Julian settled beside me with careful grace, his presence immediately calming. He pulled me into his lap. His arms came around me as he put his face into the crook of my neck, taking a deep breath.
"You smell like home," he murmured against my skin, his voice carrying a hint of possessiveness that made my heart flutter. "Are you feeling any better after cooking with Christopher?"
I leaned into his embrace, allowing myself to draw strength from his solid presence. "It helped. He's good at distracting me."
"That's his gift," Julian said, a smile in his voice. "Finding the perfect way to bring joy into difficult moments."
We sat in comfortable silence for a few minutes, his steady heartbeat against my back grounding me in the present. I traced idle patterns on his forearm, gathering my thoughts.
"The statement went out," Julian said finally, his voice gentle but matter-of-fact. "It's been well-received so far. Professional, dignified, and focused on our happiness together rather than addressing any controversy."
I nodded, grateful for his straightforward approach. "Thank you for telling me.”
"Your post has over fifty thousand likes now," he added, his fingers combing gently through my hair. "The outpouring of support has been... remarkable."
I leaned back against his chest, letting his words sink in. "I never expected strangers to care so much about my happiness."
"People recognize authenticity when they see it," Julian murmured, his lips brushing my temple. "And they can sense when someone has found something genuine."
I turned slightly in his arms, searching his face. "Has there been any more from my mother?"
His expression remained carefully neutral, but I could feel the slight tension in his shoulders. "She's made a few more attempts to contact you through various platforms. Nicolaus has been monitoring and blocking as needed."
"And publicly?" I asked, feeling dread prickle up in my stomach.
Julian hesitated for just a moment. "She released a brief statement to a few society publications expressing concern about your 'impulsive decisions’. “
“Is she doing this because she didn’t get what she wanted out of our courtship agreement?” I asked him, wanting to know why she is acting like this when she wanted this in the first place.
Julian’s jaw tensed subtly, but his voice remained even—measured in that way he always was when walking the edge of fury and restraint.
“Yes,” he said quietly. “At first, she thought it was a win, that by handing you over to us, she’d gain influence, or at the very least, favor. But when it became clear you weren’t following the script she’d written for you—when she realized you weren’t going to be a decorative Omega playing by her rules—her opinion changed.”
I let out a slow breath and pulled the blanket higher around my shoulders. “So much for being her pride and joy.”
Julian’s arms tightened around me, protectively, possessively as he repositioned me so I could lean my head against his chest.. “You were never her pride, Lilianna. You were her asset. The moment you stopped fitting the mold she’d carved for you, she tried to cut you out.”
“I don’t think she ever really sawme,” I said, my voice barely above a whisper. “Just this version she could parade around to her friends. The perfectly trained Omega daughter.”
“She didn’t deserve you,” Julian said simply. “And she certainly doesn’t deserve the woman you’re becoming now.”
I swallowed the knot forming in my throat, grateful for the steady beat of his heart under my cheek. “I thought it would feel freeing to finally break away from her. But sometimes I still feel like I’m waiting for her approval. Isn’t that pathetic?”
“It’s human,” he said, his fingers brushing gently over my scalp. “You were raised to believe her approval was survival. That disobedience meant rejection. It takes time to unlearn that.”
“I don’t want to care anymore.” I told him, feeling confident in my words, because I was certain what I wanted now.
“You will—until one day, you won’t. And until then, we’ll keep reminding you of who you areoutsideof her shadow.” He told me softly, his hand pulling me away from him a bit so I could look at him.
I let him, looking up at him then, his blue eyes impossibly tender behind the sharp edges of his composure. “You’ve all given me more patience than I probably deserve.”
Julian gave a faint huff of amusement, as his eyes caught my own. “We’ve given you exactly what youdodeserve. Time, space, and unconditional love. The rest is up to you.”
My eyes welled up, and I blinked rapidly, not wanting to cry again. I was tired of crying. “I don’t know what I did to deserve you.”
He leaned down, pressing his forehead to mine. “You existed. That was enough.” For a moment, the world narrowed to the quiet between us—the low hum of the house, the scent of cedar and smoke clinging to Julian’s shirt, the warmth of his arms keeping out the ghosts of my past.
Then his voice broke the silence again, soft but purposeful. “Lucian spoke to Nicolaus earlier.”
