Page 215 of The Sweetest Obsession

The truth will set you free.

That’s not just a Bible verse anymore. It’s something everybody in this room has lived and breathed.

Only question now is what the hell we do with that freedom.

I haven’t figured it all out, not yet, but I’ve got a few ideas.

Inhaling slowly, I brush her hair back and kiss the top of her head.

“I had to know. Same as you. Now, we’ve got our answers, and Aleksander Arrendell will never hurt anybody again,” I whisper.

It goes quiet then.

Just the sound of running water in the bathroom, the faint beep of Angela’s monitor, and the soft sounds of Ophelia breathing softly as she settles in my arms.

I let her stay with me while she processes the shock.

Over her head, I catch Angela’s eye.

Her mother studies me for a long moment, something sad yet warm in her gaze, before her mouth curls and she gives me a subtle nod.

That’s when my breath stalls and it hits me.

She sees me.

She knows how much her daughter means to me.

She looks at me like I’ve always been family, and not in the creepy fucking Arrendell way.

And she’s telling me it’s all right to make that a reality.

That if I want to catch Ophelia while she’s spinning, if I want to keep her and never let her go, I don’t need to dillydally with the usual slow-burn shit.

I already have the blessing of the woman Ophelia loves most.

I just have to man the fuck up and gather my courage.

I have to find the right words one more time to tear my heart open and ask one simple question.

* * *

It’sa quiet farewell when we exit the medical center together, leaving Angela and Ros to talk and comfort each other.

We walk silently, hand in hand, until we part ways at the station.

I still need to file a proper report with Mason Law’s confession while the details are fresh in my mind.

“I’ll be home soon,” I promise, cupping her cheek and kissing her in the street, her cold-reddened nose brushing mine.

Her kiss comes slow and delicately wanting, all gentleness and parted lips that beckon me inside like she needs me to fill her. I oblige, sinking into her with my eyes closed until there’s nothing but her darkness, her heat, the curl of her breath against my cheeks.

It’s so hard to pull back it hurts, but I do, smiling faintly.

“Be safe.”

“It’s just a few blocks,” she teases, her cheeks flushed with more than just the cold. “But I will.”

She turns and walks away, wrapped up in one of my flannels and still shivering.

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