Page 128 of Wicked Ruin

I stare at him. “He did?” I whisper.

“Aye. I was too determined to see the promise kept and not enough to see it was costing him everything. He promised me he would marry into the family of my choosing and signed over his assets. And in exchange, I kept you safe. I made you part of this family. I made sure you had a job and guards, a stipend, and a place here.”

I swallow hard. Declan did that for me?

I stare at Seamus.

I know I should say something. I always have something to say, but this time… this time, I’ve got nothing.

He gave up everything. Seamus’s words.

It isn’t just a figure of speech or a romantic gesture, but the truth.

I think about the hospital visits. The texts at two in the morning, the ones that started and stopped, never quite saying what needed to be said. I think about the times I felt rejected, believing I didn’t matter to him, when in reality, it was the opposite. I think about every time he came back, every ice cream run, every time he showed up just to make sure I’d eaten, that I wasn’t in pain, and that I was taking care of myself.

He did this all because… because I’m his.

I’ve spent a long time feeling like I was on the edges. Welcome, but not belonging. Loved, but not claimed. I told myself I’d made peace with it. I told myself a lot of things.

And I was wrong about all of it.

My hand finds my belly without me deciding to, automatically, like my body has already started thinking for two. There’s a whole person, our baby, who exists now, a testament to our two lives woven together irrevocably.

Outside the window, Ballyhock goes about its business as usual, while my entire world has been dismantled.

Declan wasn’t pushing me away.

He was paying the price for keeping me.

Seamus keeps talking. I clear my throat and try very hard to pay attention.

“But I’m sorry, Bridget. Maybe,” he says quietly, “I was too determined to see which way it would fall.”

I nod. His father’s health was failing. His brother was serving time. Declan was making a sacrifice. And in some way, I think Seamus saw it and let it happen because he valued the family more than what it cost any individual.

But I’m still reeling. Declan… gave everything for me?

“Thank you,” I say. “I appreciate your honesty.”

“Bridget, you belong here. Not because Declan paid his way for you, but because you’re meant to be here. With Declan and as our sister.”

You belong here.

I’ve been waiting to hear those words, and more importantly, to feel them.

I think about every room I’ve stood at the edge of. Every introduction I’ve been given as someone’s sister, someone’s friend. I think about all the places I’ve been welcome without quite belonging.

And I think about Declan and how it feels when he says You’re mine.

I’m swiping at my eyes when Seamus parks the car and smiles at me. “Congratulations, love. We’ll make you a member of this family officially.”

I can hardly believe my ears. I’m still shell-shocked when we exit the car.

“Let’s get some food,” Seamus says with a smile. “My mother always says there’s nothing amiss that a good meal can’t fix.”

It feels a little like being walked in by an older brother when he takes me into the chipper. We collect an enormous box of food he ordered ahead, and he catches me staring at the chocolate biscuit counter.

“Go on, then,” he says. “Get a couple of those too.”