Page 83 of Trust in the Fallen

EPILOGUE

LEIGHTON

One Year Later

Ipop a grape between my lips and savor the sweet burst of flavor. I don’t know what it is in the last week, but I can’t get enough fruit.

Poor Wyatt has already had to make two trips to the supermarket this week to stock up on berries, the main craving that I haven’t been able to get rid of.

But I’ve always been like this, I’ve always had weird cravings that last for a couple of weeks and then it passes, and the next one takes its place. It’s just normally Cheetos or something, never typically so healthy.

And this is the first time in a long time the people in my life have actively allowed and encouraged me to eat what I want when I want, so I’m running with it.

The last year can’t even be described as the best of my life, because I’m not living the same life I was for the first twenty-two years. The one I lead now is full of love and happiness, just like Wyatt and Elias promised me it would be in their vows ten months ago.

Our wedding was small and intimate, with just us and a couple of their friends. We extended the invitation to my mother out of courtesy, but in her own words, she didn’t want to be a part of a sham marriage.

Nothing about it is a sham, though, I legally married Wyatt so I could rid myself of my family name, and so my mother would never have any right over my life and the choices that were made if the worst were to happen. But I’m just as committed to both of them.

Almost as if I’ve summoned them with my thoughts, they track into the room and drop into the couch across from me. We’ve talked about moving, maybe buying a house for the three of us, but I love it here in the brownstone where I spent my first night of true freedom, and I don’t think I’ll ever want to give this place up.

It’s the first place I ever truly felt safe and loved.

The two of them have been acting a little cagey the last few days, but every time I’ve asked them what’s wrong, they assure me they’re fine. Are they finally going to tell me what the heck they’ve been up to?

I slip another grape between my lips and don’t miss the way the two of them can’t tear their eyes off my mouth. I thought the sex would have calmed down after a few months, that maybe we would be less desperate for one another, but I still can’t change with them in the room without ending up bent over the edge of the bed or on my knees.

Not that I’m complaining. I spend my days being worshipped and encouraged to follow my dreams, and I’ll never take that for granted.

If I’m really honest with myself, data science was never a passion for me, and so when it came time to find a job, although my men insisted I didn’t need to work at all, I decided to do something different. All my years at my mother’s side have finally come in handy for something.

After all I went through went public, a charity reached out to me to ask if I was interested in working for them, and I was more than happy to take any role they wanted to give me. I didn’t expect it to be to run the whole damn thing, but it’s been the most rewarding experience of my life, and the New York Shelter for Battered Women is thriving.

The Legion even helped put me in touch with one of their contacts in Chicago who runs a similar center, and Emerson Saint James has truly been a godsend every time I don’t know what I’m doing, which is pretty often.

“Angel, we were wondering if we could have a talk with you about something?” Wyatt broaches carefully.

My brows tug together in confusion. “What’s wrong?”

“Nothing’s wrong as such.” Elias looks to his best friend like neither of them are sure which one should be the one to say whatever they’ve come in here to say.

“Okay…”

“You’re pregnant,” Wyatt blurts out.

I stare at him for long seconds processing the words that just came out of his mouth before a giggle rises up in my throat at how ridiculous that notion is. “No, I’m not. Don’t be silly.”

Elias runs a hand down his face before taking one of my hands in his much larger ones. “Pretty girl, you are. Your period is more than a month late, you’ve been having weird cravings, you’re more emotional than normal, and that flu that won’t go away…”

I open my mouth again to tell him how stupid they’re being, but then I think about what he’s just said.

No, it’s impossible. I have an IUD. It still has another year before it needs to be replaced. And it’s not like my periods have ever really been that consistent. Although I don’t tend to skip them all together. Usually they’re just a little late, but a month is a little concerning.

But the rest is just purely circumstantial.

“She’s panicking,” Wyatt whisper shouts at his best friend, his eyes wide and worried as he stares at me.

Elias drops from the couch onto the floor and kneels in front of me. His strong hands wrap around my cheeks as he forces me to look at him. “Leighton, breathe for me.” His stern voice gives me no choice but to do exactly as I’m told, and I drag in an unsteady breath. “That’s my good girl,” he praises, and warmth washes over me. I don’t know how after a year together those words still have the power to render me speechless.

---