Chapter 46
Chapter Forty-Six
JULIETTE
Isaw Griffin for less than fifteen seconds—only the side of his face. But that was enough to know how tense he was—shoulders stiff, jaw tight. Just enough for me to know I still loved him. That every inch of my body yearned to be with him. From my fingernails to the very center of my soul.
But I couldn’t. Even if it were safe to stay, he would never want me now.
The life I would’ve had if DayGlow had never gotten their hooks in me played out in my mind.
Griffin wouldn’t be showing up to meet Weston for the first time with his parents and James.
He would’ve been here all along. During labor, he would’ve done the stupid Lamaze breathing with me.
We would’ve wept together when Weston was finally born.
And at this moment, maybe he would’ve leaned down and kissed me before saying, “I’m going to grab the car seat.
” And then the three of us would’ve gone home. Together. A real family.
I’d told myself I’d stay until he left with Weston, just to make sure. But watching that vision dissolve was more than I could take. Seeing Griffin and Weston head home without me? I couldn’t watch that.
I had to go now.
Had to leave Honeyville, Seddledowne, Virginia, all of it…
Heck, I had to leave the United States.
DayGlow wouldn’t let go of me until I was lost somewhere in a third-world country.
Maybe I’d build myself a sad little driftwood hut on a beach in some exotic town no one’s ever heard of, politely decline all offers of food, and sit with my feet in the water until I shriveled up and died.
I didn’t care. Without Weston and Griff, what was the point?
I picked up my bag. Clutching the straps, I looked toward the Birthing Center. Toward Weston. “Your daddy’s got you now, little one.” I blew my baby a kiss. “I love you. Forever.” I swallowed my sobs. Then I slipped off the stool, crying too hard to see straight.
Not a soul had given me a second look since I’d come out of the restroom, and no one noticed me now. As I made my way toward the front exit, I’d never been more grateful to blend in.
But as the sliding doors opened, and I walked out into the sunshine, someone stepped in my way.
My throat closed, and my body locked up, certain Cecil had found me.
But it was Ford.
“Hi, Juliette,” he said casually, but his determined expression told the truth. He was there for one reason: to make sure I didn’t get away.
I stumbled back. The sliding doors whooshed open behind me. I turned to bolt inside… and slammed straight into a wall of muscle.
“Hey, now,” Jeff said, hands up. “Griffin just wants to talk to you.”
What?
I couldn’t face Griff. Not after everything I’d done.
“No. I need to go.” Spinning to the right, I tried to fake out Ford, cutting immediately left—making my head woozy. But he was faster.
His arms hooked around me. “Jules—stop.” Eyes closed, trying not to faint, I kicked and squirmed. But he held firm. “You need to talk to Griff. Don’t you think you at least owe him that?”
“I can’t,” I said. “I can’t!”
“We’ve got her,” Jeff said behind me. Who was he talking to? “But she’s putting up a fight. I’m worried she’s going to hurt herself.”
He was right. I shouldn’t have been flailing like this, not with how tender everything was—but the panic wouldn’t let me stop. I twisted around to look at Jeff, hard enough to drag Ford with me.
Jeff was on the phone. “Okay. I’m putting you on speaker.”
“Jules?” Griffin’s voice caught me in the center of my chest, heart fluttering the same way it had at fourteen. “I need you to come back inside so I can talk to you.”
“No.” I sobbed. “Please don’t make me. I can’t see Weston. I can’t.” If I saw him again, I’d never leave.
I could scream and get the security guard’s attention, but I couldn’t do that to them. The whole point of disappearing was to protect these people I loved so much. Not have them arrested.
“I’m going to talk to you,” Griffin said.
“And the baby will be with me. There’s a Dupree at every entrance of the hospital.
A couple of Bishops too.” Sure enough, out of the corner of my eye, I saw Blue thirty feet to my left and Liam forty feet to my right.
I couldn’t outrun either of them on a good day, when I wasn’t recovering from childbirth.
“So you can either come in here—” Griff said, “—where we have some privacy, or I’ll come out there, and we can do this in front of my family. Your choice.”
Those words landed hard, and I slumped. “Fine,” I whimpered. “I’ll come inside.”
“Good choice,” Griffin said. “See you in a minute.”
Jeff dropped his phone into his pocket.
Ford steadied me on my feet. But he hooked an arm around my waist, his hand gripping my hip. “Jeff and I will escort you.”
I hugged myself, sniffling as I made what felt like a death march through the waiting room, down the hall, and into the next hall.
Ford’s arm felt more like a hug than a death march, though, and I could tell he didn’t want to do this.
