Epilogue - ZARA
Blanket Fort
Afew months later
The first thing I hear when I wake up in warm sheets that smell like Jaxon is the soft clink of dishes.
And underneath that—Lily’s voice.
Bright. Awake. Animated. Sometimes I wonder where she gets all that energy from.
Listening to her now, something warm spreads through me, slow and deep.
I push myself up, pulling one of Jaxon’s shirts over my head, the fabric falling loose against my thighs.
It still smells faintly like him, clean and warm and something that makes my chest tighten in the best way.
As I step into the hallway, I pause for a second, just listening.
“…and then Mia said I could come over this weekend, and I told her I’d have to ask first, but I think it’s fine, right? Because we don’t have a game then—do we have a game then?”
“No game,” Jaxon says, his voice calm, steady, threaded with that quiet amusement he never quite hides around her. “But we do have to check schedules. You know the rule.”
“I know,” Lily groans dramatically. “Schedules are ruining my life.”
“Tragic,” he deadpans.
I lean against the wall for a second, just watching them through the doorway.
Jaxon stands at the counter, sleeves pushed up, moving with that easy confidence that’s so completely him.
There’s a pan on the stove, something sizzling, and he flips it one-handed while holding his phone in the other, glancing at it briefly before setting it aside.
Lily sits on one of the stools, swinging her legs, her hair still a little messy from sleep, talking a mile a minute.
Jaxon glances up, and the second his eyes find mine, a small smile tugs at his lips.
“Hey,” he says.
I step into the kitchen. “Hey.”
He crosses the space between us in a few easy strides, like it’s the most natural thing in the world, and presses a quick kiss to my mouth.
“Morning, sleepyhead,” he murmurs against my lips.
“Morning.”
“Ew,” Lily says immediately. “You guys are so gross in the morning.”
I laugh, pulling back, and Jaxon just smirks.
“You’ll survive,” he says.
I move to stand beside her, brushing my fingers through her hair lightly. “You okay?”
She leans into the touch without even thinking about it. “Yeah.”
Something in my chest tightens.
“Good,” I say softly.
Jaxon turns back to the stove. “Grilled cheese.”
“For breakfast?” Lily perks up.
“For today? Yes.”
“Best day ever,” she declares.
I meet Jaxon’s eyes over her head, and he gives me the smallest shrug, like what can you do?
I smile.
Some things don’t need fixing.
We fall into the rhythm of it without thinking. I grab plates. He finishes the sandwiches. Lily narrates her entire life in between bites of air and anticipation.
At some point, I glance at the calendar on the fridge.
There’s a note scribbled there.
Lily – Mom visit (Saturday)
I pause for a second, looking at it.
Rachel has been… better.
More consistent. More present. Showing up when she says she will. Leaving when she’s supposed to.
She broke up with her venture capital fiancé shortly after the school incident, and it seems like she’s trying to get her life in order. She’s making an effort.
I think that day came from sheer desperation. She’s not the villain I turned her into in my head. But I haven’t forgiven her either.
We’ve found a way to exist in the same orbit without everything crashing into chaos.
We’re not friends, and we never will be. But we’re… cordial.
And for Lily, that’s enough.
“Do we have anything after school?” Lily asks, already halfway through her sandwich.
Jaxon wipes his hands on a towel. “You have reading.”
She groans. “I always have reading.”
“That’s because you like books,” I point out.
She narrows her eyes at me. “That doesn’t mean I like homework.”
Jaxon leans back against the counter, watching her with that look that still makes something in my chest twist.
Pride. Love. A kind of quiet awe he doesn’t try to hide.
He catches me looking at him and arches a brow.
“What?”
“Nothing,” I say, smiling.
He doesn’t buy it, but he lets it go.
“I’ll be home early today,” he says. “More voices from the staff reached management—they made it clear they expect a family-friendly workplace and a healthy work-life balance.”
Lily looks up from her plate, chewing thoughtfully. “Does that mean you’re not working later?”
“Exactly,” he says.
Her eyes light up instantly. “So you’re home-home? Not just like… quick-home and then back to work-home?”
Jaxon huffs out a quiet laugh. “I’m home-home.”
Lily straightens on her chair, excitement practically vibrating through her. “Can we do something then?”
“What kind of something?” he asks.
“Something fun,” she says, like that explains everything. Then she looks between us, hopeful. “All together.”
Something in my chest softens immediately.
Jaxon glances at me, then back at her. “What did you have in mind?”
She thinks hard for a second, her brows furrowing. “We could… go get ice cream. Or go to the park. Or have a movie night. Or build a blanket fort. Or—” she gasps, like she’s just had the best idea ever, “—we could do all of it!”
I laugh softly. “That sounds like a full schedule.”
Jaxon leans back slightly, watching her, that same softened look in his eyes. “Let’s start with the park and ice cream. What do you think?”
“Oh yes, Daddy,” Lily agrees. “But we also have to build a blanket fort.”
He considers her for a second. “Okay. You’ve got some time before school. Maybe you can draw a plan for the fort, and we’ll build it together when we get back home.”
Lily pumps her fist in the air. “Yes! I’m going to design the best blanket fort ever.”
She slides off the chair, already buzzing with energy again. “I’m going to get paper.”
She’s halfway to the hallway when she suddenly stops.
Slowly, very slowly, she turns back around, a sly look creeping into her eyes.
Uh oh.
Lily walks back into the kitchen, paper completely forgotten, studying us with narrowed eyes.
“What?” I ask carefully.
She tilts her head.
“Now that you’re, like… married-married,” she says, gesturing vaguely between us, “can I get a baby brother or sister?”
Okay. Where did that come from?
Jaxon and I just stand there, staring at each other, each silently hoping the other will answer.
When he doesn’t, I try.
“Wow,” I say faintly. “Okay.”
Jaxon clears his throat. “That’s—uh—that’s a big question, bug.”
Lily shrugs. “Not really. Maria has two. And Noah has a baby brother and a sister and a dog, which is kind of too much, but still.”
“Too much,” Jaxon echoes.
“Yeah.” She nods seriously. “I don’t need a dog.”
“Good to know,” I murmur.
She looks between us again, waiting, expectant.
Lily leans forward on the counter. “So?”
I glance at Jaxon, and he looks right back at me.
I turn to Lily.
“Well,” I say gently, “that’s not something that happens right away.”
She nods like she already knows. “I know. Babies take a long time.”
“That’s correct,” Jaxon says.
“But,” I continue, stealing another quick glance at him, “it is something we’ve… thought about.”
Lily’s eyes light up instantly. “Really?”
Jaxon huffs out a quiet breath, but there’s a smile tugging at his mouth now. “Yeah,” he says. “Really.”
She beams. “So I might get one?”
“Maybe,” I say, smiling. “Someday.”
She considers that for a second.
Then she nods decisively. “Okay.” A beat. “But just so you know, I’m not sharing my room.”
“Noted,” Jaxon says.
She seems completely satisfied with that.
“Okay,” she adds, like the matter is officially settled.
Then she turns and runs off again. “I’m still making the fort plan!”
We stand there for a second in silence.
Then we both start laughing at the same time.
Quiet at first. Then a little helpless.
“Well,” I murmur, “no one can say we don’t talk things through in this family.”
Jaxon grins and winks at me. “You said yes, so there’s no backing out of this crazy now.”
“Don’t I know it.”
A moment later, Lily comes racing back with paper in hand.
And for a moment, the three of us just… are.
Planning blanket forts.
Like it’s the most important thing in the world.
And right now—
It kind of is.
THE END.
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One failed annulment later, we double down and fake the relationship.
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