That she's still here. That we still have time.
43
JADE
The afternoon light spills across the kitchen floor in golden rectangles. I trail my fingers through it as I pass, watching dust motes dance in the beams. The house is quiet, but it's a different quiet now. Not the hollow emptiness of abandonment, but the gentle hush of anticipation.
Three days since the pool. Three days of hospital rooms and police statements. Three days of coming home to this house that suddenly feels too big for just one person.
I pause at the kitchen counter, running my hand over the smooth marble surface. The last time I stood here, I was staring down at an envelope that would change everything. Now that envelope is evidence in a case against Becky and against my mother. The detectives assure me there's enough to put them both away for a very long time.
My camera sits on the table where I left it this morning. I pick it up, feeling the familiar weight in my hands. For so long, it was my shield, my way of seeing the world withoutbeing seen. My fingers trace the contour of the lens, then set it gently back down.
I don't need to hide behind it anymore.
The silence wraps around me, but it's not oppressive. It's expectant. Like the space between breaths. Like the moment before a shutter clicks.
The sound of car doors closing outside makes my heart leap. I don't run to the window to look. I don't need to. I know who it is.
I take a deep breath, smoothing down the simple white sundress I chose this morning. My hands are steady as I walk through the living room, toward the front door.
It opens before I reach it.
Ethan enters first, his posture military-straight despite the exhaustion I can see in the lines around his eyes. He stops when he sees me, something soft replacing the usual guardedness in his blue gaze.
Mateo follows, his golden eyes brightening when they land on me, a smile breaking across his face despite the shadows beneath his eyes.
And then Declan, his massive frame filling the doorway, left arm in a sling against his chest, movingmore carefully than usual but still solid, still here.
They're home.
No dramatic entrance. Just three men stepping back into the space where they belong.
This time, I don't wait for them to come to me. I cross the distance between us, stopping just a breath away.
"You're here," I say, the simplicity of the words belying the emotion behind them.
"Where else would we be?" Mateo asks, his voice gentler than his usual teasing tone.
I lead them to the living room, the same room where I broke their hearts just days ago. The same room where I put on the mask of the Ice Queen and pushed away the only people who had ever truly seen me.
Now I will show them everything.
We sit, me on the couch, Ethan and Mateo on either side of me, Declan in the armchair across, leaning forward despite what must be considerable pain.
"I need to explain," I begin, my hands clasped tightly in my lap. "About that day. About why I said those things."
They fall silent, waiting. Patient. I take a deep breath and tell them everything.
About the envelope that contained not just Declan's record, but a letter threatening to destroy Cross Security if I didn't send them away.About how Becky promised to make public Declan's past, how she threatened to destroy not just their business, but their friendship, their lives.
"I couldn't let that happen," I say, voice trembling despite my efforts to keep it steady. "Not when I could protect you by just... letting you go."
Silence follows my confession. I force myself to look at each of them, to face whatever judgment I might find.
Mateo shakes his head, anger flashing in his eyes, but not directed at me. "Next time, trust us," he says fiercely. "Let us fight with you, not just for you."
Ethan's jaw works as he processes. His eyes, when they meet mine, are clear and steady. "You don't get to make those sacrifices anymore," he says finally, his voice rough with emotion.
