I know, and I’m so sorry, but you can’t let him win. He already won. The second he brought Khloe into this, he won. Aurora was quiet for a long moment. “What do you want to do?” she asked softly. Ethan closed his eyes, feeling the weight of every bad decision he’d made crashing down at once. “I don’t know.

Do you want to walk away? I want Chloe to be safe.” She will be. I’ll hire security, private detail. They’ll watch her school, your house, everywhere she goes. That’s not a life. It’s temporary. You don’t know that. No, but I know Damian. And if you walk away, he’ll see it as weakness. He’ll push harder.

He won’t stop until he’s destroyed both of us. Ethan’s chest felt like it was caving in. Then what do I do? You trust me, and you let me protect you the way you’ve been protecting me. Ethan opened his eyes. Across the street, Aurora stood in her window, phone pressed to her ear, looking directly at him. “Okay,” he said. “Okay, okay, we keep going.

” Aurora’s shoulders sagged with relief. “Thank you. Don’t thank me yet. I will anyway.” They stayed on the phone until Ethan’s heart rate returned to something close to normal. When he finally hung up, he walked into Khloe’s room and sat on the edge of her bed. She was already asleep, curled up with the stuffed rabbit she’d had since she was three.

Ethan brushed the hair back from her forehead. “I’m sorry,” he whispered. Khloe stirred but didn’t wake. Ethan sat there for a long time watching his daughter sleep and prayed he hadn’t just made the biggest mistake of his life. Friday morning, Aurora’s security team showed up. Two men and one woman, all ex-military, all carrying themselves like they could kill someone with their bare hands if necessary.

They introduced themselves to Ethan and explained the protocol. One guard would shadow Kloe at school. Another would monitor the house. The third would rotate between locations. “This is insane,” Ethan said. “This is necessary,” Aurora replied. She’d come over to supervise the setup, standing in Ethan’s kitchen like she owned it, issuing orders and checking equipment.

Khloe thought the whole thing was exciting. “Do I get a bodyguard?” she asked, eyes wide. Sort of, Aurora said. Cool. Can he carry a gun? Absolutely not, Ethan said. The female guard smiled. Don’t worry, kid. I’m way cooler than a gun. Kloe looked skeptical, but intrigued. Ethan pulled Aurora aside. How much is this costing you? Don’t worry about it, Aurora.

Say, I said, “Don’t worry about it. If Damen wants to threaten your daughter, he’s going to have to go through me first. Ethan’s throat tightened. I don’t know how to thank you. You already did. You’re still here. She kissed him quickly, then went back to barking orders at the security team. Ethan stood in his kitchen, watching this billionaire woman reorganize his entire life and felt something shift in his chest. Not love.

He already knew he loved her. This was deeper. This was trust. And that terrified him more than anything Damian could throw at them because trusting someone meant they could hurt you. And Ethan had been hurt enough for one lifetime. But he was doing it anyway because some risks were worth taking even if they destroyed you.

The weekend before the hearing felt like waiting for a storm that was already overhead. Ethan couldn’t sleep, couldn’t focus. He’d start working on a motorcycle and find himself just staring at parts he’d picked up 10 minutes earlier, unable to remember what he’d been doing. Chloe noticed. She always noticed. You’re scared, she said Saturday morning over breakfast.

Ethan looked up from his untouched eggs. I’m fine. Liar. Chloe, it’s okay to be scared, Dad. I’m scared, too. Ethan set down his fork. You don’t need to be scared. The security team is here. Nothing’s going to happen to you. I’m not scared for me. I’m scared for you. Chloe picked at her toast. What happens if you lose on Monday? We’re not going to lose.

But what if you do? Ethan didn’t have an answer that wouldn’t terrify her more. Then we deal with it, he said finally. Together. Khloe’s eyes filled with tears. I don’t want you to go to jail. I’m not going to jail. You don’t know that. She was right. He didn’t know that. Ethan got up and pulled his daughter into a hug, holding her while she cried into his shirt.

8 years old and already carrying weight no kid should have to carry. I’m sorry, he whispered. I’m so sorry I dragged you into this. You didn’t drag me. I chose to be here. Chloe pulled back, wiping her face. Because Aurora is nice and she makes you happy, and I want you to be happy. Ethan’s chest cracked open.

When did you get so smart? I’ve always been smart. You just finally noticed. He laughed despite everything. They spent the rest of the morning together watching terrible cartoons and eating ice cream for lunch because Ethan had stopped caring about rules that didn’t matter. At some point, Aurora came over with Titan, and they all sat in the backyard while the dog dug holes in the grass, and Kloe lectured him about proper yard etiquette.

“He doesn’t speak English,” Aurora pointed out. “Then you need to train him better.

THE END.