Heavenly’s stomach churned. He was twisting everything, making the love she felt for Beck sound sick and wrong.
“Stop,” Grace whispered, her voice barely audible.
Gene ignored her. “The more I watched them, I realized Seth doesn’t just enjoy knowing that Beck wants to fuck her. He gets off on her spreading her legs for him.” His gaze locked on Heavenly, cold and calculating. “They both fuck you, don’t they, sweetheart? Yeah… Do they plow you one at a time? Or share you like a blow-up doll?”
“Stop.” Grace’s voice broke, louder now, desperate.
But it was too late. Gene and his nuclear tongue had dropped the ultimate bomb. Now he stood, smiling and enjoying the fallout.
Heavenly’s heart pounded so hard she swore it might burst through her ribs.
For a moment, she considered denying Gene’s accusations. After all, Grace was worried about Carl. She’d already suffered a massive shock today. She didn’t need another. It might even be a kindness to insist that Gene had spewed lies to divide them.
But Heavenly refused to lie when they might all be dead in an hour. Not when this might be the last conversation Grace ever had about her son.
She slowly turned to Seth’s mom, whose eyes were red rimmed from crying in a face pale with shock.
“It’s true,” Heavenly murmured, her words shockingly steady.
Grace’s breath hitched. Her hand flew to her lips as if she was utterly speechless.
“But Gene has everything wrong,” Heavenly assured, her voice cracking with tears. “I love Seth with my whole heart. He’s good and brave and kind. He makes me feel treasured, protected in a way I’ve never felt.”
Grace’s lips trembled. “Then why…”
“Because I also love Beck. I didn’t mean to. I never planned it. But he challenges me. He makes me laugh. And they—” She sniffled, willing Grace to understand. “They both love me. And they both accept that. No, they’re happy about it. Not because they’re perverts or broken or wrong. Because we’re all just following our hearts.” She paused to swallow past the lump in her throat. “We know our love doesn’t fit into a neat little box, but together we feel complete.”
Grace made a small sound—something between a gasp and a sob.
“Beck and Seth proposed to me together,” Heavenly continued, her voice shaking. “And I said yes. Please don’t be angry with Seth.” She reached for Grace’s hand, gripping it desperately. “He didn’t want you to find out like this. None of us did. He planned to tell you tomorrow. He waited because he didn’t want to ruin your wedding.”
Tears filled Grace’s eyes. Heavenly wished she knew the woman better. She couldn’t tell if Seth’s mother was disgusted, just trying to understand, or something else entirely.
Heavenly pressed on. “He’s been trying to figure out how to break the news to you for months. He was terrified you’d disown him, like you threatened with the twins. Terrified you wouldn’t love him and—” Her voice broke again as sobs overtook her. “He loves you so much. You’re one of the most important people in his life.”
Grace’s tears spilled over, streaming down her soft face. The woman squeezed her fingers. What was she thinking?
“I’m sorry we weren’t honest with you, but I won’t apologize for our love,” Heavenly whispered, raw and broken. “What the three of us have is real and beautiful. You don’t have to accept Beck and me. We understand. But please don’t shut Seth out of your life. It would break him.”
“Grandma?” Hudson murmured. “The three of them belong together. And before you ask, yeah, I know. I’ve known the whole time.”
With her chin quivering, Grace blinked away fresh tears and stared silently for what felt like an eternity.
Heavenly braced herself for rejection. For the woman’s disgust. For her righteous indignation.
Instead, Grace swallowed hard. And then…slowly, she nodded. “I don’t care.”
Heavenly’s breath caught.
“I don’t care,” Grace repeated, her voice still shaking. But this time, it sounded stronger. Resolved. “It doesn’t matter to me who Seth loves. I don’t care what your relationship looks like, how many people are involved, or what anyone else thinks. I only care that he’s loved.”
“He is.” Heavenly’s chest broke open, a sob tearing free. “More than you can imagine.”
Grace nodded, squeezing Heavenly’s hand so tight, it hurt. “I want him to be happy. That’s all I’ve ever wanted for my boys. If you and Beck make Seth happy, then that’s all I need to know. I accept the three of you, however you want to be together.” She drew in a shuddering breath. “Today has taught me what’s really important. I just hope we all stay alive so I can tell him.”
Heavenly couldn’t hold back. Sobbing, she threw her arms around Seth’s mother. The woman clutched her back as they shared tears, bound by terror and love and the desperate, aching hope that they’d all survive this ordeal long enough for Grace’s acceptance to mean something.
“It’s okay, sweetheart. Don’t cry,” Grace whispered, stroking Heavenly’s hair like she was comforting a beloved daughter. “I’m sorry you all felt like you’d lose me if you told me the truth. I’d do almost anything to go back and change that.”
