Chapter 23
Callie
The door slammed shut, and I exhaled—finally. I hadn’t even realised I’d been holding my breath.
No sorrow followed. Just… liberation.
Like a weight I’d carried since childhood had finally slid off my shoulders. I could finally stand tall without the weight of their disappointment.
Alistair’s voice broke through, casual as ever. “You know my family are Catholic too, right?”
I turned to him, and the corners of my mouth lifted despite myself.
“Yeah, but they’re not assholes,” I said, just as the low rumble of my dad’s Volvo engine started up outside.
I narrowed in on him as the realisation hit me.
“Wait… why did you know when my parents got married?”
More to the point—how had I never made the connection?
Alistair didn’t even hesitate. “Baby, I’m crazy about you.”
My heart lifted, expanding until it nearly pressed against my throat.
“Your ass is mine. Every child I fuck into you is mine. I own you now, and no one is ever going to mess with you without meeting my wrath. It’s always best to be prepared.”
I slapped a hand to my forehead and groaned.
He started off so well.
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Six Months Later
“I’m not moving from this bed for a week,” I groaned.
Finals were done, completed in a haze of hormonal breakdowns and caffeine withdrawal. I was now officially ready for full-time relaxation.
“My wife can do whatever the fuck she wants,” Alistair said—too enthusiastically.
I side-eyed him.
“You only want me in here to make sure I’m available whenever you feel like playing hide the baseball bat.”
His hand curled around my swollen belly, possessive and smug.
He’d done it. Fucked twins into me. All that deep, mesmerising pumping had come back to haunt me.
“I only want what’s best for all my girls,” he said, that slow smile spreading across his face like sin itself.
Two daughters by my side, teaching them my bratty ways so we could drive their daddy insane.
God.
Who said dreams didn’t come true?
“Why do you have that evil smile on your face, baby?”
“Huh? I don’t know what you’re talking about,” I said sweetly, all innocence as I batted my lashes and dismissed his suspicion.
“Mmm. What do you fancy for breakfast?”
“French toast and tea,” I said without thinking. His French toast was out of this world.
He leaned over to kiss my cheek, giving our girls one last rub before pulling back the covers. Then, like the gentleman menace he was, he tugged them right back into place before the chill could reach me.
I watched as he pulled on a pair of sweatpants—his dick swinging like it had no concept of weather.
Even the frigid cold air couldn’t shrink that log.
“Do you want a side of cock with your food, baby?”
“Hey, a girl can stare at cock if she wants, no judgment,” I snorted, pulling the covers up higher with a grin.
“No judgment here,” he said, grinning over his shoulder. “I was only offering my services.”
My eyes dropped to that magnificent ass—the very one responsible for my current condition.
I cradled my girls—our girls—and closed my eyes as one of them shifted.
“My sweet little babies, please come to me safely,” I whispered.
I never shared my fears with Alistair.
Because—fuck me—he was already crazy enough about us without me lighting a match under his firm, obsessive ass.
As for my parents, they were getting a divorce.
Francine was beside herself, but Martin had made up his mind.
Being pregnant with my girls had done more than shift my body; it helped me face and finally overcome the emotional trauma I’d been dragging around like chains.
Alistair was my rock through every second of it.
The man could read me like a book.
It was borderline creepy how he always knew what I needed—sometimes before I did.
Gianna and Nicholas welcomed me like one of their own.
They were warm, nurturing, and real—no pretence, no performance.
At first, I’d kept my guard up. But it didn’t take long to understand how Sophie and Alistair had turned out so… balanced, grounded and loved.
I wanted to grow old with Alistair, just like Gianna and Nicholas.
At twenty-two, the future looked brighter than ever. I couldn’t wait to share our love with our children.
The hollow past still flickered at the edges—ghosts of dysfunction, of so-called protectors who tore down instead of building up.
But that was all behind me now.
I smiled when I heard his footsteps coming down the hall…
Wondering how I might disrupt my husband’s day.