Chapter 34
Tessa
The first thing I felt was warmth. Not the scratchy kind of warmth from old blankets or the kind that comes after too much adrenaline, but steady, constant—him.
Felix’s arm was draped over my waist, heavy and grounding, his chest pressed against my back. His breathing was slow, even, so unlike the sharp edges of the night before. For a moment, I didn’t dare move. I just let myself sink into it, memorizing the rhythm of him, the quiet safety of being here.
Sunlight filtered weakly through the blinds, painting the room in soft gold. It was so ordinary, so painfully normal, that it almost felt unreal after everything.
I shifted slightly, and his arm tightened instinctively, pulling me closer. “Go back to sleep,” he muttered, his voice thick with sleep, the words rumbling against my shoulder.
I smiled into the pillow. “I wasn’t leaving.”
One of his eyes cracked open, dark and hazy, and for once, there was no mask, no sharpness. Just him, unguarded. “Good,” he said, his mouth curving into something small and real.
I rolled onto my back, and he leaned over me, messy hair falling into his eyes. The sight tugged at something deep in my chest. Dangerous, ruthless Felix, undone by sleep and sunlight.
For the first time, I didn’t feel like I was waiting for the ground to drop out from under me. I just felt… home.
Felix shifted beside me, his hand tracing lazy circles against my hip. His voice came out softer than I’d ever heard it, warm with a teasing lilt. “You really thought you could get away from me?”
I turned my head to look at him, his hair still mussed from sleep, his eyes carrying none of the sharp edges he usually wore in the daylight. Just heat. Just him.
“Obviously not very well,” I murmured, a smile tugging at my lips despite myself.
Felix brushed his knuckles along my cheek, his gaze locking on mine. “That’s because I’m never letting you go.”
The words weren’t a threat, not even a warning. They landed like a vow, steady and unshakable, wrapped in the softness of morning.
“Hm, unfortunately you have to sometimes. I have plans for today,” I said, stretching a little beneath the sheets.
Felix arched a brow. “Plans, huh? And what’s more important than me keeping you in bed?”
I nudged him with my knee, suppressing a laugh. “Cleaning. The closet in the hallway still looks like a war zone, and I’ve been putting it off for weeks.”
“Tch,” he gently flipped me over on my back and held himself above me. “You’re not doing that anymore. We’re hiring a cleaning company.”
For a second, I just stared at him, thrown off balance. It was such a simple statement, but it hit me harder than I expected. When I first came here, cleaning was all I was good for. It was my place, my purpose, my excuse to exist under his roof.
But now it was different. I wasn’t just something useful to have around. I wasn’t a maid, or a debt to be collected. Somewhere along the way, I had become something else to him. Someone else.
The way Felix looked at me now—like I was his center of gravity, like letting me go wasn’t even a possibility—told me exactly where I stood. My role wasn’t to keep his house in order anymore. It was to stay by his side, where he wanted me.
And I wanted it too, more fiercely, more desperately, than I knew how to put into words.
“You’re serious?” I asked softly.
He gave a low hum, brushing his thumb along my jaw. “Dead serious. You don’t work for me anymore, Tessa. We’re together. Big difference.”
I swallowed, letting the words settle around us. “I… I don’t even know what to say—”
And then, abruptly, my stomach turned, a harsh, sudden churn that made my vision swim. I froze, panic flaring in my chest. “Uh—”
Before I could explain, I bolted from the bed, clutching my stomach as my body betrayed me. Felix jumped to his feet behind me, concern etched across his face. “Tessa? What—what’s wrong?”
I barely managed a shaky, “I… I need—” before the nausea overtook me completely, and I stumbled toward the bathroom.
I barely made it there before the world tipped sideways. My stomach heaved, and I doubled over, hands pressed to the cold tile. The suddenness of it left me breathless, scared, and more than a little confused.
I rested my head on the toilet, breathing shallow and shaky, and he stayed right beside me, thumb brushing along my back in slow, comforting circles.
“You’re going to be okay,” he murmured, voice low, but there was something else under the surface—something unreadable, but not entirely hidden. “I’ve been waiting for this, you know.”
I blinked at him, confusion flashing through the haze of nausea. “Waiting for what?”
A small, almost smug smile tugged at his lips, though his eyes stayed soft and steady. “For you to tell me you’re mine in more ways than one.”
My stomach twisted again, and I clutched the edge of the toilet, words failing me. “I… I don’t—”
He pressed a hand to my hip, steadying me, his eyes dark and unwavering. “You’re mine, Tessa. And you’re carrying what’s ours.”
The words landed like a thunderclap, and for a heartbeat I couldn’t breathe. My fingers tightened on the cold porcelain as his meaning unfurled inside me, heavy and undeniable.
Pregnant.
I blinked up at him, and for a moment the world fell away. The man who had once haunted my nights with danger and unpredictability, whose very presence had made me feel small and trapped, was here—soft, steady, completely mine.
It was almost unbelievable, how far we’d come. The man who had once scared me, who had been untouchable and wild, was mine in the deepest, most intimate way. And I was his, completely, without hesitation or doubt.
I let out a slow, trembling breath, leaning into him, feeling the steady beat of his heart beneath my cheek.
“I love you,” he murmured, words only for my ears.
“I love you too,” I whispered back, the words carrying everything we’d been through, everything we’d survived.
For the first time in my life, there was no tension. No fear. No shadows.
And for the first time, I felt truly home.