Page 96 of The Marriage Auction 2: Part 4

“Maybe this time next month we’ll be announcing our pregnancy?” I said dreamily, imagining our future and loving every second of it.

“That’s why we need to practice. A lot,” Jack murmured, nuzzling my neck.

TJ grabbed my face and tried to kiss my cheek, doing everything Jack did.

“Well, they say practice does make perfect. Last one to the car is a rotten egg!” I cried out and then sprinted toward our vehicle.

Jack and TJ let out a silly war cry and came running after me.

* * * *

Nine months to the day we banged in the she-shed, I gave birth to Ellena Ann Larson named after two amazing women. One who we lost too soon and my mother.

But we call our little princess…Ellie.

Episode 115

Epilogue 3: Julianne & Giovanni

JULIANNE

The prison bars clanked shut behind us, sending a shiver of nerves racing up my spine.

“I can’t believe we’re doing this.” My voice quivered as a guard led us into a small room. The walls were cement blocks and gave a foreboding feeling. I’d never even been to a regular jail, let alone a prison.

“We can leave any time. It is not our responsibility, Jules. Not a single soul would question us if we decided against this plan. It’s our lives too,” Gio reminded me for the tenth time today.

We’d been contacted by the State’s child services. When Bianca had put Brenden Myers as the baby’s father, the system immediately started to work on finding a next of kin for the baby. Bianca was serving back-to-back life in prison sentences. Once she had the baby, the system needed someone to give that baby to, or it would go into foster care. We’d been debating our options ever since that call.

I closed my eyes and counted to ten while breathing in through my nose and out through my mouth. “I just…my parents. If they were here, they’d tell us this is the right thing to do.”

He pulled me into his arms and held me close, his face pressed to the side of my head.

“Jules, if you want to leave, it’s not too late.” He shifted his body and put a hand over my abdomen where our ‘little pea’ was growing safely. “We have more than just us to think about. And Alana and Christophe are an incredible second option. They offered to become the baby’s guardians.”

I shook my head, clearing the fear away as I swiped at my tears. “No. Even though my brother was an asshole in the end, he’d want us to take care of his only child.”

Giovanni cupped my cheeks. “Look at me, Jules.”

I frowned and slid my gaze up to his. His eyes were a dark, beautifully stormy gray blue today, but I’d walk through that storm to be by his side…anytime every time.

“Brenden is dead.” Each of those three words was like a knife wound to my heart. “You do not owe him anything. We tried to save him. We tried. The doctors tried. The burn center did everything they could, but after a month of fighting, it was just too much for his body to handle.”

I choked on a sob as I clung to his shoulders.

“His child is not ours. You do not owe anyone anything,” Gio was firm but kind.

“But the baby is all I’ll have left of him…of my parents,” I gulped.

Gio closed his eyes, his nostrils flaring as he inhaled sharply. “I understand. You know, I loved him like a brother. Even after everything, I loved him.”

“I know,” I lifted up onto my toes and kissed him gently, pressing my face to his. “I know.”

“We don’t have to do this.”

I swallowed, opened my eyes and focused on my husband. “Do you not want to?”

He shook his head. “Jules, I told you I’d love any baby we had. Ours, our niece or nephew. I’d have a house full of them with you. It’s not about the child. It’s about what pieces of youand me are going to be cut up and destroyed by taking on this responsibility. That’s what I’m afraid of. We’ve already been through hell and back.”

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