Page 137 of Money Reigns
“We can be normal even if you have money, War.”
Fuck, I love that.Love her saying my name like it belongs to her now. Like she branded it.
The way she says normal. The word doesn’t exist in my world, but she says it like maybe it could.
I sit on the edge of the bed, watching her fold one of my sweaters, one she stole three nights ago and slept in.
“You won’t like them,” I say quietly.
She pauses, eyes flicking to mine. “Your parents?”
I nod once. “My mother will act sweet. Smile. Ask questions. But every word’s a knife wrapped in velvet. Every sentence, an underlying critique.”
Olivia folds slower now.
“And my father…” My jaw tightens. “He’ll try to gut me. Gut me and my brothers without ever raising his voice. He doesn’t need to.”
Her face softens. “I can handle it.”
I believe her.
She’s tougher than she looks.
“If you get uncomfortable,” she adds gently, “we can leave. Or I’ll stay at the hotel and explore Paris on my own. I don’t mind, War.”
That fucking bothers me.
The thought of her wandering Paris alone while I sit at that table in their home, while they try to break me, burns through me hotter than the rage in my chest.
“No.”
My voice comes out sharper than I meant, and she looks up in surprise.
I stand, crossing to her in two strides. My hands slide around her waist, pulling her close until she’s right against my chest.
“You stay with me,” I say, firm. “You don’t get left behind. Not by me. Notever.”
She stares at me, wide-eyed. Her fingers curl into the hem of my shirt.
“They may as well get used to you being around,” I add.
Her brows furrow. “Used to me being around?”
I nod.
“Yeah, Olivia. You’re not mine for a season. You’re mine forever.”
Silence stretches between us. Thick. Heavy.
A word I never said to anyone before yet feels completelynormalto say to her.
Forever.
No take-backs. No apologies.
I mean every word.
She blinks once. Then again. Her lips part, but no sound comes out.
