Silence fell.
He whirled around, but she was gone.
Pacing the room, he stopped, staring down at the red felt star his wife had made for him. He’d brought her to New York with great fanfare, promising he’d be a good husband, promising he’d be a good father, promising her she’d never regret it. Insisting he wanted to throw a party for her birthday.
Then he’d done none of it, and ghosted her.
Eleni was right. He’d abandoned his family. Not because of some business deal. And not even because he was trying to protect them.
He’d deliberately avoided his wife because he was afraid.
Afraid if she ever really got to know him, she would finally realize that she was the conqueror, not him.
My father always said loving my mother changed his life. She made him a husband. A father. More than
he ever imagined he could be. He always said she changed his stars.
Slowly, Stavros held up the red felt star.
He wasn’t worthy of her. That was true. He didn’t know if he ever could be.
But he’d never let fear stop him before. It hadn’t stopped him from building a billion-dollar company out of nothing. It hadn’t stopped him from marrying Holly, though he’d somehow always known this was how it would end.
Could he change?
Could he be brave enough to give her everything?
Could he win her heart?
Tears filled his eyes as he looked out over New York City. He couldn’t see the stars above the clouds, but they were there. Waiting for him to see them. Waiting to guide him.
Stavros gripped the red felt star in his hand. It was as soft as her red hair. As tender as her heart.
Blinking fast, he took a deep breath.
Maybe, just maybe...it wasn’t too late to change his stars.
* * *
The Swiss valley was dark and silent, late on Christmas Eve.
Outside, the stars were bright as diamonds in the cold, black night. In the distance, Holly could hear church bells ringing for midnight mass. The road in front of her cabin was empty. Her neighbors had all gone to spend time with friends and family—those who hadn’t gone to sunny climes for a holiday.
She was glad she’d taken Stavros’s jet, as he’d insisted. Freddie’s ears had hurt, and he’d cried the whole way. So had she. Exhausted from crying for hours, her baby had finally gone to sleep an hour before. Now, she was alone in the quiet.
Holly wondered what her husband was doing right now, back in New York. She looked out the cabin’s window, but all she saw was the reflection of a young red-haired woman, lonely and sad.
No. She couldn’t feel sorry for herself. She was lucky to have this cabin for herself and her child. Lucky to have time and space to figure out how to start over.
Opening the front door, Holly looked out at the quiet, wintry valley. Moonlight swept the snow, and she could see the sharp Alps high above. Her breath was white smoke dancing in the air, the icy cold a shock against her lungs. From a distance, she could see a car’s lights winding down the valley road toward her tiny chalet. Someone was traveling to be with family for Christmas, she thought, and her heart felt a pang.
Shivering in her thin white T-shirt and tiny knit shorts, she closed the door, turning back inside. She had family, she told herself. Her sister had just texted her from Vermont, to tell her that the ski slopes were snowy and beautiful. Yuna’s family was already stuffing Nicole with Christmas cookies and eggnog.
I think I’m going to be all right. It might take a while. But the New Year is just around the corner.
Holly smiled wistfully. Her little sister had truly grown up.
Then with a shake of her head, she started tidying up the small interior of the rustic chalet. The Christmas decorations were still up from last month. Nothing had been changed. She blessed her former employer’s frantic schedule for keeping him too busy to arrange for her possessions to be packed and sent to New York.