“Hi,” he says. His face is unshaven, his hair a little bit disheveled. He’s not dressed to the nines like he normally is. Instead, he’s in a t-shirt and some jeans.
“Hi,” I say back. There’s a little bit of a pause, and we just look at each other. “Come in,” I finally say, stepping backward and letting him through. He looks relieved, but there is still thick worry in his eyes.
I close the door and turn to him, crossing my arms over my chest. We both sit in silence for a moment, then we both go to talk at the same time.
“Sorry,” we both say in unison.
“You go,” I say.
“Wren, I….” his voice trails off for a minute. “I am so sorry. I…I am so sorry that we put you through that. I’m so sorry that we sent you in there like a…like a fucking animal for slaughter. We knew what they did, who they were, and we still agreed to it. Even after…even after I fell in love with you.” My eyes are wide, and it feels like my heart is beating through my chest. “You are the most important person to me, Wren. You have become my north star these last few months, and I put you in harm’s way. I’ll never be able to forgive myself for that. But…please. Stay with me. I know I’m not… I know I have a lot to prove. But I don't want to be a disappointment anymore. Just give me a chance. I know I don’t deserve it. But please.”
His voice cracks, and it feels like my heart is splintering in my chest. I’ve been spiraling for the last few days, but not because of him. He’s spent his whole life feeling like he’s an international joke. With no one to take him seriously. No one to hear abouthis hopes and dreams. Just a world who met him with anger and resentment, as if he had any control over who his family was.
I close the space between us, then I open my arms and wrap the blanket around us both. I breathe him in, and he circles me in his arms, bringing me tight to his chest.
“Oh, Brooks,” I say against his neck. “I’m sorry I let you feel like I was abandoning you. I’m here.” I instantly feel him loosen up in my arms. “I needed a minute. Not because of you. Because of me. Because of everything I heard and saw. Because I witnessed the evil of the world with my own eyes. And because now, hopefully, that chapter of it is closed forever. You didn’t force me to do anything. I volunteered. You asked me time and time again to quit. You told me to stop. You showed me how much you cared. You made sure I would be safe every step of the way. And you came through, because I was. Even in the end. I knew you would come for me, and you did.” His head is lowered, and he’s just breathing silently. I take his face in my hands and tilt it up to me. “Brooks, there is no one else on this planet that I trust more than you. I know you are used to being the butt of everyone else’s joke, so you leaned in on that. But with me, you don’t have to. Because I see you. I know who you really are. You are the most solid, sturdiest person in my life. And I love you.”
He looks down at me, his eyebrows pinched together, and then he scoops me up, pressing his lips against mine. When we finally come apart, he just holds me in the air, our foreheads pressed together.
“Can you come home now?” he whispers.
I lean back, giving him a look.
“Home?” I ask.
He sets me down, a mischievous smile on his face.
“Wren, these last few days, I thought I was going to lose you. Not to be dramatic, but I don’t want you to ever go anywhere ever again.”
I laugh as I push up to kiss him again.
“Brooks Everett, are you asking me to be your girlfriend?”
He lifts me off the ground again.
“No,” he says. “I’m letting you know that, one day, you’re going to be my wife.”
BROOKS
It’s been one month since the night in the hotel.
One month since she helped set our plan in motion.
To take down our father and take back our name. Our family’s legacy.
She’s been working hard on her exposé.
I turned one of my spare suites into a library for her, veryBeauty and the Beaststyle. Floor-to-ceiling bookshelves and a big oak desk right in the middle. Plus a little window bench so she can read. She spends a lot of time in there, but I like it. I like that she can get creative here. It makes me feel like she thinks of it as home.
I haven’t read it yet. She’s been keeping it tight-lipped.
Our legal team isn’t keen on it going out, but they said that since we obviously have the inside scoop, we can “control the narrative.” We told our legal team we didn’t care about “controlling a narrative.” It’s not our story to tell. It’s hers, and every woman before her who was harmed by Cato Everett. And now it’s their story to take back.
Cato’s own legal team has been scrambling. His publicists are insisting to the news outlets that the nature of these “falseaccusations” are “erroneous” and that he will be seeking to “take his own legal action” against those who have made such libelous accusations against him.
Sometimes, powerful men are clueless.
They really think that the whole world will bend to the bullshit stories they tell themselves. That the world doesn’t have eyes. That proof doesn’t matter.
