Page 93 of Pastel Kisses

Every word feels like it’s coming from underwater. Muffled. Slurred. Distant.

Still, I hear it.

And I know.

I’m not going to make it.

Not this time.

But Jax is alive. Our baby is still with us. That’s enough for me. I’d do it all over again if it meant they were safe.

A noise at the door draws my attention, and I turn my head slightly, the movement slow, like I’m made of stone. Through my hazy vision, I see movement—a rush of bodies.

All at once, their eyes find me—and stay. Like magnets pulled to the center of their world.

In the seconds that follow, everything shifts.

Their steps falter. Their chests hitch. The cocky bravado, the controlled calm they wore just moments ago? It slips. One by one, their expressions crack. Horror dawns like a sunrise they never asked for.

Liam’s jaw locks so hard a muscle ticks beneath his cheek, the vein at his temple pulsing with barely restrained emotion. Beside him, Lennox staggers a step, like someone just punched the air from his lungs.

Neither of them says a word—but they don’t have to. Their faces say it all. The stunned disbelief. The panic clawing at the edges of their control. The gut-wrenching realization that they didn’t get to me in time.

Their eyes follow the crimson path trailing behind me, the way Kamden is cradling me like I’m the only thing anchoring him to the world. And then they see it—the blade still embedded in my side. The thing none of us want to acknowledge but can’t look away from.

Liam breaks first, storming forward like a man on fire, red-eyed and wild, his voice deep and roaring with emotion—even though I can barely make it out. Lennox is right behind him, his normally steady expression crumbling, his jaw clenched and eyes glassy. My dad trails them, finally having stepped into the room, and the way his face falls the moment he sees me hits harder than any blade.

They drop beside me.

Blink.

Liam’s hands are shaking as he reaches for me.

Blink.

Lennox’s whisper is a prayer and a plea.

Blink.

They’re surrounding me now, forming a wall of warmth and devotion—my protectors, my soulmates.

A small part of me smiles inside. Our Bean will grow up with more love than any child could hope for. They’ll be surrounded by strength, laughter, loyalty—and the kind of love that spans lifetimes.

I try to speak again, to tell them I love them. That I’m okay. That they were the best thing to ever happen to me.

But the words don’t come.

My lips move.

Nothing follows.

And as the world tilts, darkness curls around the edges of my vision, pulling me into quiet… I let go.

Because if this is the end, I’m ending wrapped in love.

EPILOGUE

Jaxton

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