: Part 5 – Chapter 23

I tug on Xander’s bicep. “Let Cecily go so she can play with the other kids.”

“You mean so they’ll hurt her?” He tickles her tummy. “Not that I would let anyone hurt my little Cecily.”

She breaks out in giggles, dimples creasing her cheeks as she holds on to him with all her might. “Daddy!”

I shake my head as I take her from his arms and put her to her feet. She staggers for a bit before she breaks into a run towards the others. He’s making her so spoilt, it’s on a whole different level.

“Why did you do that?” He frowns, following her with his gaze as she stands beside Remi, holding on to him as she did to her daddy.

I smooth a crease in his shirt on his shoulder, and yeah, it could be just an excuse to touch him. Truth is, I can’t stop touching Xander. So what if we’ve been married for nine years? When in his presence, I feel like the little girl who snuck into his house to sleep beside him.

“You, Kir, Dad, and Lewis are turning her into a spoilt little princess.”

“Which she should be.” He grins, showing his own dimples as he palms my cheeks. “You don’t have to be jealous, Green. If you want attention, all you have to do is ask. Actually, scratch that. I would give you attention without you having to ask.”

His lips meet mine and I pull back before he deepens the kiss in front of everyone. “That’s not what I meant.”

“Yeah, right.”

“You’ll come back to my words one day and by then, it will be too late.”

“It will never be too late, because Cecily won’t leave my side. Kir agrees, by the way.”

I sigh, thinking of my baby brother. Although he’s twenty and at university now, so he’s not exactly a baby anymore.

Xan’s lips brush against my temple. “You miss him?”

A small period of silence is all he needs to know there’s something up. Xan is the one person on this planet who can read me better than anyone. Just like I have the ability to read him.

Leaning my head on his shoulder, I sigh. “I do. Do you think he’ll kick me out if I go visit?”

“You saw him last weekend, Green. And you say I’m spoiling Cecily? Look at you with Kir.”

“I worry.”

“He’s a grown man. Leave him be.”

“Fine. I will go to visit next weekend, I guess.”

He laughs. “You’re so fucking adorable.”

I wrap my arms around him as we re-join our circle of friends. We’ve come so far in the twelve years since we left Royal Elite School.

My demons are in the past, and although the scars have never disappeared, they’ve faded away and I can now breathe properly. Sometimes, I wonder what would’ve happened if I’d stayed in that black hole. Other times, I completely forget about the what-ifs and remain in the present.

I wouldn’t have gotten this far without the man holding on to me as if I’m his world.

I followed my dream and became a sociologist who’s able to help kids who are like I once was. Kids who’ve been mentally or physically abused. Kids who need help but don’t know how to ask for it.

That’s my best accomplishment in life, aside from the spoilt little princess Cecily and the hunk of a husband who turns my nights into the wildest rollercoaster rides.

Xander and Ronan formed some sort of a partnership just like Aiden, Levi, and Cole. Teal and Silver also followed in their husbands’ footsteps and chose business.

Elsa is an architect, who’s more focused on her aunt and uncle’s engineering firm instead of her father’s corporation. Astrid has been slowly turning into a renowned artist that we’re all proud to say we know on a personal level.

All of us have come a long way, but at moments like this, it feels like time can stop. Like we can be forever young.

My eyes meet Silver’s as she sits on Cole’s lap, and we both smile in a knowing way. If she tells him what she told me earlier, then Cole will be a happy man tonight — more than usual, I mean.

It’s crazy to think that Silver and I were enemies back in school. Now, she’s my best friend again, along with Elsa.

It took me some time to get past how she used to treat me, but after hearing her reasons and her apology, I couldn’t hold a grudge against her. Xan says I forgive easily and he’s lucky for that; however, the truth is, I don’t like holding on to the bad. That shit festers inside and destroys you.

Besides, Silver and I have always had a bond since we were little girls. We just built on that and picked up where we left off. Sort of like Xan and I.

My heart ached when I heard about what she’s been through, from the pressure to the pregnancy’s false alarm to the stalker.

She’s the type who buries everything inside and tries to take care of everyone from afar, even if it makes her appear in a negative light.

Now that we’re back in each other’s lives, we’ve built a bond that I never thought would be possible in a million years.

“I’ll go with you.” Xan’s words and his kiss on the top of my head bring me back from my reverie.

“Go with me where?”

“To Kir. You’re still thinking about him, aren’t you? And if he complains to you about how often you visit, I’ll punch him.”

“Hey, don’t punch my baby brother.”

“I’ll punch anyone who hurts you. Kir included.”

“He’s your half-brother, too,” I whisper.

“That doesn’t give him a pass.”

I chuckle, leaning my head against his chest. “You’re impossible.”

“For you, Green. Only you.”

Only me.

I can die a happy woman right here and now.