the door, she remembered the gifts, "Oh, we brought you some things, but they're in the car."

As if her words had served as a cue, Levi slipped out the door and disappeared down the long hall toward the stairwell.

"Oh no," Maria said. "We couldn't possibly accept anything. Just your presence has been enough."

"I insist," Catherine said.

"Really," Maria repeated a small gleam of fierce pride in her eyes. "We don't need anything—we do well enough on our own, don't we, Samuel?"

Sean cleared his throat, "Catherine wants you to have them, so please take them."

Maria nodded in mute agreement, and the room fell silent. Catherine bit her lip and rocked back and forth on her feet. She was grateful when Levi finally reappeared with the shiny boxes and bags.

"Thank you both," Maria said. "We'll walk you out."

Sean placed his hand on the small of Catherine's back and turned her toward the door. She allowed him to steer her across the room. The door swung shut behind them, and she walked down the long, gloomy hall, followed by Levi and Maria and Samuel. Levi opened the doors to the shiny black car, and Catherine allowed Sean to help her in.

"Wait," she said, inside the car. "I forgot there's something really important I need to say to Maria."

"You can call her later," Sean said.

"Please, it'll only take a minute," she said. "It's about my father."

"Fine," Sean said.

She jumped out of the car and ran up the cracked path toward the rusting front gate. Maria and Samuel were about to enter the terrible stairs.

"Wait," she shouted. "Come back."

Maria turned and rushed over, concern etched across her forehead, "Are you okay? Did that man do something?"

"What?" Catherine asked. "No, it's not about Sean. There was something else I wanted to give you." She reached into her purse and pulled out a gleaming silver credit card and offered it to Maria.

"What's that?" Maria asked.

"It's my bank card," Catherine said. "I'm afraid it has a 100,000-pound limit, but I hope you'll be able to get something nice. Maybe for Samuel."

"I can't take your money," Maria said.

"Please," Catherine begged. "I know it doesn't fix all the damage I've caused, but maybe it can help."

Maria squared her shoulders and said, "I work to earn money." She softened her tone and added, "Besides, Samuel and I couldn't possibly use that much money."

Catherine shook her head, "Samuel's a teenage boy, and I'm sure he eats a lot. Besides, at the rate he's going, you're going to have his university fees in a few years."

"Catherine, we can't," Maria said.

"Please just take it," she said. "You two have suffered enough already. Besides, I promised my father on his deathbed that I'd take care of you guys, and I was so quick to break that promise. I know it's too late, but I'm trying to make good on it now."

Maria nodded and slipped the card into her pocket, "What happened to you, Catherine? What's the reason for this change?"

"I had a lot of time to think about things," she answered. "And a lot of time to regret my mistakes."

Maria's eyes narrowed, "Are you sure you're okay? You'd tell me if something happened, right? You don't have to face the world on your own, you know."

She smiled bitterly and said, "I'm okay. I was stupid and selfish before, but I feel like I'm being given a second chance. This time, I won't let Uncle Lawson and his family manipulate me. I stood by when they kicked you and Samuel out of the house and muscled you out of the company and left you with nothing, but this time I'm going to do the right thing."

"Don't be so hard on yourself," Maria said. "You were still a child, and your uncle is a powerful man. Honestly, I have myself to blame too. I thought leaving you there would be good for you. I thought they'd take care of you—after all, you're Lawson's niece."

"Don't worry about me," Catherine said. "They weren't so bad for me. Sure, they wanted to get their hands on my inheritance, but they gave me everything I could have asked for. Still, I was an idiot to trust them, and I'm so sorry for all that I did to you. No matter what happens, I'll never forgive myself."

"It's not your fault," Maria said. "And you don't have to ask for forgiveness. I love you like you were my own daughter."

Maria folded her in a warm hug, and Catherine smiled and hugged her back. If she closed her eyes and blocked out the terrible neighborhood, it almost felt like nothing at all had changed. Too soon, Maria pulled away.

"Catherine, Mr. Blair seems like a nice man, but you need to be careful with him," she said. "You're still young and new to the ways of love. I'd hate to see you get taken advantage of again."

"Don't worry," she said. "I swear, I won't."