Chapter Thirty-Five
Annie
We spent the next few hours getting inked, and while it stung a little, Aston was the one complaining that it hurt like a bitch. To be fair, he had a lot more done than I did, but still, I handled it better. Girls definitely have a higher pain threshold.
By the end of the session, though, the artwork was finished, and it looked incredible.
There’s something powerful about knowing we’ve marked ourselves like that—permanently.
Watching Aston sit through all that pain to show me how much he loves me hit me right in the chest, and I know nothing will ever take that moment away from us.
We spent the night in Aston’s hotel room, making love slowly and quietly into the early hours.
Ella’s room was right next door, and at one point, I heard giggling, then sounds that definitely weren’t giggling, which made me laugh softly into Aston’s shoulder.
It’s nice knowing she’s experiencing something real too, even if a small part of me worries that Danger might hurt her.
Dad will absolutely kill him if he does.
I’m curled into Aston, his fingers tracing slow, lazy patterns along my arm, when a scream suddenly cuts through the quiet. My eyes snap open at the same time his do.
“What the hell?” he mutters, already sitting up as raised voices follow the scream.
I push myself upright and listen more closely.
“Wait… is that Ella?” I ask, and he nods immediately.
“Shit.” I jump out of bed, scrambling for clothes while my heart starts to race.
I drag on my panties, then pants, pulling a shirt over my head as quickly as I can, my hands shaking slightly as I move.
“Aston, hurry,” I urge, already heading for the door while he pulls his shirt on behind me.
The tension outside is thick, heavy with anger, and I don’t even think as I reach for the handle. I just act. We fling the door open and freeze at the scene unfolding in front of us.
Dad has Danger pinned against the wall, his fist twisted in the front of his shirt, forearm pressed hard against his throat. Ella stands beside them, wrapped in nothing but a sheet, desperately trying to pull Dad off him, while Danger is completely naked and struggling to breathe.
“Holy shit,” I breathe, already moving forward. “Dad, let him go!”
Mum appears from her room at the same time a few other doors crack open, curious onlookers gathering as the situation escalates.
Dad turns sharply at my voice, fury flashing in his eyes, until his gaze shifts between Aston and me. “Wait… were you two in a room together as well?”
He releases Danger, who drops to the floor, gasping, while Ella immediately crouches beside him. But the moment is short-lived, because Dad’s attention snaps straight back to us.
I step in front of Aston without thinking, blocking him as Dad moves toward us. “Stop right there,” I snap, pointing at him. “You do not get to be angry at Aston.”
He keeps coming, but Mum reaches him first, grabbing his arm. “Colt, stop.”
“And you’re okay with this?” he demands, gesturing between us.
“They’re adults,” Mum replies calmly. “Annie and Aston are a couple—”
“What about Ella?” he cuts in sharply. “She’s not with him. I don’t need her—”
“Dad,” I interrupt, holding my ground. “We’re adults. That means relationships. That means tattoos. That means sex.”
He mutters under his breath, dragging a hand through his hair.
“And you don’t get to take that out on them,” I continue, my voice steady now. “If you’re angry, be angry at us, not them.”
He exhales hard and turns away, bracing his hands against the wall as he tries to get himself under control.
“I know this is hard—” I start, softening slightly.
“Wait.” He spins back suddenly. “What did you say about tattoos?”
Mum’s eyes flick straight to me, and I hesitate for a second before lifting my sleeve to show the ink.
Dad groans. “For God’s sake, Annie…”
“Oh, leave her alone,” Mum says, stepping in. “It’s beautiful, and you can’t keep pretending they’re little girls forever.”
Dad’s shoulders sag, the fight draining out of him. “They’re my babies, Dee… I don’t know how to deal with this.”
My chest tightens at that.
“I know,” Mum says gently, taking his hand. “Come on, let’s talk.”
He lets her guide him away, then pauses, turning back one last time with an incredulous look. “You’re really both… having sex?”
I can’t help the small smirk that pulls at my lips, even as Aston goes very still behind me. Ella glares, and Danger, who is still on the floor, looks like he’s questioning every decision he’s ever made.
“Fuck,” Dad mutters before disappearing into Mum’s room.
