Chapter 10 - Happily Ever After
Ten years later, the Manhattan skyline looked a little different, but the view from my office remained as breathtaking as ever.
I stood by the window holding a framed photograph. In it, Theo and Lily were fifteen years old, standing proudly beside me on the steps of Columbia University, where Theo had just been accepted early into their accelerated engineering program, while Lily held a state debate championship trophy.
The door opened softly, and Lily walked in, now a tall, confident young woman with her mother’s steady gaze and an infectious smile.
“Mom, the board meeting for the Sterling-Chen Youth Foundation is starting in five minutes,” Lily reminded me gently, handing me my blazer.
“Thank you, darling. I’m right behind you,” I said.
As Lily turned to head back to the conference room, she paused by the door and looked back. “You know, Mom... looking back at everything you went through to get us here... you’re pretty amazing.”
I smiled, feeling a quiet, profound peace settle deep into my soul.
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“We built this together, sweetie,” I said.
I stepped out of my office, walking side by side with my daughter down the sunlit corridor of Sterling Tower, ready to face whatever tomorrow brought—together, unbreakable, and truly happy.
