Page 209 of Rage

Cash showed me that even the strongest walls could crumble. His scars, both seen and unseen, mirrored the ones I tried so hard to hide. His obsession was suffocating, but it was his protection that unraveled me. I didn’t want to need him, but when he wrapped his arms around me, I realized that being vulnerable didn’t make me weak—it made me human.

Seb made me face the darkness inside myself. He was silent, calculated, the shadow at the edge of my life. But Seb saw through every lie I told. He didn’t demand my honesty. Hecoaxed it out of me by showing me his own. His love was a mirror, forcing me to see the parts of myself I wanted to bury. With him, I learned that sometimes, it’s okay to embrace the darkness rather than fight it.

And then there was Keon ...

Key was the spark that lit up the void. He constantly reminded me to laugh and feel alive, even in the midst of chaos. But behind his playful grin and reckless charm, I saw his pain … a hurt he tried so hard to hide. Loving him meant accepting that joy and grief often danced hand in hand. He taught me to smile even when the world was burning around us.

Together, they beautifully ruined me. They shattered every illusion I had about myself and rebuilt me into someone stronger. Someone who could face anything … even them if it came to that. The Solomon brothers didn’t just alter me. They transformed me into a version of myself I never knew existed.

I hated them for it.

I loved them for it.

And I would never be the same because of their love.

Honestly, I didn’t even want to be the same woman anymore. I’d always be a best friend and sister to Mia. I would never understand my mother and the decisions she made in her life. I hated the man who I thought was my father and was grateful he wasn’t alive to hurt me anymore.

I was also getting to know the people who had welcomed me into their lives without question and through them, I was learning that the Crownes were my legacy and had been a constant in my life for the past three years despite the fact that they barely knew me when they welcomed me in.

Yet, no matter how honored I was to be a Crowne, the Solomon brothers were also myfamily… myfuture… myforevereven if they did end up being the death of me.

My family’s acceptance of our pending marriage wasn’t the only thing we celebrated in the coming weeks. Health wise, I still had at least one pending surgery in my near future, but prepping our home for one more addition was the beautiful distraction I needed.

Baby Solomon was on the way and although we all agreed to raise our child together regardless of whose sperm knocked me up, I already knew our child was getting the best of all of us …

Darth’s strategic brilliance.

Cash’s passionate devotion.

Seb’s emotional intensity.

Key’s infectious energy.

And then there was the best characteristic I knew our child would get from me. The part that I was now recognizing made me a true warrior.

In the battle of darkness versus light, my resilience had shined through my circumstances. I was the missing piece my Solomon boys needed. I may have flinched a bit when I faced the fire igniting before me, but I didn’t run from the heat and let it destroy me.

Instead, I let it forge me into someonestronger. The brothers may be powerful and dangerous men, but it is my love, compassion, and unyielding spirit that would continue to make them strive to be better—not just for me, but for themselves and our unborn child.

I’d always be their Nyxani … their Nyx … their Firefly … theireverything.

THE END

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