Ella helps Danger to his feet, and I try, really try, not to look… but fail anyway. My eyes flick down to his pierced cock for half a second before I look back up, biting the inside of my cheek.
Okay… definitely not what I expected.
Ella catches me instantly and steps in front of him, her eyes widening in warning. I have to bite back a laugh.
“Are you okay, mate?” Aston asks.
Danger nods, still shaken. “Yeah… just wasn’t expecting that.” He steps away, heading back into the room without another word, leaving Ella watching him with a frown.
“Great,” she mutters under her breath. “Now he’s going to shut down again.” She disappears after him, closing the door softly behind her.
I turn back to Aston, raising an eyebrow. “Well… that was a morning I definitely didn’t plan for.”
Aston exhales slowly. “Yeah, I wasn’t exactly ready to tell your dad I’m sleeping with you either.”
I huff out a quiet laugh. “You handled it.”
“I thought I was about to get killed.”
“True,” I admit, lacing my fingers through his. “But he knew. He had to. He just didn’t want to accept it.”
I tug him gently back toward our room. “Mum will calm him down.”
We step inside and close the door, the quiet settling around us again after the chaos. I glance at the bed. “Wanna go back to sleep?”
He smirks, his gaze dropping over me. “Yeah… but only if you’re naked.”
I laugh, pulling my top off and tossing it aside, and his expression shifts instantly.
“Plans have changed,” he murmurs, stepping closer. “Now I’m wide awake.”
Five Months Later
Time flew by so fast I barely had a chance to stop and breathe.
Once the tour kicked off, every day blurred into the next, filled with rehearsals, performances, and interviews, leaving little room for anything else while we were away.
We traveled through six countries, met incredible people, and dealt with more than a few so-called evil minion fans who seemed determined to get close to Caleb and Aston no matter what.
Unfortunately, that meant anyone standing in their way, including me, became a target, but Aston handled it all perfectly and never once gave me a reason to doubt him.
He was always kind to the fans, yet never unclear about where he stood, making it clear he was in a serious, happy relationship.
Over time, even Dad came around to the idea of us being together and eventually allowed us to share the same hotel room, which made everything feel more real.
Spending all day with Aston performing and working was one thing, but unwinding with him afterward, whether that meant talking, cuddling, or making love, was something else entirely, and I loved every second of it.
Everything about him makes me feel more alive, more vibrant, and somehow more me, and I can’t help but think that life has never felt this good.
We arrived back home after our final concert to a maximum-capacity crowd in Adelaide at the Adelaide Oval complex, and closing out our first world tour in Australia felt like the perfect ending.
The crowd went absolutely wild, knowing it was our final stop, and we gave them everything we had.
It was exhausting, exhilarating, and unforgettable all at once.
Even so, there’s something I haven’t been able to shake.
I really wanted to talk to Ella about her and Danger, but she’s been so hot and cold, keeping to herself most of the time, and with how busy we’ve been, finding a moment for proper sister time over the last five months has been almost impossible.
Now that we’re home, though, I plan to fix that because, honestly, I’m dying to know what happened between them.
Everything feels right, like all the pieces of my life have finally fallen into place. I love my job, I love my boyfriend, and I love my family, and for the first time in a long time, I genuinely feel content.
Nothing could ruin this feeling…
We’ve only been home for two hours, and even though exhaustion clings to me, sleep refuses to come.
Mum’s in the living room, dealing with the same jet lag, while Ella and Dad have already gone to bed, so I decide to try again myself.
As I walk past the front door on my way upstairs, the gate buzzer suddenly sounds, pulling me up short.
I frown, wondering who it could be, and then a small smile creeps across my face as I think it might be Aston. He said he was going to spend some time with his parents, but maybe he changed his mind. The thought alone sends a little spark of excitement through me as I head over to the intercom.
“Hello?” I say, unable to keep the anticipation out of my voice.
There’s a pause…
Then a woman speaks, “I’m looking for Annie.”
The excitement drains from me instantly. “Who are you?” I ask, my pulse beginning to pick up.
Another pause stretches out long enough to make my stomach twist.
“I’m her biological mother.”
Everything inside me goes still.
