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She cries out.

The feeling never fades. It only deepens.

“I will love you forever. Only you.” I say

Her face softens, glowing.

“And I will love you, Mr. Darcy. Forever.”

I move inside her, steady, strong. She wraps her legs around me, matching me.

We move together, lost in it.

I kiss her, feeling her tighten around me.

“I’m coming, Bruce.”

“Fuck, Sprinkles.”

I release inside her, holding her close, as the moment passes between us, until everything settles into quiet.

Afterward, we stay wrapped together. I don’t let her go. She shifts closer into my arms, and I tighten my hold around her, both of us breathing slowly again, as the world outside fades back in.

We stay like that until I roll off her gently and I wrap my arms around her.

Chapter seventy

Lexi/ Jola

Getting on the flight with my husband, our hands interlaced. I’m happy to be with him, of course, but I’m scared of the reality we are heading toward. I still can’t believe I’m married. A part of me fears I will wake up and realize this is all just a beautiful dream. I had a moment of mental breakdown when he told me we got married. A deep, unsettling part of me knows my brother’s answer, and that scares me. My heart dropped when Bruce asked if the thought of being married to him was so bad. I had to reassure him that it isn’t, which is the truth. The idea of being married to him elates me, but my brother and the secret I’m not sharing, and right now too afraid to share with Bruce, scares me. Because we may be heading toward disaster, and the thought of it frightens me.

“Are you okay?” Bruce asks once we are seated. Ice is watching me like he can read my mind. Guess I can’t hide.

“Yeah, I’m fine,” I answer. Even I hear the nervousness in my voice.

Bruce’s eyes question me.

“I’m fine, Mr. Darcy,” I say, kissing his cheek.

He nods and squeezes my hand. I squeeze back and smile.

My darling, I love you. But we are heading for a storm called Jonah Lloyd.

Landing in Chicago, Smith is available to pick us up.

“Hi, Smith,” I say to him.

“Welcome back, Mr. and Mrs. Powell,” he says with a grin.

“Thanks, Smith.”

Our night is quiet as I lie close and tight in my husband’s arms, and he kisses me.

“You know we are going to be okay, right, Sprinkles?”

“I know,” I say, kissing him before closing my eyes.

The next morning, I get ready for work like normal, but Bruce won’t leave before Ice and me. So I have to wear my ring to work, doing my best to hide it.