“Please tell Peyton I’m sorry,” I whispered.
“For what?” he asked. “The business has already taken off, and it’s all because of you.”
I didn’t have time to feel any relief because we’d arrived at my doom.
The sliding doors of the Birthing Center opened.
Nurse Amy stood there, helping a woman get into a wheelchair. Her forehead furrowed. “Can I help you all? Who—” She stopped. Her eyes went wide.
There wasn’t a woman in the world who wouldn’t recognize Ford Dupree on sight.
Her gaze skittered to me, then to my blond wig, her eyes flashing with recognition.
I looked at the floor.
Ford urged me forward.
Lemon and Silas stood outside the suite door, whispering. James paced in front of them. When Lemon saw me, her hand came to her mouth, James stopped pacing, and Silas pushed off from the wall. But they said nothing, just moved out of the way so I could pass.
As my hand wrapped around the door handle, Ford finally let me go.
I took a deep breath. Then another…
And stepped inside to face my reckoning.
Holding Weston in his arms, I was sure Griffin heard me come in.
But he didn’t look up until the door clicked shut.
When our eyes met, my breath caught, love rising so fast it physically hurt.
But my love was a curse—and looking at him right then, that truth had never felt sharper.
He was still so handsome, yes—he always would be—but the light in him had dimmed.
Like a man who’d slowly had the life sucked out of him.
That’s what my love had done.
I crumpled into sobs. “I’m s-so sorry. I never meant to hurt you.” My head hung. “You never should’ve married me. I’m a terrible person.”
He said nothing, and I was too ashamed to see his reaction. I deserved his silence. Deserved whatever he was about to throw at me.
After at least a minute, he whispered, “Jules… Can you come over here, please?”
Somehow, I dragged myself across the room, though I could hardly see to do it. I looked anywhere but at his face. Or at Weston.
I stopped in front of him, eyes on my feet.
He sniffed. “Can you… Can you take off your wig?”
Gaze on the floor, I reached up and peeled it off, letting it drop.
“Could you sit, please?” he asked next.
I moved over to the bed and sat, legs hanging over the side.
“Lean back against the pillow,” he said.
So I did, pulling my legs up onto the mattress, trying to relax against the inclined hospital bed—no clue why he was doing this.
Then he did the last thing I expected. He leaned down—the scent of his aftershave making me dizzy—and laid Weston in my arms.
“What?” I asked, breathless. “What are you doing?” Weston wiggled, and I curled around him, crying harder.
I pressed kisses over his soft little cheeks.
“Oh, you sweet boy. I missed you.” I let my nose find his dimple.
“Mommy loves you so much.” My tears rained over his face, but he didn’t seem to mind. So I just held him, breathing him.
I glanced up when I felt Griffin sit on the bed.
He faced me and said, “That’s where he belongs. With his mom.” His jaw worked as he tried not to cry. “And his dad. With a big old family who’s waiting to love on him and spoil him rotten.”
Why would he give me this gift? He shouldn’t. It wasn’t safe.
“I c-can’t,” I gasped. “DayGlow won’t leave me alone. They won’t. I can’t put you all in danger.”
“They will leave you alone,” he said. “They won’t have a choice. We’re going to fight them—together—and win.”
I shook my head. “You don’t—you don’t know what they’re capable of.”
“I do. I promise, I do. And we’re going to take them down. Holden is already on it, and Ford’s going to fund it.” His tone made it clear that there would be no arguing on the matter.
I searched his eyes. “But…”
He scooted closer and took my face in his hands. “You’re not a terrible person. I never want to hear you say that again. You are one of the best and bravest people I’ve ever known.”
“No.” I tried to shake my head, but he was holding me in place. “I’m not. I’ve done horrible things.”
“No. Horrible things were done to you. They used you and took advantage of the fact that you had no one to turn to.” He pressed a soft kiss to my forehead. “You will never be used like that again,” he promised. “And you will have a family from now on. If that’s what you want.”
I squeezed my eyes shut and whispered, “I do. I want it so much.” One more breath. “I want you.”
“That’s what I thought.” He kissed the end of my nose. “I love you, Jules. I’ve never stopped. Not a single day. Even when I thought the pain might kill me. You are and always will be the love of my life.”
I couldn’t believe it was true, and it broke down the rest of my defenses. “I love you too.” I sobbed. “You’re it for me. You always were. It was never Liam.”
“I know.”
I looked at his shoulder. “But I don’t deserve you. You saved yourself, and I couldn’t even do that for you.”
“Did you save your heart for me?” he asked, like it was an even trade.