Page 93 of No Mercy

My heart that used to be old and rusty has been healing the past few days. The moment she saidI do, the last patch of dead skin sloughed off, and my heart beat like it never has before—free and hopeful.Shedid that for me. “You’re killing me, Angel.”

“Maybe this will help.” She leans forward, reaching between us, and slides me home.

“Fuuuuck,” I groan as if I’ve never been inside a woman before. And maybe I haven’t. Not a real one. Not one like my Angel, sent from heaven to deliver me from hell.

On her knees, she rests her palms on my chest. “Something hit me today.”

She rounds her hips, but I still her by gripping her thighs. “If you want me to listen, don’t move.” Maybe giving the beast what he wanted wasn’t such a good idea.

Her knowing smile tells me she saw this coming. But whatever. I’m where I want to be. I’ll listen to whatever she has to say.

“I’ve had a hard time getting over Austin.”

Her already watering eyes have me sitting up. “Hold on.” I maneuver so I can rest against the headboard. It’s gonna be one ofthosekind of chats, and I need to be present for every second of it, and that means eye contact and being face to face. “Sorry. Go ahead.”

Biting her lip, she gets lost in her thoughts.

I squeeze her leg. “Don’t filter. Just tell me. Remember, I don’t expect you not to be impacted by your time with him. I don’t begrudge you that.”

She rests her hands on mine, linking our fingers. “He lied so much, it’s hard to know what was real about the last nine years, but here’s a few facts I believe to be true.”

Leaning forward, I kiss her mouth in encouragement. I’m all good with whatever she says. She’s mine. Not his. I win.

“Austin promised me a happily ever after. He just never said it was withhim.”

“What—”

“He brought me toyou. I wouldn’tknowyou if it wasn’t for my connection to him.” She places her forehead against mine. “Secretly, unrequitedly, shamefully I’ve always had a thing for you. From the first moment I saw you, I felt a zing of connection. But I ignored it because of him.” Her voice cracks, and I wrap her in my arms.

“I felt it too, Angel. Every fucking day. I felt it. I knew when you walked in a room. I could feel when you were hurt and when you were happy. I was such an ass to you because I felt it so deeply. I had to be sure we didn’t act on it. You were his.” We lock eyes. “I’m an asshole, but I’m no cheater.”

“I know, Gabriel. I know. But there’s something else.”

Shit, there’s more?

“The entire time he and I were together—nine friggin’ years—we never once had a pregnancy scare. Not once.” She kisses me softly before murmuring across my lips. “I’m with you one month, and I’m pregnant.He’swith someone else and ends up knocking her up.”

She places her hand over my racing heart and says, “It was always you.”

“Jesus, fuck, Angel, Austin said the exact same words to me… “Maybe it was always you.”

Her smile is blinding as a single tear skates down her cheek. “He was never my happily ever after. It was always you, Gabriel. Only. Ever. You.”

Fuck. Me.“Only ever you, Angel.”

As our mouths crash together and our bodies start to move—finally, our pasts and our futures click into place.

Every hardship, asshole move, and broken heart have brought us to this moment. To our joining, the merging of two souls, both broken and yet healed by the other. The baby in her womb, the outcome of our love, and proof of destiny stepping in, giving us both what we wanted but never expected.

Our one and only.

Our fucking forever after.

PREGNANCY: DAY 280

IBREAK DOWN THE LAST BOX,bundling it away with a few others in case we need them in the future. The rest are to be disposed of on recycling day. It’s amazing how much stuff I’ve acquired over the years. My sweet Angel only had a handful of boxes for her clothes and personal items. Afewfucking boxes. It still guts me at how little she had in her apartment with Austin before he fucked everything up and I won theShe’s My Fucking AngelLottery. That was nearly a year ago and she still hasn’t procured much to call her own.

That shit changes right now. I’d take her out today to buy out whatever store she wants, but my wife is resting as dinner warms on the stove and cornbread cooks in the oven. Our little man, still cooking inheroven is due any day now. She’s in the waddling, cringe-with-every-step, can’t-stop-peeing, and feels-like-she’s-as big-as-our-new-house phase.

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