Page 117 of The Arrogant's Redemption

"Forget it, boys. Leave it to us. In less than an hour, the only thing left of this place will be ashes—and the remains of a disturbed man who took his own life. My advice? Leave now. The fact that Morrison’s house is isolated with no neighbors for miles is a bonus, but I think the less you know, the better."

Maybe, if someone had told me a week ago that I’d take revenge on my cousin without flinching, I’d have called them crazy. But there’s no limit to what I’ll do to protect my family. He didn’t just hurt Marla—my wife’s mother and my son’s grandmother—over and over again. He stole Sedric’s chance to meet his grandfather. He tried to burn Alexis alive.

Without another word, we start walking away from the property.

Alexis

Three Months Later

There was never a real engagement party. LJ called his family—just like Athanasios and William did with theirs—as soon as they knew we were okay.

They told them something had come up and that we’d celebrate with a private dinner at the Seymour house.

The next day, we saw it in the papers that LJ’s cousin’s house had caught fire with him inside. Nothing was left but ash.

Morrison’s death is a forbidden topic. Mom, my friends, and I have talked about it, and we all get the same thing: when wetry to ask any of our men whether there was a confrontation between the four of them and Morrison, they shut down and change the subject.

The day Badger saved us, my first instinct was to go back and beat Morrison’s face in myself. Yes, I was scared. But my hatred was stronger in that moment—I wanted to kill him with my own hands.

It took a whole week before my mom and I could talk about what we’d learned that day. We cried for hours. We mourned again—for Grandma, Grandpa, and my dad.

Mom decided to go back to therapy, and I know why: she blames herself. She thinks Morrison’s obsession targeted her because of something she did—which, of course, makes no sense at all.

She dropped the civil lawsuit against the DeCarlos. In the end, they were victims too—manipulated by Morrison’s schemes.

As a true crime fanatic, I’ve studied tons of cases where someone became the target of a stalker just for crossing their path. Some nutjob just decides you’re soulmates. I never thought I’d witness something like that inside my own family.

I don’t doubt Morrison suffered from some serious mental illness, but I think most of what he did was just who he was—selfish, cruel, arrogant, and completely incapable of thinking about anyone but himself.

"What are you thinking about, Alexis?" LJ asks, pulling me onto his chest.

"How’d you know I was awake?"

"Because I know everything about you. Haven’t you figured that out yet?"

"I’m serious."

He reaches over and turns on the lamp beside our bed. "So am I," he says.

"I was thinking about Morrison."

He closes his eyes for a moment. "I’m sorry for what my cousin did to your?—"

I press my lips to his. "You have nothing to apologize for. No one does—except that monster."

"Then why is it still keeping you up at night?"

"Because what I learned that day brought all the pain of losing my dad back again. But I have faith it’ll pass."

"And if it doesn’t, I’ll be here with you. I’ll wake up in the middle of the night and share it with you."

"I love you, LJ. I love you, our son, and our story. It was hard, but it made us stronger."

"I’d go through it all again—every bit—if I knew you’d be waiting for me at the end of the road, beautiful. I’d take all the pain, if it meant winning you."

Lazarus

Months Later

---