59. CHAPTER 59
SEBASTIAN
I hadn’t celebrated Christmas for a long time—not since my mum had died.
The two years Maria and Aria had lived with us, they’d spent them with family in Kent because my dad wasn’t about. Maria had invited me both times, but I’d never wanted to go and pretend it was a happy holiday.
In my house, it was just another day, nothing special. There wasn’t even a Christmas tree.
My dad would buy me some expensive gift that I never wanted, but he wasn’t ever there to give it to me. It was usually the nanny I had at the time, and when I got older and didn’t need one, it was Clive, the groundsman. Even he was more of a father figure than mine ever was.
No—I didn’t care about Christmas. I was doing all of this for Aria, because she did.
I leaned on the door-frame to the kitchen, smiling, watching Aria cooking with her mum. She looked so happy, laughing and joking with her.
I felt a hand on my shoulder and turned to see James smiling. “They look happy.”
“Yeah, they do.”
The doorbell rang. “That’ll probably be my daughter,” James said, then turned and walked towards the door.
Aria looked up, smiling at me. I walked further into the kitchen, kissing her on the forehead as I reached her. She was peeling potatoes, and her mum was making coffee for everyone.
“Here you go, Sebastian,” Maria said, handing me a cup.
“Thank you,” I replied, taking it.
“Are you ok?” Aria asked me quietly.
“Yeah, I’m fine.” I smiled.
Aria knew it wasn’t easy for me being around people at Christmas because of how mine was, and I was trying to get into the Christmas spirit, but I think she could tell I felt uncomfortable at times.
“Aria, Sebastian,” James said, as we looked up at him. “This is my daughter, Claire, and her husband, Mason.”
A little girl, around five years old with big brown curls bouncing as she ran, was being chased by a young boy, maybe a year older, through the kitchen into the back garden.
“Excuse them—they were excited to play in the snow.” Claire laughed. “You must be Aria,” she said, walking over and hugging her. “It’s so nice to finally meet you.”
She turned around to face me as I took a sip of coffee. “You must be the stepbrother turned boyfriend.”
I nearly choked on my coffee.
“I can see why.” She smiled at Aria. “He is quite handsome. I’d probably have done the same.”
“Please excuse my wife; she has no filter,” Mason said, his voice fully apologetic.
Aria’s cheeks flushed, and her eyes darted off to her mum, who mouthed an apology.
“No worries at all,” I told Mason, extending my hand, and he shook it.
I took hold of Aria’s hand, squeezing softly so she knew I was there if she needed me. If we had never been stepsiblings, I would never have met the kindest, most beautiful woman I now called mine. I didn’t feel ashamed; that was how we’d met, and I wouldn’t change it for the world.
“And this is my son, Jackson,” James said. “He works with me in my law firm.”
Jackson was nearly as tall as me, his dark hair falling over his almost-black eyes. He was dressed sharply in a shirt and trousers.
Jackson took a step forward, extending his hand to Aria. “It’s so nice to finally meet you. I’ve heard so much about you.”
“My mum’s told me a lot about you, too.”
My hand slid around her waist, pulling her back to me as I glared at him. He must have known, because he finished looking at Aria, then over to me. I could already tell that this Christmas was going to be a day to remember.
We hadn’t long finished having dinner, and Aria was in the garden, making a snowman with the kids.
Jackson had joined her, playing with his niece and nephew.
I rested my arms on the decking rail, looking out in the garden, my eyes fixed on her.
She would make a good mum one day. Kids were never something I could imagine in my future with the way I was brought up, but seeing Aria like this … maybe I could with her.
“She seems really happy with you, Sebastian,” Maria said, resting her arms on the decking rail next to me.
Was Aria truly happy with me after everything that had happened? If it weren’t for me, Nicholas wouldn’t have used her as a pawn in his sick power play.
“I hope you’ll look after her and keep her safe for me,” she added.
“I will.”
I would burn the whole world if it meant keeping Aria safe. I would do everything in my power to make sure no one ever hurt her again.
Aria jogged over to me. “I’m freezing; I need to warm up.”
I wrapped my arms around her. “I’ll take you upstairs.”
Aria sat on the bed, texting Serfina. She was probably keeping Aria updated with the latest gossip. This woman was truly amazing, after everything she had been through. She managed to have so much warmth and made time for people, even though she was still healing.
I put my hand in my jacket pocket, which lay on the chair, and pulled out a black velvet box.
