The question catches me off guard, but when I think about it, the answer is easy.
“Yeah,” I say. “I think I am.”
After everything—after he tore my life apart and meticulously put it back together—I actually believe it.
When lunch is ready, Ezra brings everything out on a tray, setting it on the coffee table in front of us. He’s quiet and attentive, the way he always is when he’s focused on taking care of me.
Quinn raises an eyebrow at him as he pours drinks for us. Mine without alcohol. “You know, you’re setting the bar really high for the rest of us. When I tell Jack about the service you’ve provided today, his number one goal will be to outdo you the next time we have our girl date at our place.”
Ezra smirks, his gaze flicking to me. “He can try.”
That sounds amazing, actually; the two of them constantly trying to outdo one another to be the better host, Quinn and I reaping all the benefits. Sign me up.
I suppose I have a lifetime membership now, though.
I can’t help but laugh, the sound feeling lighter than it has in weeks. As we dig into the food, the three of us fall into an easy rhythm, the kind of banter that feels like home.
This isn’t where I thought I’d end up—not even close. But as I sit here, surrounded by the people who matter most to me, I realize it’s exactly where I want to be.
EPILOGUE
KRUZ
8 months later…
The campus is quiet at this hour, the late evening air cool and crisp, carrying the faint scent of fall. Leaves crunch under my boots as Ezra and I walk hand in hand along the cobblestone path leading toward the library. It feels strange to be here, back in the world I fought so hard to keep after everything we went through. Strange, but good.
Classes are back in full swing, and the usual chaos of deadlines and study groups consumes most of my days. Quinn and I meet for coffee in the mornings again, laughing about the mundane dramas of student life. It’s as if the storm that once loomed over me has finally passed, leaving behind clear skies and the kind of peace I’d almost forgotten was possible.
Beside me, Ezra is silent, his thumb brushing over the back of my hand absently. He’s not the same man who pulled me into the depths of his dangerous world. He’s softer now, more at ease, though that edge of intensity is still there, simmering just beneath the surface.
He did it. He managed to restructure the Assembly, breaking it down to its core and rebuilding it into something… different. Something better. The power it once held, the shadows it thrived in, are gone. What remains is smaller, quieter, operating under new rules—rules Ezra created.
It wasn’t easy, and it sure as hell wasn’t quick. There were battles I’ll never fully understand, sacrifices he doesn’t talk about, but he did it. And when he wasn’t working to dismantle the old system, he was here, helping me, grounding me, building a life that finally feels like it belongs to both of us.
It’s a good fucking thing, I think, my free hand cradling my massive belly.
“You’re quiet,” he says suddenly, his voice pulling me out of my thoughts.
I glance up at him, his blue eyes catching the faint glow of the streetlights. “Just thinking.”
“About?”
“How weirdly normal everything feels.” I smile, squeezing his hand. “I didn’t think we’d get here.”
His lips twitch into that faint smirk that always sends my heart racing. “I told you we would.”
I laugh softly, shaking my head. “You always say that, like you knew it all along.”
“I did.” His voice is low, steady, and his gaze is warm and unyielding. “You didn’t think I’d let anything happen to us, did you?”
I roll my eyes, but my chest tightens in that way it always does when he looks at me like this. So many fucking things happened to us. “Cocky as ever.”
He stops walking, tugging me gently toward him. His free hand slides around my waist, pulling me close, and the world around us fades.
“You’re here,” he murmurs, his voice softer now. “We’re here.” His hands grip the sides of my huge belly. “That’s all that matters.”
I tilt my head up to meet his gaze, my heart thudding. “You’re ridiculously sappy for a former crime lord, you know that?”
