Hopper watches us, his expression unreadable, his fists clenched at his sides. That’s when I realize something. I don’t just love him. I love them. I love this little girl who stole my heart the second she called me Nys. And even when it terrifies me, I wouldn’t change this feeling for anything.
Maddie curls up next to me, her little body tucking in like she belongs there. Within minutes, her breathing evens out, soft and warm against my side.
“I’m glad you’re okay, Nys.” Atlas lingers at the door, his arms crossed. “Don’t scare the shit out of me like that again, yeah?”
I huff out a soft laugh. “I’ll do my best.”
“We’re glad you’re fine,” Gale says. “I’ll be helping you while you recover. Maddie and I have a plan.”
“We will be there for you guys,” Ledger states. “Mal too, even when he’s busy filing paperwork right now.”
“Thank you,” I whisper trying not to wake up Maddie.
Atlas gives me a look, one that’s half relief, half ‘I’ll kill for you, just say the word,’ and then he jerks his chin toward the others. “We’ll be in the waiting room.”
They all file out, leaving just me, Hopper, and Maddie curled up beside me.
Hopper sinks back into the chair, his fingers brushing over Maddie’s curls, then over my hand, his touch light but lingering.
The silence stretches, but it’s not uncomfortable.
It’s safe.
And suddenly, I don’t want to wait another second. Because what if I never got this moment?
What if I never got to say it?
I exhale slowly, then turn to look at him. “I love you,” I say. “I love you, Hopper Timberbridge.”
His breath catches. His eyes snap to mine, shock flickering across his face for half a second before it melts into something deeper. Something that steals the air from my lungs.
Then, just as softly, he whispers, “I love you too, Nysa.” His voice is rough, like it’s been waiting to be said for a long, long time. “I love you so fucking much.”
The words settle deep in my chest, in my bones, my blood, my soul.
This man.
This grumpy, brooding, fiercely protective man.
This man who would burn the world down for me.
He loves me.
And for the first time in my entire life, I let myself believe I deserve it. Hopper leans forward, pressing a kiss to my forehead, then my cheek, then the corner of my mouth. His lips linger, his breath warm against my skin.
“I’m never letting you go again.” His voice is low, rough, a promise and a vow all at once.
I press my hand over his, my body aching but safe, tired but whole. “I’m not running anymore. I promise to stay under the same sky, next to you and our Maddie.”
He exhales deeply, his lips brushing my temple.
And just like that, we become each other’s home.
Chapter Thirty-Nine
Nysa
I spend a few days in the hospital before they finally let me leave, but the whole time, I feel like I’m caught between two different realities. There’s the safe, sterile one—the world where I’m wrapped in warm blankets, machines beeping softly around me, and nurses checking in with kind but clinical smiles. And then there’s the other world.
