Chapter Twenty-Six
ETHAN
“Iknow it’s here somewhere,” I muttered, digging through the pile of clothes on my side of the closet floor.
“It’s fucking hilarious, looking at this,” Henry said from the doorway of the walk-in, arms crossed as he surveyed the chaos.
I pulled out a couple of shirts, huffed, then yanked open a drawer. A flash of green caught my eye, and I snatched it up triumphantly. “Aha. Knew it was in here.”
“I cannot believe Ash is okay with this.” Henry let out a short laugh. “I wasn’t allowed anywhere near his closet when we were kids.”
“You never borrowed his clothes?” I draped the scarf over my shoulders and reached for a coat on the rack. “That’s such a waste. I would’ve stolen half of it.”
“No, he let me wear anything I wanted. He just never let me inside.” Henry pushed off the doorframe and stepped in, still looking around.
“He’d handpick outfits for me because if I moved one shirt an inch out of formation, life as we knew it would end.
” He paused, taking in the current state of affairs. “Clearly, you have a special permit.”
I rolled my eyes. “First of all, I am trying to be more organized. And second, every few days he dives in here for an hour and re-sorts all of it. He loves it. Color-codes and everything.” I slid open the sock drawer and gestured inside. “See?”
Henry snorted and shook his head, already turning away.
I followed him, looping the scarf more securely around my neck as we headed for the door. “He hasn’t complained once.” A small pinch of insecurity slipped in. ”Do you think it really bothers him?”
Living together so far had been… perfect. Sebastian had kept his promise about spoiling me—and not just in bed. He was present. Attentive.
I loved our routine. Breakfast together every day. Him helping me with coursework at night. Talking in bed about work because we both got it—because we both craved the high of problem-solving and basked in the admiration that followed when we nailed it.
I fucking loved it.
And I loved that it was forever too.
My thumb brushed over the band on my finger, and a smile tugged at my lips. It had only been two days, but my stomach flipped every time I remembered we were engaged now.
Only the people closest to us knew—Oliver, Henry, and Charlotte, obviously.
But then also Aria, Elena, Vanessa, and Maya.
Every couple of hours, Sebastian would casually mention someone else who knew, and my heart would stutter all over again.
I knew we had to be careful, but, fuck, I wanted to shout it from the rooftops.
I was going to marry Sebastian Langley.
Sebastian Langley was going to be my husband. Permanently, irrevocably, and one hundred percent mine.
“I don’t think there’s anything you do that actually bothers Ash,” Henry said, grabbing his coat from the couch. “Even when you’re being a complete pain in the ass, he still finds it endearing. It’s honestly disturbing.”
“That’s because I give incredible h—”
“Stop.” He held up a hand. “We’ve never tried this before, but I think we need boundaries. Can we do boundaries?”
“Henry—Mr. I-love-to-toe-on-the-line-of-impropriety Langley—wants to have a chat about boundaries?”
He shrugged. “It feels icky when you do it.”
“I’ll agree to boundaries if you actually stick to them too,” I said. “Fair is fair.”
Henry scoffed, but it was affectionate and completely transparent. “Fine. You’ll be begging for my stories. I bet they already fuel your sex life at this point.”
“My sex life needs no fueling. I still have the indents from the desk—”
“Stop,” he said loudly, hand raised again. “I swear to fucking god, this is the beginning of a truly horrific drinking game.”
A laugh escaped me as I pulled my phone out of my pocket. It was buzzing, and I would’ve bet anything it was Sebastian asking when we were getting to the restaurant for lunch.
But when I saw the name on the screen, my stomach dropped.
Fuck.
“What is it?” Henry asked, his face turning serious.
I turned the phone so he could see my dad’s name.
“Oh, fuck.” His hands went to his hips, lips pulling down in disapproval. “What are you going to do?”
I stared at the screen, indecision churning—until impulse won. My thumb hit accept, and I lifted the phone to my ear.
“Hello, son. Thought I’d miss you.”
My chest tightened immediately. “Hey.”
“How’ve you been? Missed you in the city. Your mother told me you’d left when we spoke.”
I hummed, my heart beating too fast. That was over two months ago. Apparently time moved differently for him.
“She told me it looked like you and Sebastian were back together. Good for you.”
This… fucking asshole.
“Why are you calling, Dad?” I asked, my voice flat.
A pause.
“We haven’t talked in a while. I thought—”
“We haven’t talked in a while because the last time we did, you admitted to draining my trust fund. So yeah. That tracks.”
Silence.
