***
One week later
We take Cayden’s private jet back home. It’s strange to think that Griffin’s loft is now truly my home. He tells me every day he loves me and that our marriage is real. He’s already planning a formal reception where I can wear a "big, crazy dress" and we can reaffirm our vows.
Landon was intercepted by security after dropping me off. He’s been charged with kidnapping, aggravated assault, and attempted murder. He’s being transported to New York thisweek. I want to feel sorry for his mental health crisis, but I can’t. He nearly cost me my life and the life of our son.
At the loft, Griffin has hired nurses for my recovery. Beckett checks in weekly, giving me time to catch up with Scarlett. There are notes on the fridge with medication reminders and a soft, cozy blue blanket on the back of the white couch.
“Did you do all this?” I ask him.
“I want you to be happy,” he says simply.
***
One month later
We are standing on the rooftop in front of our friends and my sister, who made the trip despite being nearly due herself.
“Believe it or not,” Celeste tells me, touching my barely visible bump, “Landon's parents want him locked up for what he did. We all do. This makes me happy, Sel. I can’t wait to find out if it's a nephew or a niece.”
Griffin joins us and pulls me into an embrace. “Are you ready?”
He set this entire gender reveal up himself. He flew in my sister and invited the whole group—Beckett, Scarlett, Cayden, Marcel, Mia, and London. There’s caviar, lobster, a violin quartet, and a massive backdrop that saysBoy or Girl?It is perfectly over-the-top.
“I’m excited to finally know,” I say, touching my belly.
“I’m terrified,” Griffin admits. In the three months since the hospital, we’ve been more honest with each other than I ever was with Landon.
“That’s fair,” I say, kissing his neck. “But we can do this together.”
We stand in front of the box. I secretly hope for a son—a little boy I can give all the love Griffin’s parents never gave him. Griffin pretends to want a boy but I know he wants a daughter to spoil.
Together, we pull the lid off. A stunning bouquet of blue roses floats out. A boy.
We spend the afternoon celebrating. That night, I stand in front of the mirror, noting the changes in my body. It isn't just a bump; it's our son. I’m still nauseous, but it’s getting better. I spend my days healing and reading the law books Griffin says are necessary for my future.
Griffin watches me from the bed, the lamplight making him look soft and adoring. “Come here.”
We make love slowly, sensually. We aren’t hiding behind lust or fear anymore. We are bonded.
“You are the most beautiful woman in the universe,” he whispers. Breathless and sated, we collapse into each other’s arms. Griffin puts his hand over my belly.
“I love you,” I say, meaning it with every fiber of my being.
“And I love nothing on this earth… but you.”
I know that until he meets his son, this is the absolute truth.
Epilogue
GRIFFIN
Six months later
The chandeliers sparkle like fallen stars over a room filled with New York’s sharpest legal minds. Waiters in crisp white jackets refill flutes and deliver plates of halibut and truffle risotto. Velvet drapes soften the gleam of the skyline beyond the windows. At the center table, all eyes are on me. It’s time for my speech. I’ve practiced it until I know it by heart, yet my hands are trembling. Nothing ever gets to me, but this woman has completely rewritten my code.
Selena looks up at me with an open, adoring gaze. She’s changed my life in too many ways to count, and I owe her the entirety of my happiness. She would scold me for saying that out loud; she’d remind me that I own my own happiness. But before her, I was a cold, transactional creature. With my wife, I’ve become a man with the empathy to match my power.