My heart feels like it stops beating altogether as the words echo through my head, repeating over and over until they barely make sense anymore. My chest tightens, my breathing turns uneven, and for a moment I genuinely think I might faint.
My biological mother?
How is that even possible?
Fear prickles across my skin, sharp and immediate, but beneath it something else rises, something unexpected and impossible to ignore.
Curiosity.
Hope.
Before I can talk myself out of it, I press the button and open the gate, my body moving faster than my thoughts as I rush to the front door and pull it open. I stand there waiting, a smile forming despite the storm of emotions inside me, while tears threaten to spill over.
I’m excited.
I’m nervous.
I’m goddamn angry.
I’m everything all at once, and it makes my head spin.
“Who is it, sweetheart?” Mum asks as she steps into the hallway.
I turn to her, and the second I meet her gaze, everything spills over. Tears fall freely as she rushes to me, pulling me into her arms. “Annie, what’s wrong?”
The sound of a car rolling into the driveway makes me pull back, my voice trembling as I speak, “She says she’s my biological mother.”
Mum goes completely still.
Her eyes flick toward the car, then back to me, and the fear in them is unmistakable. “She could be anyone, Annie. You shouldn’t have let her in,” she says, her voice unsteady, and seeing her like this makes something inside me tighten.
The car door opens.
I turn slowly, my breath catching as the woman steps out.
And immediately… something feels wrong.
She’s wearing a leopard-print halter-neck dress, her short hair messy and uneven, streaked with blonde and gray.
Her skin is layered with fake tan, her face lined in a way that doesn’t match anything I imagined, and there’s a cigarette hanging from her mouth as she takes a long drag before flicking it to the ground and crushing it beneath her heel.
I swallow hard.
Then I notice her arms, tattoos covering them, ink layered over ink, and the reality hits me all at once.
This is not what I pictured.
Not even close.
“Annie, go into the living room,” Mum says quietly, stepping forward.
“Mum—”
“Now, sweetheart.” There’s something in her tone that makes me hesitate, but as the woman keeps approaching, unease settles deep in my chest, and I find myself doing exactly what Mum says. I move into the living room but sit right on the edge of the couch, close enough to hear everything.
“Who are you?” Mum asks, blocking the doorway.
“Is Annie here?” the woman replies, her gravelly voice making me cringe.
“Who. Are. You?” Mum repeats, her tone sharper now.
“I’m her biological mother, and I have a right to see her.”
“You lost that right when you abandoned her,” Mum says firmly.
“I was sick,” the woman insists. “But I’m better now, and I want to see my daughter.”
“You’re not seeing her.”
“Like hell I’m not… Annie!” she calls out suddenly.
I flinch. And before I can stop myself, I stand and walk back into the hallway.
Mum immediately turns. “Annie, go back into the living room.”
But I can’t move.
“I should talk to her,” I say quietly, even though something inside me is already pulling back. “What’s your name?” I ask.
She smiles wide, revealing blackened teeth, one missing entirely, and I have to force myself not to stare.
“Loretta Banks, honey. I’ve missed you every day since I left you.”
The words hit hard, and I feel something inside me crack.
Mum reaches down and takes my hand, holding on tight.
“How did you find me?” I ask, my voice barely steady.
“I asked questions at the adoption agency,” she says.
“They gave me your parents’ first names, and there aren’t many Colters and Deliahs in England.
Plus, you look just like me. You have to be my little girl.
I’ve finally found you.” She steps forward, arms opening like she expects me to run to her.
Instead, I step back, pressing into Mum.
“I just want to get to know my baby,” she says.
Tears fall freely now as I cling to Mum, overwhelmed by everything crashing together inside me.
“We’ll arrange DNA testing,” Mum says firmly. “Until then, you need to leave. You’re scaring her.”
For a moment, it feels like she might argue.
Instead, Loretta nods slowly. “I’ll organize it,” she says. “But I know she’s mine. I can feel it.” Then she turns and walks back to her car.
Mum shuts the door hard before turning and pulling me into a tight embrace. I cry into her shoulder while she holds me so firmly it almost hurts.
“Are you okay?” she asks softly.
I nod against her, even though it feels like everything I’ve ever wanted… and everything I’ve ever feared has just collided right in front of me.