Page 189 of Theirs to Tempt: The Marriage Claim

Another change.

More freedom.

My mind is still racing when I get home and let myself into my apartment.

I turn on a light, and silence settles around me.

For days, I’ve been telling myself this is what I wanted. My own space. My own life. The freedom to decide what happens next without anyone manipulating circumstances until I arrive at the answer they want.

And now I have it.

Mom’s treatment no longer depends on my marriage.

No third party is monitoring my security feed.

I can come and go without reporting to anyone.

My rings are off.

Lucian and Caleb have stayed away.

For the first time since Dad wagered me, nothing is pushing me toward them.

I’m free to walk away forever.

The thought should feel like relief.

Instead, tears gather in my eyes.

I swipe them away and head into the kitchen, where I pull out a half-finished bottle of cheap red and set it on the counter.

But I don’t open it.

I prop my hips against the counter and look around the apartment I once loved coming home to.

My life before Lucian and Caleb was good.

I had work I loved. Piper. Independence. Quiet evenings that belonged entirely to me.

I could have that life again.

So why does the thought make my chest ache?

Because somewhere along the way, their penthouse stopped feeling like a place I had been taken to and started feeling like somewhere I belonged.

I miss coffee appearing at my side without me asking.

I miss them noticing when I haven’t eaten.

I miss curling up on their couch with a book while they move around me, the ridiculous certainty that my favorite butter-pecan ice cream would somehow always be in the freezer.

I miss them.

None of that excuses what they did.

It doesn’t make eight years of manipulation acceptable.

It doesn’t mean I trust them again.