Time to rewrite every false belief she carries about herself.
I’ll make goddamn sure of that.
Right now?
I need to take care of what matters most.
Adrianna.
Bella.
This family of mine.
This fragile beginning we’ve made.
The threat hanging over their heads.
Because before I can write a single lyric, before I can let myself drown in the music she brings back to life in me—I have to make her feel secure.
I have to make her safe.
I have to make sure she never doubts what she means to me again.
I look at her standing there in the studio light, her hand drifting along the keyboard like she’s touching a memory—and my heart thunders with the real, unedited truth.
Adrianna means so much to me.
She’s the star that guides me back when I’m lost.
The hope that sparks light despite the darkness surrounding me.
Sheismy breath, my heart, my body.
Adriannaishome.
She is everything.
And I’m going to protect her with every fucking breath I have.
ChapterTwenty-Nine
Adrianna
“Aunt Ad,can I go to Dina’s?Her house is at the other end of this block,” Bella asks a few minutes after we get home—well, to Nathan’s home.
Orno.
I guess it’s ours now.
Shit.
This is crazy.
It’s just too much.
My niece is practically vibrating with excitement, already halfway out of her shoes, backpack slung over one shoulder like she owns the whole neighborhood.
I clear my throat, trying to sound like the responsible adult I’m supposed to be.
