“Sapphire,” he said, his voice softer than I’d ever heard it.
I looked up, meeting his gaze.
“I love you.”
The words hit me like a punch to the gut, but in the best possible way. I smiled, my heart aching with relief, and nodded. “Me too,Tío. I love you forever and even after that.”
And then he was gone, and I sat back against the pillows, my hand resting on Logan’s, and for the first time in a rather long time, I felt like I could breathe.
Just breathe. Nothing else.
A Few Weeks Later
Isat at the head of the long oak table in Henley’s dining room, staring at the empty chairs around me, my fingers idly tracing the grain of the wood. The room smelled faintly of old leather and dust, a lingering scent that spoke of years of family dinners and love that would never be happening again. The walls were lined with shelves of old books—some real, some for show—and a few framed black-and-white photographs of Henley’s family and friends.
She hated being in her house, but she hadn’t once complained about it, and I just knew she was brave.
The same went for the little girl stood opposite me.
“Are you sure this is smart?” Yumi stared at me as she held a file in her hand and glared with the disgust only a teenage girl could muster up. “I have never had money. I will spend things on bad items and violence.”
“If you’re telling me you can spend ten million on strippers and cocaine, then I’d honestly be surprised. That’s a lot of drugs and dances.”
She scowled harder. “You do not need to pay me. I am happy being here with you – money is not needed.”
“I’m not buying you off, YumYum.” I stole Delilah’s nickname for her. “I’m telling you, that is how much you have to start fresh. Tell me what you want and need, and you can have it; to start new and be in control of your life.”
“Money for a new life?” She still stared at the pages suspiciously. “If I say to buy someone to cut my hair off and dye it red like blood? Or to get tattoos and a car to speed?”
“You can do whatever you want with your hair. It’syourhair. As for the ink and car; you can have them when you’re old enough.” I smiled at her as soft as I could. “For now, I think it would be good to go to school and have a therapist. The boarding school Delilah goes to is excellent, and she is going back for her senior year. You could join her. Or you can stay here, and be home schooled like Angel, Diamond, Henley and Harrison are. It is your choice and that won’t come out of your money. I’ll still pay for all of it. That is just for you to buy yourself things you should have already had for fun.”
It had only been a few weeks since the night that everything changed.
The fires and bombs had swallowed my home whole, leaving behind little more than ash and rubble. There wasn’t much left—nothing, really, aside from my mama’s dance studio and most of daddy’s office. Of all the rooms in that sprawling house, those were the ones that survived, almost untouched. It was almost funny in a dark, cosmic joke kind of way that those two rooms had survived relatively okay.
The rest was rubble being demolished, to make way for something new.
Something fresh for my family.
I leaned back in my chair, rubbing the back of my neck, the ache of sleepless nights still weighing heavily on me. My Red Diamonds and various contractors were cleaning up the remains now, clearing away the debris and ash. The rebuild was already being planned, but it would be months before the house was anything like it had been. For now, I was staying here with Henley, her home a place for us all to be safe and calm whilst life went to its new normal.
Everything felt surreal. We were all in this strange limbo—caught between healing and grieving. That night had changed everything, and now we were all just trying to figure out how to move forward. Logan was still healing, Misha was barely talking, and there were these strange moments of quiet where no one quite knew what to say. It was like we were stuck in this bubble, this fragile space of uneasy peace, and no one knew how long it would last.
I had called this meeting to break through that, to bring some structure back. To rebuild, not just the house, but everything.
The door on the other side of the room creaked open, and I straightened in my chair. “We can talk more later. But think about things, okay? I meant what I said; you are my sister now and you can have whatever you need to be happy.”
Yumi nodded, her glare lessening just enough that I knew she appreciated my words and offers, as she departed the room.
Logan was the first to arrive, being pushed through in a wheelchair by Price. Price grumbled under his breath about Logan’s weight, but the teasing was light, affectionate. It was normal Price, and that was a good sign. Logan shot him a glare but didn’t say anything and he was almost smiling, too. He’d need a few more weeks to recover fully, but all things considered, he was okay too.
“Hey, pretty girl. I missed you in my bed this morning.” Logan grinned at me as Price helped him over to the couch in the corner, easing him down with care.
“I had business things to do,mi sol. But I missed you too.” I smiled right back, meaning it even if it had only been a couple of hours since I’d cuddled him last.
Lincoln followed, his usual attitude dampened by the events of the past few weeks, but not gone completely. He shot me a glare – the one he reserved for when he loved me the most - as he took his seat at the table. The dark circles under his eyes told me he hadn’t been sleeping much either.
He and Misha had been staying at their home. Just the pair of them for a little while.
