Page 58 of Might as Well

“I’m not suggesting I give it to them, Zane. I just…” She sighs. “I want to,” she whispers. “I want it back.”

I sit next to her and pull her against me. “Maybe the police can get it back for you.”

Violet sighs heavily.

When she doesn’t say anything, I ask, “Are you okay staying here tonight or do you want to go somewhere else?”

“I don’t want to be here,” she admits.

“Okay, let’s pack a bag.”

While we do that, Violet decides she’d rather crash at Cassie’s house than a hotel. She gives Cassie brief notice that something happened and we can’t remain at home before we show up on her doorstep.

Cassie flings the door open within seconds of Violet knocking. “Come in, come in. What happened?” Cassie wraps Violet into a hug. That’s all it takes for her to break down into tears once more. It takes some restraint to not pull Violet into my arms, but Cassie seems to be who she needs right now.

I don’t know what I have to do, but her parents will pay for this.

Within a week, the police reach out to us. That’s a week of us spending the night at Cassie’s place because Violet can’t stand the idea of going back to the house where someone violated the sanctuary she had. During my free time, I’ve been looking for a new place to live in case she doesn’t want to go back permanently.

Today is a good day, though. The police contacted me with possibly the best news ever. Not only did they find Violet’s parents, who apparently had been committing a string of break-ins since they were released from prison, but they also found Violet’s jewelry box. They sold everything else. I guess they held onto the box in case Violet was crazy enough to fork over the money for it.

I just left the police station where I was able to pick up the jewelry box. Violet is at her office today, recording tutorial videos. I send her a quick text to let her know I’m coming with asurprise. I’m almost overcome with excitement myself. She’ll be thrilled.

I make it to Violet’s office within fifteen minutes. I knock and within a minute, she lets me in.

“What do you have?” she asks, eyeing me as I hold the bag holding the box behind my back.

“The police called.”

Her eyes widen and she immediately steps forward to grab my arms. “Did they find it?”

I bring the bag from behind my back and Violet watches anxiously as I pull the box out. She screams in delight and snatches the box away from me. Violet places it on a nearby table, tossing the lid open. Her fingers search through the box, touching all the jewelry. The moment she sighs in relief, I relax. I knew it was all there based on her recounting all the items to the police, but her triple confirming it is nice.

“Thank god. Thank you!” Tears well in her eyes and she throws her arms around me, thanking me repeatedly as if I alone rescued her jewelry. She pulls away and wipes rogue tears away. “I don’t care to know anything else. Thank you for stopping by to give this back to me.”

I’m okay with not saying more, but only because I know her parents won’t be an issue for a long time again since they’ve found themselves back in jail.

“Do you want to go back home now or…” I trail off. Violet sighs and I continue. “I found a few rentals if you want to move.”

Violet shakes her head. “No. I don’t want to move, and I feel better now that we got a security system installed and new locks in place. I think it actually makes it easier that it was my parents instead of strangers, though it hurts more. Cassie and I were actually planning to go shopping tomorrow to replace the furniture.”

“Okay. Sounds good.” I don’t care either way.

Violet lifts onto her toes and presses a soft kiss to my mouth. “I love you, you know?”

“Might as well.” She laughs as intended. I snake my arms around her and add, “I love you too.”

“You’re the best husband I’ve ever had.”

I chuckle. “I’m your first and last husband,” I point out. My hands slip beneath her shirt and she leans into me.

“Maybe we should go home.”

I won’t argue with that. Violet was the best impulsive decision I ever made. I can’t wait to spend the rest of my days making her happy and raising our baby together.

CHAPTER 19

VIOLET

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