The Millionaire Ate Alone Every Night — Until a Cleaning Lady’s Son Asked Him One Question
Chapter 9
One year later, Ethan proposed.
He didn’t do it in a luxury restaurant.
He took Maria back to Table fourteen.
The table where Oliver had first asked his question.
Maria sat down.
“Why are we here?”
Ethan smiled.
“You know why.”
Oliver was hiding nearby.
Sophie too.
Maria laughed.
“Are they involved?”
“Absolutely.”
He sat across from her.
“I spent three years sitting here alone.”
“Then Oliver asked me why.”
She smiled.
“That sounds like him.”
“He changed everything.”
Ethan reached into his pocket.
Maria’s eyes widened.
“Please don’t.”
“Don’t what?”
“I’ll cry.”
“That’s okay.”
He knelt.
“I don’t want a temporary life.”
“I don’t want a perfect life.”
“I want this one.”
“The noise.”
“The problems.”
“The children.”
“The ordinary dinners.”
“You.”
Maria covered her mouth.
He continued:
“Will you marry me?”
She cried.
“Yes.”
Oliver ran out.
“I knew it!”
Sophie laughed.
“You were supposed to wait.”
“I couldn’t.”
They embraced.
The wedding was small.
Family.
Close friends.
Employees.
No luxury spectacle.
Maria wore a simple ivory dress.
Oliver walked her down the aisle beside Ethan.
Sophie stood nearby.
At the ceremony, Ethan said:
“You gave me something I didn’t know I needed.”
Maria looked at him.
“What?”
“A home.”
She cried.
Then she spoke.
“I thought I had to protect my son from needing anyone.”
She looked at Oliver.
“Then I learned that family isn’t weakness.”
“It’s support.”
She looked at Ethan.
“Thank you for staying.”
They married.
The reception was joyful.
Oliver danced until he was exhausted.
Sophie gave a speech.
She thanked Maria.
“Before you came, Dad was alive.”
“But he wasn’t really living.”
Maria cried.
Ethan squeezed her hand.
That night, they returned to Table fourteen.
The restaurant had closed.
They sat alone.
But this time, the silence was different.
Ethan looked at Maria.
“Do you remember what Oliver asked?”
She smiled.
“Why do you always eat alone?”
“And now?”
Maria looked around.
“Now you don’t.”