“Ethan, that was a joint investment—”
“A joint investment in which one of the parties—the one who had all the fucking capital—was kept completely in the dark?”
“Don’t talk to me like—”
“I’m going to talk however the fuck I want,” I cut in.
Not loud, but firm. Because he didn’t get to hear me fall apart.
“I know you’re not going to give it back.
And the only reason I’m even answering is to tell you not to call me again.
And if you thought me and Sebastian getting back together was another money ticket for you after you pressed charges against him for something that he didn’t do and that was none of your fucking business, then you are very, very mistaken.
Do yourself a favor and delete my number. You no longer have a son.”
I ended the call and let the phone fall onto the couch before I could throw it.
That was that.
He didn’t get the last word.
“That,” Henry said, pulling my attention back to him, “was fucking badass.” He grinned and gave me a double thumbs-up, that almost made me smile.
“Fuck,” I breathed, the word trembling out of me. My eyes burned, and I scrubbed my hands over my face.
Henry’s hand landed on my shoulder. “You okay?”
I shook my head. Then nodded. “Yeah. I will be—I am.” Anger still coiled in my chest, hot and sharp, along with indignation and helplessness—the same things he always dragged back into my life without fail. I took another breath.
No more.
I didn’t need him.
I didn’t need someone who didn’t know how to be—or didn’t even seem to want to be—a parent. I had more than enough people in my life. A family. Whole and perfect without him.
“I am,” I said again, this time with more conviction. “And I’m done.” My shoulders finally relaxed as I met Henry’s gaze. “I sent the information over for the investigation last week. Talked it through with Ash.”
Henry’s eyes widened slightly. “Holy fuck, E. Are you sure you’re okay?” His hand tightened on my shoulder.
“Yeah. I mean, is it ideal? No. I don’t want my father to be part of a legal battle, but if they fine him, that’s fair, right? At least he’ll think twice before screwing someone over again.”
Henry’s expression softened. “It’s more than fair.”
I stepped out of his grasp and shrugged, my head still a mess—but a more resolute one. “We should get going.”
Henry nodded, though his dark eyes stayed on me.
“Let’s. But before we do…” He took a second, like he was deciding how to say it.
“You should know that what you just did? It was unbelievably brave. I’m proud of you, E, for a lot of things—but right now, because…
you really do know how to stand up for yourself, don’t you? ”
There was something unspoken in that. Part of it was about me, yeah—but another part of it was about him too. And somehow, that made me settle even deeper into the decision. Knowing it helped him in some way.
“I’ll stick up for you too,” I said. “Aggressively. If you ever need me to.” My lips curved into a smile.
He matched it, and together, we left the apartment.
Closing the door behind me felt like closing one chapter and stepping into another. And as I breathed in the cold February air, I realized how much I fucking loved this—walking into my life instead of being trapped by my past.
And doing so in perfect company.
The city hummed around us, bright beneath a pale winter sun, the cold sharp but alive with movement. Only a few blocks later, we spotted Sebastian and Vanessa lingering outside the restaurant—a tapería—both absorbed in Sebastian’s phone.
The sight of my new fiancé sent heat rushing up my neck, and I had to fight the grin threatening to take over my face. All thoughts of my father vanished instantly, and my thumb rubbed absently over the band on my finger once more.
A cold hand reached out and pinched my cheek.
“Look at you,” Henry said. “All cute and smitten.”
I swatted him away. “Get off me.”
That little scuffle caught their attention. Sebastian glanced up and smiled when his gaze landed on me…
…and Vanessa looked downright feral with barely contained excitement.
Huh.
Sebastian met me halfway, and the moment his lips touched mine, I was right back in honeymoon heaven.
“Hello, darling.”
“Again.” I smiled and leaned in for another kiss. “You’re all warm.”
A soft huff brushed my mouth as he deepened it.
“You taste so fucking good,” I whispered—or tried to.
“Gross,” came from our right. Henry was attempting a disapproving face while still somehow looking ridiculously pleased for us.
Sebastian slipped an arm around my shoulders. “We’ll talk in a bit,” he told Vanessa. “Thank you for everything.”
“Good luck,” she called, already walking away with a wave. She shot me one last strange look before disappearing down the street.
My hand rested on Sebastian’s hip. “What were you two up to?”
“You know… work.” His attention—and his other hand—was already back on his phone.
“So?” Henry said, nodding toward the doors. “Food?”
I stepped out of Sebastian’s hold, but he tugged me back when I tried to follow his brother. “What?”