“Forgive me. I upset you. Please, tell me.”

“Not here. In the library.”

She leads me there, and once we arrive, she closes the door.

“You really love me,” she states.

“More than you can imagine.”

“But you also love plans. Everything in your life is organized.”

I smile, relaxing a bit. “Not everything. You turned my world upside down.”

“Then, can I shake it up a little more?”

“How?”

“I’m pregnant. I went to the hospital today, not just for routine tests but to get the results of my pregnancy test. I’d already done the pharmacy one, but I wanted confirmation and?—”

I pull her into my arms and kiss her, my heart racing. For several minutes, I just hold her and kiss her, keeping her close. When we finally pull apart, I see my entire world in this embrace: the love of my life, now carrying my child.

“You’re quiet.”

“I’m happy and trying to process this feeling inside me. You’ve given me the best gift in the world. We’re starting our family.Completingour family. I want everything with you.”

I remember the message I received earlier.

It’s no coincidence that I proposed here, at Madison’s house. Today, we set a trap for Shelley Edward, leaving my fiancée’s family home seemingly unprotected to test whether her hatred for Brooklyn would outweigh her caution.

It did. What she didn’t realize is that her madness and thirst for revenge would also be her biggest mistake.

It was Beau waiting for her, and now, after Odin’s message, I suspect there won’t be any trial for her.

Right and wrong.

Past and present.

The duality of good and evil.

Who is entirely good?

Not me. There’s no limit to what I’d do to protect my family.

I choose the future.

Beau

CHAPTER FIFTY-SIX

Somewhere very dark

That Same Night

"You haveno idea who I am. There are powerful people behind me. You can’t kill me," she protests, and I almost roll my eyes.

I’m getting too old for this kind of shit. If it weren’t a special request from Christos and Odin for me to handle everything personally, I would’ve sent someone else to do the job. "I’ve never killed a woman in my life, and I don’t intend to start now, Shelley."

I see a glimmer of hope flash in her eyes. She still believes she has a chance.