The question makes me want to laugh and cry at the same time. “Yes, baby. I won.”
Liam’s hand finds mine. He holds it gently, like he’s worried about hurting me. “We missed you.”
“I missed you too. So much.”
They stay for twenty minutes. They tell me about what they’ve been doing with Nadia, about the fort they built in the playroom, about the new book Nadia’s been reading them at bedtime. Normal things. Regular kid things. Exactly what I need to hear.
When Nadia says it’s time to go, Finn hugs me carefully. Liam does the same. Both of them gentle in a way they’ve never been before.
“I love you, Mam,” Finn says into my shoulder.
“I love you too. Both of you. More than anything.”
They leave with Nadia and I’m crying before the door even closes.
Cassian’s back in his chair immediately. “You okay?”
“They were so careful with me. Like I’m made of glass.”
“It scared them. Seeing you hurt.”
“I know. I hate that they had to see me like this.”
“They just needed to know you’re alive. That you’re healing. Now they know.”
He’s correct. The visit was short but necessary. Now the boys can go home knowing their mother is coming back.
Days pass. The pain gets more manageable. I can sit up without wanting to scream. Can eat solid food again. Can walk to the bathroom without assistance.
The nightmares don’t stop, but they get less frequent. Less vivid.
Cassian stays through all of it. Sleeping in that chair. Eating only when Declan brings food. Refusing to leave even when I tell him to.
One evening, a week after the rescue, I’m more lucid than I’ve been. The pain medication has worn off enough that my head is clear for the first time in days.
Cassian’s in his usual spot, reading something on his phone. He looks up when he notices I’m watching him. “You should be sleeping.”
“Can’t. Too many thoughts.”
He sets down his phone. “Want to talk about them?”
“I kept thinking about you. When they were hurting me. About the boys. About the family we’re building. That’s what kept me going.”
“You didn’t break. Didn’t tell them my name.”
“I couldn’t. They would have killed you. Made the boys orphans.” I look at him directly. “I love you. I realized it in that basement. Realized I’d rather die than let them take you from our family.”
His face changes, the exhaustion and worry falling away to reveal raw emotion underneath. “I love you too,” he says. “I toldyou that on the phone before the Petrovs took you. But you were unconscious when I said it at the warehouse. This is the first time you’re awake to hear it.”
“I heard you on the phone. Before everything happened. I just didn’t get a chance to say it back.”
He moves from the chair to sit on the edge of the bed. Takes my hand in both of his. “I meant it. Every word. I love you, Aurelia. I’ve loved you since that night on the plane six years ago. Since before I knew your real name. Since before I knew about the boys.”
“I love you too. Even when I was angry at you. Even when I told you to turn yourself over to the Petrovs. I loved you and I was terrified of losing you.”
He leans down and kisses me. Gentle. Careful not to hurt my split lip. Just his mouth on mine and his hand in my hair and six years of everything we’ve been through leading to this moment.
When he pulls back, I’m crying again.
