“Here,” she murmurs.
I take it with shaking fingers and change quickly, my movements clumsy, my body doesn’t want to remember how to function.
The second I’m done, Bella is already there, pressing a bottle of whiskey into my hand like she’s decided breathing is not optional for me right now.
“Drink this,” she orders.
I blink at her. I clutch the bottle and rest my head against her shoulder, the contact making something inside me loosen.
Bella’s arm wraps around me. “Love you, Lily,” she tells me quietly.
My throat tightens all over again. I manage a small smile. A real one, somehow. “I love you too.”
Bella huffs. “Now drink the damn whiskey. Your skin is grey.”
A hiccup slips out of me. Then another. My laugh comes out broken and watery.
“If I drink this, I’ll vomit all over you,” I tell her, handing it back to her.
“Don’t be a wimp,” she teases.
“I think I might be pregnant,” I whisper. “But I don’t want to get my hopes up in case I’m wrong. Or if something happens after today.”
I wipe the tears away with the back of my hand, and Hallie wraps her arms around me, holding me tight.
“No matter what happens. Whether you are pregnant or you’re not, I’ll be right here for you. Okay? I am never leaving you, Lily,” she tells me.
And now we’re both crying. We’re both scared. The men we love are out there, risking their lives.
As I pull back, Bella is watching us with a smile. I hold open my arms, and she joins. The three of us, standing in the middle of the room, in the middle of a war, holding on to each other like it’s the only thing that matters.
“Damn super sperms, only I could get knocked up in the first month of dating someone,” I mutter under my breath, because what else can I do?
What else can I say?
Hallie snorts softly, shaking her head like she can’t believe this is our reality.
Even though the world is in flames around us… Even though I have every reason to break…
I have them. My family. The ones Ideserve.The ones who make me feel safe and loved even when I’m covered in blood and shaking from trauma.
And for the first time all day, the thought hits me like a fragile spark.
Maybe…
Maybe a happy ever after could actually be in my sights.
I just need my Drago back.
I press a water bottle to my lips again and close my eyes, forcing myself to breathe.
Because somewhere above us, he’s still fighting.
And I’m going to survive this. For my father. For my family. For the man I love. For whatever future is waiting for me on the other side of this war.
CHAPTER EIGHTY-FIVE
Drago
