“Yes.” No hesitation. No careful calculations about how to phrase it. Just truth.
She exhales, and some of the tension leaves her shoulders. “The story?—”
“Was fair,” I interrupt gently. “Factual. Necessary. I meant what I said during the interview, Jess. I’m proud of you for writing it.”
“Even though it’s your father?”
“Especiallybecause it’s my father.” I shift closer to her on the couch, close enough that I could reach for her hand if I dared. “I’ve spent my entire life managing his image, crafting the perfect Carmichael family narrative. But you chose truth over comfort. You did what was right, even when it was hard.”
She studies me, searching for any sign of insincerity. “When you saw that footage of me discussing the story with Dylan, I was terrified that I’d lost you for good.”
“I was angry,” I admit. “Not because you were pursuing the story, but because I thought you didn’t trust me enough to tell me first. I felt blindsided, and I lashed out.”
“I should have told you immediately,” she says. “I was trying to gather all the facts first, to be absolutely certain before I brought it to you. But that doesn’t excuse keeping you in the dark.”
“And I should have given you the chance to explaininstead of jumping to conclusions.” I run a hand through my hair, a gesture she’s teased me about countless times. “We’ve never been very good at timing, have we?”
That draws a genuine laugh from her, and the sound fills up something hollow in my chest. “Terrible. Absolutely terrible.”
I gather my courage and reach for her hand. When she doesn’t pull away, I intertwine our fingers, marveling at how natural it feels. “I’ve missed you,” I tell her. “More than I thought possible.”
“I’ve missed you, too.” Her voice is soft but steady. “These weeks apart…they’ve been hell.”
“Then why did you stay away so long?”
“Pride,” she admits. “Fear. I thought maybe you’d be better off without me complicating your life. Without my stubbornness and my need to chase the truth, even when it hurts.”
“Better off?” I shake my head in disbelief. “Jess, those are exactly the things I love about you.”
The word hangs between us, finally spoken outright after hovering on the edge of so many conversations. Her eyes widen slightly, and I see her breath catch.
“Do you mean that?” she asks, her voice barely above a whisper.
Instead of answering immediately, I move closer until we’re face to face. I reach up to cup her cheek. “I wasn’t playing a part when I said it during the interview. I wasn’t performing for the documentary. I was telling you. I love you.”
Her eyes fill with tears, and as one escapesdown her cheek, I catch it with my thumb, amazed at this rare show of vulnerability from a woman who faces down powerful men without flinching, who’s built walls so high that I never thought I’d see over them.
“I love you, too,” she says, her voice quiet but steady despite the tremor in her hands. “I think I have for months, but I was too scared to admit it, even to myself. I kept telling myself it was temporary, that we’d go our separate ways when the six months were up.”
“And now?” I ask, daring to hope.
She smiles then, the first genuine, unguarded smile I’ve seen from her in weeks. “Now I don’t want our contract to end. I don’t want to sign those annulment papers. I want to see what this could be when we’re not pretending, when we’re just us.”
Relief and joy surge through me. I wrap my arms around her, and as I pull her against my chest, her body fits against mine with familiar rightness. “I don’t want it to end, either,” I murmur against her hair. “I tore up the papers already.”
A look of relief crosses her face. “Seriously?”
I nod.
“Are you sure?” she asks, pulling back slightly to look into my eyes. “My career will always involve uncomfortable truths. I’ll always ask hard questions. I’ll always chase stories that matter.”
“I know,” I say simply, “and I love that about you. I love your integrity, your courage, your refusal to settle for easy answers.”
“And your father…”
“My father will survive. He always does. And ourrelationship has always been complicated. This doesn’t change that.”
She studies me for a long moment and then nods, accepting my answer.
