Chapter 52
fifty-two
Zach
The moment we step inside the apartment, I feel the difference.
Not in anything obvious. Nothing loud or dramatic. No single moment I can point to and say that’s it.
It’s quieter than that.
Deeper.
The kind of shift you only notice when you’ve been holding tension in your body for so long that the absence of it feels almost foreign.
The apartment breathes differently.
And then I see them.
Lia is standing near the couch, turning toward us as the door closes, and Elijah is already beside her, not watching, not hovering, not holding himself rigid like he’s afraid of getting too close.
He’s just… there.
With her.
There’s ease in him that hasn’t been there since we pulled her out of that cabin. It’s in the way his shoulders sit lower, in the way his attention is on her without that sharp edge of control cutting through everything.
And Lia, God, she looks lighter.
Not completely untouched by everything, not magically healed, but back. There’s warmth in her expression again, something soft and steady that had been missing, something that tells me whatever happened between them while we were gone, it mattered.
Relief settles into my chest before I can stop it.
Jackson doesn’t hesitate.
He’s across the room in seconds, his entire focus narrowing onto her like the rest of the world has dropped away.
“How’s my sweetheart,” he says, voice warm, bright with something that wasn’t there yesterday, “and our little baby princess?”
His hand slides to her stomach, rubbing gently before he crouches, pressing a kiss there like it already belongs to him.
Lia laughs, the sound soft and real and exactly what we needed.
“How do you know it’s a girl?”
Jackson looks up at her with that grin, that unshakable certainty that somehow always works.
“Because I just know,” he says. “We’re gonna have a little girl to spoil.”
His hand stays there, warm and steady.
“And her mom is definitely going to make her a princess.”
Then his eyes flick toward Elijah, a flash of mischief cutting through everything.
“And,” he adds, “a girl would give Elijah a heart attack, so I think the universe owes me that.”
Elijah rolls his eyes, but there’s no bite in it. No tension. Just something familiar.
“It doesn’t matter if it’s a boy or a girl,” he says, stepping in closer, his hand coming up to cup the back of Lia’s neck. The gesture is instinctive. Possessive. Natural.
He leans in, pressing a kiss to her temple, his thumb brushing lightly against her skin.
“I’m just happy we’re having a baby.”
That’s when I know for certain.
He’s back.
Not completely free of what’s sitting under the surface, but back where he belongs with her.
I move toward them then, slower, letting myself feel it instead of rushing through it. When I reach her, I don’t speak straight away, I just touch her.
My hand sliding along her arm, grounding myself in the fact that she’s here, that she’s warm, that she’s real.
Then I pull her into me and kiss her.
Slow.
Deep.
Present.
Not rushed. Not restrained. Just… connected.
“How are you doing?” I murmur against her lips when I pull back.
“A lot better,” she says, and I can feel it in the way she leans into me instead of holding herself back. “I feel… more like myself.”
“I can see that.”
And I can. In every small movement. In the way she holds herself. In the way she looks at us.
“I’m glad the two of you had a moment,” I add quietly, my gaze flicking to Elijah for a second before returning to her.
She smiles, softer this time.
“We needed it,” she says. “And I think… I think I’ve got him back.”
“I told you,” I say gently. “He wouldn’t be gone for long.”
My hand drifts down to her stomach, resting there for a second before I lean in and kiss her again, softer now, letting the moment settle.
Jackson guides her to the couch, already talking, already asking about her writing, his attention locked onto her in that way that’s so purely him it almost makes me smile.
I stay standing for a moment longer. Watching. Letting myself take it in. And then Elijah’s phone buzzes.
The shift is immediate. Not sharp like before. But enough.
He looks down at the screen, and whatever he sees pulls something darker back into his expression.
I step closer.
“What’s wrong?”
He doesn’t answer straight away.
“Alex Vargas,” he says finally.
My focus sharpens.
“What about him?”
He lifts his gaze to mine.
“He’s dead.”
I let that settle. Not shocked. Not entirely.
“Is that going to come back on you?”
He shakes his head slightly.
“I don’t think so. Christian’s been handling it. They’re calling it a reaction to medication. Charges were already dropped.”
Clean.
Or as clean as it gets.
“That’s one thing off the board,” I say.
“Yes,” he replies, his jaw tightening. “But the rest of the Vargas family is still out there.”
The tension sits under his words now. Controlled. But present.
“We haven’t tracked Mateo since he landed. He’s gone to ground. And we know he’s going to make a move.”
From the couch, Jackson leans forward slightly.
“We’ll deal with it,” he says, calm, certain.
Not dismissive. Grounded. We will. Because we have to.
He glances between us, then looks back at Lia, something shifting in his expression.
“I’ve been thinking about something,” he says.
She tilts her head slightly.
“What about?”
He exhales once.
“About us. About… what comes next.”
My attention sharpens. Because I know this tone. This matters.
“You’re already married to Elijah,” he says. “And you didn’t get a real wedding.”
Her expression softens immediately.
“So,” he continues, “once you’re ready… we do one.”
She blinks.
“A wedding?”
“A ceremony,” he clarifies. “But also a commitment ceremony.”
His gaze flicks to me.
“For all of us.”
The room stills slightly.
“At the same time,” he continues, “Zach and I give you rings. You give us rings. It might not be legal, but to everyone else, and to us, it’s the same thing.”
Something settles in my chest. Deep. Unexpected. Right.
Lia’s eyes fill.
“I love that,” she says, her voice soft, emotional in a way that hits harder than anything else today. “I really love that.”
And I realize, I do too.
More than I expected. More than I knew I would. Because it’s not about legality. It’s about claiming.
It’s about standing beside her and saying this is mine, this is ours, this is real.
I glance at Elijah, waiting. Because if anyone pushes back, it will be him. But he doesn’t. He nods once.
“I’m fine with that.”
Jackson raises a brow slightly.
“That’s it?”
Elijah shrugs.
“If you think I haven’t accepted what this is,” he says calmly, “then you’re underestimating me.”
No tension.
No fight.
Just truth.
“I know you both love her,” he adds. “And I know she loves you.”
Something shifts again. Quieter this time. But just as important. I lean forward slightly.
“There’s something I need to say too.”
They all look at me.
“Now that we’ve lost this game… we’re out of playoff contention.”
Jackson nods once.
“We are.”
I take a breath.
“I’m going to announce my retirement at the gala.”
Lia’s eyes widen.
“Retirement?”
I nod.
“During the foundation speech. I’m going to step away at the end of the season.”
The words don’t feel heavy. They feel… settled.
“I want to focus on the foundation,” I continue. “Work with my sister. Maybe start coaching kids. Give myself time to figure out what’s next.”
She studies me carefully.
“Are you sure?”
I meet her gaze.
“Yeah.”
And I am.
“This last game just made it clear,” I say quietly. “My body’s done. My head’s done. And I don’t want to keep splitting myself between two lives when I already know which one matters more. I’m ready for the next chapter.”
She smiles softly.
“Then I support you.”
Jackson nods.
“Same here.”
Elijah gives a small, approving nod.
“Do it.”
And just like that, it settles. Not as something I’m losing. But something I’m choosing. I lean back slightly, letting the quiet of it sink in. Letting the certainty settle where doubt used to sit.
Because for the first time in a long time, I’m not torn between who I was and who I’m becoming.
I’m exactly where I’m supposed to be.