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“You didn’t flinch.”

“No offense, sir, but I’m not afraid of you.”

That makes Artemis’ father smile.

“You should be, boy.”

He steps back, and his expression changes slightly.

“I don’t get to choose who my daughter loves. Neither does Andrea. We stopped making decisions for our children a long time ago.”

He glances toward the window.

“But if Artemis has chosen you...”

My chest loosens.

Lucan extends his hand.

“Then you have my blessing.”

I shake it.

His grip is firm enough to make his point without needing to repeat it.

“I only have one request.”

“Anything.”

“If you ever stop loving her, bring her right home to me.”

Something cracks in my chest.

“Sir.”

“Lucan.”

“That’ll never happen, Lucan,” I say without hesitation. “I plan on loving her until my last day.”

Something in Andrea’s expression softens even more. She then reaches out and squeezes my arm.

“Wait here.”

Before I can ask why, she disappears down the hallway.

I exchange a look with Lucan.

He looks completely unsurprised.

A few minutes later, Andrea returns carrying a large ivory storage box tied with a silver ribbon. She places it carefully on the coffee table. “This is hers.”

She opens it.

For a second, I can’t breathe.

All my albums are inside.

Every era.