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When Jennifer opened the front door, Arabelle's eyes noticeably widened. "I know, when I first came here, I thought we were just in the middle of the woods."

"I admit, it seemed too good to be true to have this handsome young man, claiming to be your new husband, come pick me up at the airport," Arabelle said casually. "When he brought me out into the middle of nowhere, I thought, 'oh well, seems the assassins have finally come for me.'"

"Mom!" Jennifer laughed. "What have you ever done in your life to warrant assassins, anyway?"

"Oh you would be surprised, my dear, you would be surprised."

They made it to the largest guest bedroom on the main floor, and Jennifer helped Arabelle into the bed. She tucked herself right under the blankets, making a comfortable sigh once she had a pillow beneath her.

"You look so tired, mom. Should I leave you to rest for now? We can talk later."

"I am tired, but not so tired I can't listen." Arabelle made a tsking sound. "So you eloped with this husband of yours, leaving me in Portland all on my own? Jenny, dear, I think you might have taken a page out of my personal handbook."

Jennifer smiled, pleasantly surprised by her mom's reaction. "You're not mad?"

"Can't say I blame you. All the hospitals and old people have to be a bore to my energetic little girl."

"It was nothing like that. I was happy to keep caring for you, mom. But when the doctors said the chemo wasn't goingto work anymore ... I couldn't just sit by and watch you wither away."

"Of course you couldn't. That's not the daughter I raised." Arabelle sighed. "But I wanted a more fulfilling life for you ... after all this, it seems you might have found it."

Jennifer sat on the floor next to Arabelle's bed, tilting her head to rest on the mattress beside her mom. "Yeah, I think so. I wasn't sure anything would come of it, but in the end ... Mark is great, mom. I think I love him."

Arabelle laughed. "I would hope so, after all the trouble he went to round me up and ship me over here."

"Speaking of which," Jennifer said, "how did he convince you to come here? He didn't tell me a thing about what he was planning."

"Oh, he's a sneaky one, that's for sure. A few days ago he called, confessing who he was. Naturally, I cursed him out as a liar, trying to trick a sick woman, but as he began to tell me more, I realized he had to be telling the truth," Arabelle said. "Only my daughter would think to torture her mother by finding such a handsome young man and not telling me."

"Mom ... I didn't tell you because I was embarrassed," she said.

And because she didn't want to give Arabelle any false hope. She wasn't sure that a relationship was going to work out with Mark, or that it would result in a better paying job she could use to pay those medical bills. Never in her wildest dreams had she expected to get matched with someone with a fortune like his, or that he would simply cover the expenses of all the treatment without a worry.

Arabelle placed her hand on Jennifer's. "He loves you too, Jenny."

Jennifer's stomach twisted, as if releasing the cork on a bottle of butterflies. "Did he say that?"

"No, but I heard it in the way he talked about you. He's a winner. I don't know where you found a wonderful man like him ... but you better keep him."

She still had the medal tied around her wrist. It would be too impractical to wear forever, but for now, it was a symbol of her devotion to him. She had no intention of letting him go, not now, not ever.

Ever since she arrived at his place, Mark had been nothing but kind and caring to Jennifer. Now, bringing her mother here, promising to care for her, paying for treatment that would save her life ... he'd won Jennifer's heart.

She could feel the love pouring from her like an overfilled sink. Love, and all of it meant for him.

Chapter 8 – Mark

Now with Jennifer, Arabelle, and Dr. Variety at the mansion, Mark couldn't risk shifting so close to the house.

While Jennifer and her mom were catching up, Jake arrived for his regular security shift, nodding to Mark as they ventured in opposite directions: Jake back into the house to watch over the women, Mark off into the woods.

Over the last few days, Mark had passed off his trips into the trees as regular walks for pleasure's sake ... but the truth was far from it. Ever since he got the last mounds of the treasure goblin's cursed gold, the goblins had sniffed around in these woods here and there, searching for it—but without knowing it was in the area for certain.

Over the last few years, the goblins came to realize that their treasurewasin this forest, but they were not sure where. They crept around in the trees and hills at night, searching for Mark's hidden mansion, but the woods were fast, and he paid well for elves and other local magical creatures to put markers up every few months to draw the goblins elsewhere.

He tried to trap and kill them several times, but they were too smart. He'd yet to trick any of them.

But over the last week, since just after Jennifer's arrival, it seemed the goblins were getting closer and closer to pinpointing the real location of his mansion. As hidden as it was, it was impossible to keep it as such forever. That it had lasted a whole decade without being uncovered was miracle enough.