I hadn’t wanted to give it to her in front of everyone.
“Nyx,” I said gently, sitting on the bed next to her.
“Yeah,” she replied, placing her phone down.
“I got you something.”
She narrowed her eyes at me, looking confused.
She took the box from my hands and opened it.
Her eyes lit up at the platinum chain decorated with a crescent moon pendant, dotted with moonstones that shimmered blues and greys in the light.
A butterfly pendant sat next to it, encrusted with pink, purple, and clear diamonds.
She was my Nyx, that moon that lit the night sky from darkness.
She was that light to me. The butterfly?
Well, it was beautiful and free—just like she was.
“Sebastian,” she whispered, touching the necklace, then looking up at me. “This is beautiful.”
I took it from the box as she held her hair up, and I softly placed it around her neck, clipping the clasp shut. Her hair slowly fell back down as I wrapped my arms around her, tracing my lips over her neck.
“You will always be my Nyx. I love you,” I whispered.
“Whose idea was it to get ice cream in this weather?” Aria said as we sat on a bench at Central Park in the bitter cold.
“Yours,” I replied, dabbing some on her nose.
Her mouth opened in mock outrage.
I threw the rest of mine in the bin, then placed my hands on her cheeks, kissing the ice cream from the tip of her nose.
And I knew in that moment that I needed to be honest with her about everything. I couldn’t keep it a secret anymore.
About who I was and who I had always been. I swallowed hard. What if she couldn’t accept it?
“Nyx, I need to tell you something.”
She looked at me, confusion in her eyes.
“Sebastian, you’re scaring me. What is it?” Her voice was a little shaky.
I took her hand and held it tight. “You know I was involved with underground fighting when we were younger?”
She nodded.
“Well, it was kind of a bit more than that.”
She studied my eyes for a few seconds. “Ok.” She squeezed my hand.
My heart was pounding, trying to break free from its cage. My palms felt sweaty, and I was surprised Aria hadn’t noticed.
“Part of the reason I left four years ago was because I was involved with an underground crime ring. When my granddad died, I went to a place darker than I had been. Then you came along. This light in the darkness. You still are. I didn’t want you to be involved in it.
You calmed the chaos in me. I wanted to protect you from it all.
” I took hold of her other hand, and my eyes flickered to them.
“You deserved so much more back then. Even now, Nyx, sometimes I wonder why you’d ever be with a man like me. ”
The silence was deafening, and it felt like an eternity before she spoke.
“Was that how you found me?”
I nodded tightly.
“And the other people?”
“Logan and the guys worked with me. They’re loyal. Never left my side.”
“And Nicholas?”
“I got rid of him for what he did to you. He had to pay for that.”
There was more silence for a moment.
“I … I’m glad, in a way. Otherwise I think I’d always be looking over my shoulder.”
“I never thought I could love anyone but you, Nyx. You have my heart. It belongs to you.”
She leaned in, kissing my lips. “I love you, Sebastian Knight. I always will.”
I walked into the bedroom, placing a coffee for Aria down before we started packing for our flight back to London tomorrow.
“What are you doing?” I asked, watching her look through her phone.
“Looking for somewhere to live,” she replied, her eyes still on the screen.
But why?
She lived with me.
Didn’t she?
I shifted on the bed, clearing my throat awkwardly. “Don’t you want to live with me?”
She looked up from her phone. “I’m sure you don’t want me in your space forever.”
“I always want you in my space. I don’t want you anywhere else. Stay.”
“What, like … properly move in?”
“Yes,” I told her, smiling.
“Are you sure?” she asked, excitement running through her voice.
“Of course. I thought you already had,” I admitted.
She wrapped her arms around my neck, and I placed mine around her waist. I couldn’t help but smile. She seemed so happy. I didn’t want her anywhere else but with me. She was this bright spark running through me, setting everything alight. I never wanted it to go out.
I looked over at my phone lighting up on the bedside table.
Seven missed call notifications.
It was my dad.
The screen lit up again with his number flashing. I clicked the side button and placed it back on the table. I didn’t want to talk to him. I didn’t care what he wanted; he wasn’t going to ruin this moment.
Aria lay asleep on my chest as I stroked her hair. The nightmares she had been having had stopped since we’d been here, and she finally looked peaceful in her sleep again.
My Nyx.
My little light in the dark.
This woman was amazing and powerful. Everything we had been through in the last seven months had led us to where we were now.
And this was only the beginning for us.