Richard didn’t answer right away. The room was still buzzing with disbelief, and the models were trying to hide their frustration behind perfect smiles. Clara stood frozen, her hands clasped tightly in front of her, as if she were afraid to even breathe.

Amelia let go of her father’s sleeve and walked straight to Clara, wrapping her tiny arms around the woman’s waist. The simple, honest gesture struck Richard harder than any business decision he had ever faced.

Clara slowly placed a hand on the girl’s back. “Sweetheart… I’m just here to help your family,” she murmured. “Your dad deserves someone special. Someone he chooses.”

Amelia looked up at her, then at her father. “I choose her,” she repeated softly. “She’s my special.”

Richard felt something in his chest twist. For years, he had built walls around himself, working day and night, drowning his grief in deals, meetings, and numbers. His heart had become a place he rarely visited. Yet now, seeing the two of them — his daughter and the woman who had quietly held his home together — those walls felt suddenly thin.

The models began to gather their handbags, sensing that the evening was slipping out of the script. One of them, a tall brunette with a cold gaze, broke the silence.

“Mr. Lancaster, if this is some kind of joke, we should be informed,” she said sharply.

Richard straightened his jacket. “It’s not a joke,” he replied. “But this… wasn’t part of the plan.”

He waved them off, and one by one they left, their heels clicking angrily on the marble floor. Soon, the hall was quiet again. Just the three of them remained.

Clara cleared her throat. “Sir, Amelia is just a child. She means well, but—”

“But she’s right,” Amelia interrupted, still clinging to her.

Richard rubbed his forehead, torn between the image he had always protected and the truth staring him in the face. “Clara, you’ve been loyal to this family. You’ve cared for Amelia more than anyone. But becoming part of the Lancaster family is a different world. People will talk. They’ll judge. They always do.”

Clara lifted her chin. “Let them talk. I don’t want anything from you. Not your money, not your name. Amelia just needs stability. That’s all I ever tried to give her.”

Her words hit him even harder — because they held no bitterness, no agenda, only sincerity.

Amelia reached for her father’s hand. “Daddy… I don’t need a mom who looks fancy. I need someone who loves me.”

The simplicity of her statement cracked something wide open inside him. All those years chasing power, status, and control suddenly felt hollow. He had forgotten the one thing his daughter needed most: warmth.

Richard exhaled slowly. “Clara… would you stay for dinner? Just dinner. No decisions today.”

Clara hesitated. “If that’s what you want.”

“It’s what we need,” he corrected gently.

That evening, the three of them sat at the same table for the first time. No chefs, no assistants — just a simple meal Clara had prepared earlier. Amelia chattered happily, telling her father stories he had somehow missed. Clara listened with a soft smile, correcting the child only when she exaggerated too much.

Richard found himself watching the two of them more than he touched his food. The way Amelia leaned her head on Clara’s arm. The way Clara brushed crumbs from the girl’s cheek without realizing she was doing it. The way everything suddenly felt… right.

After dinner, when Amelia went upstairs to change into her pajamas, Richard and Clara remained at the table, wrapped in a quiet that felt unexpectedly warm.

“I never meant to step into her life like this,” Clara said, staring at her folded hands. “I know my place.”

“Maybe your place isn’t where you think it is,” Richard replied softly. “Maybe it’s closer to us than either of us realized.”

Clara looked up, surprised by the gentleness in his voice.

“I can’t promise anything yet,” he continued, “but I can promise I’ll listen to my daughter. And for the first time in a long while… I’ll listen to my own heart.”

Clara’s eyes glistened, but she didn’t speak. She didn’t need to.

Upstairs, Amelia’s laughter echoed down the staircase.

Richard smiled — truly smiled — for the first time in years.

And in that simple moment, he understood that sometimes the greatest fortune wasn’t found in wealth or status, but in the quiet, unexpected love that stepped into your life when you least expected it.

A love his daughter had seen long before he did.