Chapter Twenty-Four #2
I caught them both, dropping to my knees to hug them properly. They were talking over each other, asking where I'd been, telling me they missed me, asking if I was staying.
"I'm staying," I promised, holding them tight. "I'm so sorry I left. I made a mistake, but I'm back now, and I'm not going anywhere ever again. Okay?"
"Promise?" Theo asked, his little face serious.
"I promise. Cross my heart." I made the gesture, and he seemed satisfied.
"We have to get you away from the glass," Noah said, and I realised we were all kneeling in broken ceramic. "Come on, into the foyer."
He herded us away from the mess, and I kept my arms around the boys, unable to let them go. They clung to me just as tightly, and I felt my heart breaking and healing at the same time.
"I'll clean this up," Noah said. "You three stay there."
"I can help—"
"No." His voice was firm but gentle. "You just got home. Let me take care of it."
While he swept up the glass, I sat with Oliver and Theo, answering their questions and listening to everything I'd missed. They told me about school, about the new game they'd learned, about how sad Daddy had been.
"He kept checking his phone," Oliver said seriously. "And he made us cereal wrong."
"I'm sorry," I said again, looking at Noah. He met my eyes and smiled, and I saw forgiveness there.
He pulled out his phone and started typing rapidly.
"What are you doing?" I asked.
"Telling the others you're home." He looked up at me. "They've been going crazy. We all have."
My heart clenched. "Are they... are they angry?"
"Angry?" Noah laughed, but it was a little broken. "Aria, we've been terrified. We thought we'd lost you. We thought—" He stopped, shaking his head. "They're going to be so relieved."
Within minutes, I heard a car screech to a halt outside. The door burst open, and Ronan stood there, chest heaving like he'd sprinted from his car.
"Aria." My name came out broken, barely a whisper.
I stood up slowly, suddenly nervous. This was the man I'd accused, the one I'd run from. Would he be able to forgive me?
He crossed the room in three strides and pulled me into his arms. He was shaking, his face buried in my hair, and I felt wetness on my neck.
"I'm sorry," I whispered. "Ronan, I'm so sorry. I read the files. I know the truth. I should have trusted you. I should have—"
"You're here," he said, his voice rough. "That's all that matters. You came back."
"I love you," I said, pulling back to look at him. "I love you, and I trust you, and I'm so sorry I ever doubted you."
He kissed me then, deep and claiming, and I tasted salt from both our tears.
Another car pulled up, and Gabriel came through the door next, still in his police uniform. He must have come straight from work. When he saw me, he stopped dead.
"Aria."
I went to him, and he caught me up in his arms, lifting me off the ground. "Don't ever do that again," he said fiercely. "Don't ever scare us like that again."
"I won't. I promise."
Liam arrived next, his suit jacket missing and his tie loose like he'd been pulling at it. He looked at me with those blue eyes full of relief and something deeper, and when he hugged me, he held on like he might never let go.
"I thought we lost you," he said quietly. "I thought you were gone."
"I'm not going anywhere," I promised.
Finally, Ethan and Julian arrived together, and the reunion started all over again. Ethan picked me up and spun me around while Julian waited his turn, and then they were both holding me, and I was crying again because I was home. I was really home.
We all ended up in Noah's living room, crowded together on the couches with me in the middle. The boys had been sent back to bed with promises that I'd be there in the morning. Now it was just us, and I knew I owed them all an explanation.
"I read the files," I started, looking at Ronan. "All of them. The police reports, the toxicology, everything. I know what really happened. I know you didn't—" I couldn't even say it. "I know the truth."
"I should have told you from the beginning," Ronan said. "I should have been honest about my past."
"You were protecting your son. I understand that now." I took his hand. "But I also figured something out. Someone sent me those photos. Someone who knew about Eva, who had access to crime scene photos, who knew exactly how to manipulate them to make you look guilty. Someone wanted me to leave."
The room went silent.
"You're right," Gabriel said slowly. "Those photos weren’t on public record. Someone with access to the case file sent them."
"We need to figure out who," Liam added, his lawyer brain already working. "And why."
"We will," Noah said firmly. "But first—" He looked at me. "Are you really staying?"
"I'm really staying," I confirmed. "If you'll have me."
"If we'll have you?" Ethan laughed. "Aria, we've been miserable without you. The kids have been asking about you constantly. We've all been—"
"Lost," Julian finished quietly. "We've been lost without you."
"I love you," I said, looking around at all of them. "All of you. I'm sorry I ran. I'm sorry I didn't trust what we have. But I'm here now, and I'm not going anywhere. Ever."
"We love you too," Noah said, and the others echoed him.
We sat there together, holding each other, and I felt the pieces of my heart clicking back into place. I was home. I was loved. And whoever had tried to tear us apart had failed.
"The kids are going to my sister's tonight," Noah said eventually. "I already arranged it. I thought—" He looked at me. "I thought we might need some time. Just us."
"All of us," Ronan added, his hand tightening on mine.
I looked around at these six incredible men who had somehow become my whole world, and I smiled. "I can't think of anything I'd like more."
We had a lot to figure out—who had sent those photos, how to keep everyone safe, how to move forward from this. But right now, in this moment, all that mattered was that we were together.
And this time, I wasn't going to let anyone tear us apart.