I feel sick.
He softens just a little when he sees my face. Crosses to me. Wraps his arms around me, tight and sure.
“This ends now, Ava.”
I whisper into his chest, “I don’t want you to go back to that life.”
He tilts my chin up. “I’m not going back. I’m using what I know to make sure this bastard never gets near you again.”
There’s a fire in his eyes. Cold, steady, controlled.
And for the first time, I believe it completely— Whoever’s watching me doesn’t realize it yet, but they just picked a fight with the wrong man.
“You look like you’re already planning,” I whisper.
“I am,” he admits. “But first things first.”
He turns to face me fully
“We get through this. Together. But Ava, from now on, you tell me everything. Every note. Every flower. Every off-feeling. I need to know, even if you think it’s nothing.”
I nod, suddenly emotional.
“I will,” I whisper. “I promise.”
Elijah
The charm fits in the center of my palm, cold and perfect.
A silver dahlia, petals layered with quiet precision, light-catching edges that almost shimmer. It’s delicate but not fragile. Bold, like she is. Beautiful, like she doesn’t believe she is.
Inside it, hidden deep in the tiny base, is a tracker.
Discreet. Nothing flashy. Something only I know about.
I hate that I need it.
But loving Ava means seeing her entirely. It means knowing the cracks she hides, the danger she doesn’t notice, and the weight of everything she won’t say out loud. I’m her Daddy—not just when she calls me that with a flushed face and breathy voice, but always. In the quiet. In the dark. When things get real.
This bracelet—it started as something sweet. A symbol of the rules, the rituals, the trust. Something to help her stay grounded when the world gets too loud.
She wears it every day.
Every time I see it on her wrist, something softens in me. Something that was stone for years.
The dahlia charm is more than pretty. It’s my way of saying, I see you. I know you don’t think you’re worth protecting, but I’ll do it anyway.
Even if she never knows how far I’ve gone to keep her safe.
Chapter twenty-five
Ava
Thenextday,thestore feels quiet—too quiet, if you ask me. Elijah spent the morning here with us, and Sophia’s around too. So far, nothing seems out of the ordinary. Still, I doubt my stalker will return this soon.
Sophia, Laura, and I are sitting on the couch having tea. Mia is behind the counter, serving a couple of customers, while Elijah is in my office, making calls. I don’t know what he’s planning, but I’m sure I won’t like it. Yesterday, he nearly hired private security for both the store and my house.
Laura is in the middle of telling Sophia an anecdote from one of her work visits when Sophia’s eyes suddenly widen.
