Page 128 of When Love Found Us
This is ours.
Forever.
Atlas’s Epilogue
She’s so tiny.
So fragile. So perfect.
I hold Everly against my chest, staring down at the little person who just wrecked me with a single cry.
Her fingers curl into my shirt, clutching at me like she already knows I’m hers, her face scrunching up before relaxing against my warmth. I swear I stop breathing.
I wasn’t prepared for this.
Not for the overwhelming, suffocating, all-consuming love that crashes into me like a tidal wave, drowning me in something I’ll never recover from.
I should have known. I should have fucking known.
Because from the moment I felt her kick, from the moment I saw her on that sonogram, she was mine.
And now—she’s here.
Real. Breathing. Looking up at me like I’m already supposed to know how to be her father.
My throat burns. My chest feels like it’s caving in.
She’s not my blood. Not my DNA.
But she’s mine in every single way that matters.
I shift her gently in my arms, pressing my lips to her soft, warm forehead.
“Hey, baby girl,” I whisper, my voice breaking. “You have no idea how much I love you.”
She makes a tiny sound—half a sigh, half a contented little noise that absolutely destroys me.
I exhale shakily, resting my forehead against hers for half a second, closing my eyes.
She’s mine.
Everly Louette Timberbridge is my daughter.
And I will burn this world to the fucking ground to keep her safe.
I glance up, finding Blythe watching me. Her expression is so full of love, so full of something deep and certain it steals the last breath from my lungs.
“She’s our little girl,” I say, my voice raw.
Blythe smiles, tears slipping down her cheeks. “Yeah, Atlas. She’s ours to love and protect.”
I look down at Everly, cupping her tiny head, holding her like she’s my entire universe.
“I’ll never let anything happen to you, baby girl,” I whisper. A vow. A promise. A fucking truth carved into my bones. “You’re mine. And I’m yours. Forever.”
Her tiny fist curls around my finger.
And just like that—I’m gone.
