Chapter 6 - The East Cottage
Three days later, the autumn sun shone brightly over the manicured grounds of the estate.
The heavy scent of blooming salt-spray roses and fresh sea air filled the morning breeze as a small moving truck pulled up the narrow gravel driveway leading to the East Cottage.
Standing on the front porch of the charming slate-roofed home was Natalie Mercer. She was wearing a simple yellow sweater and jeans, watching two movers carefully carry a large wooden bookshelf through the open front doors.
Noah was running across the lush green lawn with his golden retriever puppy—a gift Dominic had bought for him the previous evening—his joyful laughter echoing across the cliffside.
Emma walked up the stone pathway carrying a box of framed family photographs.
“Need some help with these, Natalie?” Emma called out warmly.
Natalie turned around, wiping a light sheen of sweat from her forehead, her face glowing with genuine happiness. “Emma! Please, come inside!”
The interior of the East Cottage was breathtaking. Oak hardwood floors, high vaulted ceilings with exposed timber beams, and large stone fireplaces gave the home a cozy, timeless warmth that the massive main mansion often lacked.
Emma set the box of photos down on the living room table.
“How does it feel to be home?” Emma asked.
Natalie looked around the warm, sunlit room, her eyes swelling with happy tears. “It feels like my mother is still here, holding my hand. Catherine built this cottage as a refuge, Emma. A place where our family could just be human, away from the business and the politics.”
She walked over to the mantlepiece, setting up a framed photograph of Catherine Mercer standing in the cottage garden, holding a young Noah in her arms.
“Brooke tried to tear this family apart,” Natalie said softly, turning back to Emma. “She saw us as weak because we were grieving. She thought she could take everything my mother worked for.”
“Brooke only saw money and power,” Emma replied, standing beside her. “She didn't understand that the real strength of this family comes from the love Dominic has for you and Noah.”
The front door opened, and Dominic walked inside. He had removed his suit jacket, wearing a crisp white shirt with the sleeves rolled up to his forearms, carrying a heavy tool chest in his hand.
“Where do you want the security monitors installed, Nat?” Dominic asked, his voice echoing in the hallway.
Natalie laughed softly, shaking her head. “Dominic, it’s a three-bedroom cottage, not a high-security bank vault!”
“It’s a Mercer property,” Dominic corrected with a faint smile, setting his tool chest down near the fireplace. “Which means it gets top-tier thermal sensors, smart locks, and direct routing to my personal security desk.”
He looked at Emma, his dark eyes softening as he met her gaze. “How are the staff transitions going at the main house, Emma?”
“Extremely well,” Emma reported, pulling a digital tablet from her handbag. “We’ve hired two new domestic assistants, restructured the security shift schedules, and the estate caterers have been fully settled for the upcoming charity gala next month.”
Dominic walked over, standing close to her. The subtle scent of his expensive cedarwood cologne filled the air between them.
“Good,” Dominic said quietly. “Because I want you by my side at that gala, Emma.”
Emma looked up in surprise. “At the gala? Sir, I am the Estate Director—”
“You are the woman who saved my family,” Dominic interrupted softly, his voice low and intimate. “And from now on, you sit at my table.”
Natalie smiled warmly from the fireplace, picking up a box of kitchen supplies and walking toward the back rooms, leaving the two of them alone in the sunlit living room.
Emma looked into Dominic’s deep, dark eyes, feeling a quiet, electric spark pass between them—a unspoken connection born from shared storm and absolute trust.
May you like
“I would be honored, Dominic,” Emma whispered.
Outside the window, little Noah’s joyful laughter rang out across the cliffside as he played with his dog in the warm morning sun. The dark shadows that had threatened to destroy the Mercer family had finally dissolved into the sea, leaving behind a home that was stronger, safer, and entirely unbroken.
