His thumb gently wipes a tear from my cheek. "I'm sorry, Keira. For everything I've put you through since I came back. For not giving you a chance to explain. For letting my thirst for revenge blind me to the truth."
His forehead drops to rest against mine. "Ten years you carried this burden alone. Ten years I missed with our daughter." He lifts his head. “God, she must be terrified of me.”
I stare at Phoenix, unable to fully process the transformation happening before me. This man who returned with vengeance in his heart now kneels before me, pain in his eyes, speaking words I never thought I'd hear.
"I want to know her, Keira. I want to be her father. I want to make up for all the time I've lost with both of you." His hands tighten around mine. "But I know I haven't earned that right. Not after how I've treated you. Not after the threats, the humiliation, the pain I've caused."
He takes a deep breath. "If you want out of this marriage, I'll understand. I'll let you go—you and Brigit. You can be free of me, of all of this."
My breath catches. Is he offering me freedom? After everything that's happened, after the loyalty pledge, after parading me in front of Boston's underworld as his conquest?
"What?" I whisper, not trusting my ears.
"I won't force you to marry a man you fear. I won't make our daughter grow up watching her mother suffer."
The sincerity in his eyes makes my heart ache. This is the Phoenix I remember, the one who would sacrifice his own happiness for mine.
"But if you stay, I swear to you, Keira, I will spend every day trying to be worthy of you both. I will be the husband you deserved ten years ago. I will be the father Brigit needs."
He cups my face in his hands, his touch gentle. “You won’t believe this, but I never stopped loving you. Even when I thought I hated you, even when I was planning my revenge—some part of me still loved you." His thumbs brush away my tears. "I buried that love under anger and pain, but it never died. And now, knowing what you've endured, what you've sacrificed for our daughter… I love you more than I ever thought possible."
I stare at Phoenix, his words echoing in my mind. Freedom. He's offering me freedom after everything. But is that what I want? What Brigit needs?
The truth is, I want what Phoenix offered me ten years ago. For the first time since his return, I feel it’s possible. But I’m not a naïve eighteen-year-old anymore. I’ve seen what the last ten years have done to Phoenix. I’d be a fool to think that in the span of the last few minutes the brutal, vengeful part of him is completely gone.
But I also understand that this moment is more about me and Phoenix and Brigit. Our world is unstable. The Ifrinns, while showing their authority, need to solidify it. I understand that this marriage is a part of that. The stronger Phoenix is, the safer Brigit is.
I stand, needing space to consider the best option for me and Brigit. Phoenix releases my hands, letting me go.
"The families who pledged loyalty today did so because they believe in the union of Ifrinn and Kean. If I walk away now, what happens to that peace?” I move to the window, looking out, thinking about the people who've come to witness not just a wedding, but a shift in power.
"Our marriage gives her legitimacy in this world. It gives her protection. As much as I wanted to shield her from all this, she was born into it. We can't change that."
I turn back to Phoenix. He’s standing, watching me, and I see him now with new eyes. Not the boy I loved, not the vengeful man who returned, but something in between. Someone trying to merge the two and find his way as both.
"I'll marry you today," I tell him. "For Brigit. For the stability it brings. For the chance to build something better than what came before us."
I step closer to him, reaching up to hold his face between my palms. "But know this. My trust isn't something you can demand or take. It's something you'll have to earn back, day by day. I loved you once with my whole heart. Part of me never stopped. But love isn't enough without trust."
His hands come up to cover mine. "I understand. And I'll spend the rest of my life earning back what I destroyed."
"We need to talk to Brigit," I say, my voice steadier now. "She must be terrified."
Phoenix nods, a flash of regret crossing his features. "I never meant for her to see that. I didn't know—" He stops himself. "It doesn't matter what I didn't know. She's my daughter, and I scared her."
I nod.
“Do we tell her? Of course we do, but when? Now?” His energy changes. It builds into an excitement. A joy. A lightness I haven't seen since he returned.
“Now is a good time.” The wedding can wait.
Phoenix must think so too as he says, “Let's go.” He offers me his hand.
We walk together to Brigit's room where Phoenix’s guards stand outside the door. “You can go,” he tells them. As they walk off, he says, “I won’t put guards like that again, Keira, I promise. I won’t be like your father.”
I squeeze his hand, hope building in me that everything will work out.
We open the door.
