Page 98 of The Stipulation
“I know you don’t want to hear this, but I need to say it. I’m in love with you,” he says, the words low, certain, vibrating in my chest as much as they do in my ears.
I raise my head to look at him, my eyes locking with his. “I know.”
He brushes a hand over my arm, gentle but firm. “I’ll wait. As long as it takes. You’ll see that I won’t leave you – we’ll make it work. I won’t hurt you. Ever.”
Something inside me swells at that. Every doubt I had, every hesitation about moving here, about us, it feels insignificant compared to the way he’s holding me right now, the way he’s made me feel safe when everything else seemed impossible.
“I’m head over heels in love with you, Axel,” I say softly. “And if you’re willing to jump in front of a bullet for me, the least I can do is move here to be with you.”
He grins, that slow, teasing curl of his lips that makes me melt. And then he pulls me close, brushing a hand through my hair, and I realize I’ve never wanted to be closer to anyone in my entire life.
“I have something else to tell you too,” I murmur.
He lifts his head slightly, looking down at me, curious and amused.
“Oh? What is it?”
I smile, a little shy but brimming with certainty. “You can stop looking for someone to produce your heir.”
He laughs softly, the sound rich and relieved. “Obviously. I don’t care about the money, Jo. I just want you. With you by my side, I can build it all up again.”
I grin, my heart pounding. “Good. Because they did some tests at the hospital, just to make sure I really was ok. And it seems I’m carrying our heir. It’s very early, but we’re going to have a baby.”
His eyes widen with incredulity so much it makes me laugh.
“What the…” And then he’s pulling me up into a joyful kiss. It’s sweet and full of laughter, raw exhilaration spilling into it, our happiness finally allowed to exist without the shadow of fear.
We pull back, still holding each other, our faces inches apart, and we just laugh together, the sound bouncing off the walls, echoing a freedom we never thought we’d feel again.
We are safe. We are together. And for the first time in a long time, I am completely, undeniably happy.
Chapter
Forty-Two
JO
One Year Later
Sunlight streams through the windows of the chapel, golden and warm, catching Axel’s dark hair as he adjusts the baby in his arms. Jackson Joseph Rhodes, our little miracle, coos softly against his father’s chest, his tiny hands reaching out as if he already knows he is in a world full of love. I can’t stop smiling as I catch Axel’s eye. He grins back, that slow, knowing curl of his lips that makes my stomach flutter even after more than a year together.
We’ve come a long way. The chaos, the fear, the danger that brought me to my senses, it all feels like another life, like another version of us lived through it. And yet, it’s still a part of who we are, because it brought us here. To this tiny chapel in New York, surrounded by our family, our friends, and those who have loved us through it all.
“I still can’t believe he’s here,” I murmur, brushing my fingers against Jackson’s soft cheek.
Axel chuckles, low and warm. “Believe it. He’s all ours.”
I lean into him, inhaling the faint scent of his cologne mixed with baby shampoo.
“We really did this, huh? Became a little family?”
He presses a kiss to my temple. “Yeah. A little family. But don’t get me wrong. I’m not at all averse to us being a big family. Even a very big family.”
I shake my head and laugh. “Easy there, Tiger. All in good time.”
The chapel is filled with light chatter, punctuated by the occasional coo or squeal from our tiny guest of honor. My mum beams at me from the front pew. She is sitting next to Jenny, Serena, and Olivia, all of them giddy and proud. It feels good, right, to see my past and present mingling so harmoniously. I live here in New York now, but my mum and my friends will always still be a version of home to me. I walk over to my mum, reach out and squeeze her hand; we share a small, quiet smile, love and understanding passing silently between us.
I am so glad I was able to forgive her. And when we went to London to visit her and my friends, Axel found it in him to forgive her too, and the two of them have become quite close. I’ve bought her a nice house in Knightsbridge in the same neighborhood as my three best friends, and she’s happier than ever.
