Chapter 95 Part 95

Chapter 95 Part 95
Aspen

Five years later

She sat on the wooden deck, which Axl had built with his own two hands. The wood was warm beneath her bare feet, sun-baked and smooth from years of use, each plank carefully sanded and sealed. She could still remember him measuring twice, cursing once, insisting on doing it himself even when contractors had offered. He’d taken a break from touring a year earlier, but Blunt Pain still recorded albums regularly. The house was quieter now, more grounded, yet music still drifted through it like breath. They’d won numerous awards, the kind that gathered dust on shelves because life had become fuller than accolades, and they’d finally decided that for four months each year, they would rest and not tour—just long enough to feel alive without losing themselves.
She sipped her coffee slowly, the warmth seeping into her palms, grounding her. Merit joined her on the swing bench, the wood creaking softly beneath their combined weight, and Aspen smiled as she watched Axl on the beach a few yards in front of her. He was shirtless, sun-kissed, laughing as he lifted Ainsley into the air. An umbrella sat sideways, casting enough shade for Ainsley and Parker, its fabric fluttering gently in the breeze. North was a few feet away, kneeling in the sand, building an ambitious sandcastle with Arden and Mackenzie, his brow furrowed in concentration. Riker stood closer to the water, holding Paisley, dipping her tiny feet into the surf as she squealed, delighted.
The sky was a cloudless blue, vast and limitless, the breeze gentle and warm. The sun glistened on the water, scattering light like shattered glass, and there wasn’t a single thing about her life she would change. The people filling her house had once been strangers, then friends, then something deeper. Now, they were all family. They’d overcome so many things together and separately—betrayal, loss, fear, guilt—but their bond was unbreakable, forged in fire and held together by choice.
Three weeks after that article was published, Merit had reached out to Aspen. Aspen still remembered the hesitation in her hands as she’d read that message, the shock, the weight of the past pressing in. It had taken another few days before they met up, nerves buzzing between them, and Merit told them her story. Riker told his part too, voice steady even when his eyes weren’t. Then, surprisingly, Axl had told them that he’d killed Weston, deliberately leaving North out of it, bearing the burden alone. Merit never told the police about her kidnapping. From then on, they made sure to stay in touch, and once a year, they all vacationed together—not as a reminder of the past, but as proof that it no longer owned them.
Now, after five years, they all had children. They had good lives. They were all happy in the quiet, enduring way that mattered. Aspen had given birth to Arden, and he was four years old now, already stubborn and curious; Ainsley was two, fearless and wild, and Axl was already hinting for another one, his grin suggesting he already knew her answer. Jordan and North had gotten married a year after Aspen and Axl. Their daughter, Mackenzie, was only a few months younger than Arden, serious-eyed and observant, while their son, Parker, was three and looked exactly like North. Paisley was one, her dark hair and solemn gaze unmistakably Merit’s.
“Do you ever think back to our lives in Esperton?” Merit asked, her voice thoughtful, distant.
“Sometimes, yes,” Aspen replied. Some memories still rose unbidden—the trailer park, the cold nights, the feeling of being trapped inside a future that hadn’t fit.
“I’m glad our lives changed so much,” Merit said softly. “I can’t imagine not having Riker in my life.” She smiled, genuine and full.
“I think our lives worked out exactly as they should have,” Aspen said. The certainty surprised her, but it felt right.
“When I just met Riker, I realized that what I felt for Axl was just infatuation,” Merit said, shaking her head with a rueful laugh. “I was such an idiot back then. I think I clung to Axl because I was alone, and he made me feel special.”
Aspen smiled at her, understanding softening her expression. “I get it. If you’d asked me at seventeen if I would end up with Axl, I would’ve laughed. I thought North and I would last forever.”
“Well, that would be awkward,” Jordan said as she joined them, dropping onto the bench with a grin. Aspen laughed.
Merit snorted, and they all looked out at the beach where their men were playing with the kids, laughter carried easily on the wind. “Actually, I always thought you and Axl had secret feelings for each other.”
“Really? Why?” Aspen asked.
“Shit, Aspen,” Merit said. “You didn’t see yourselves like I did. You two had a different connection, even back then. He was always attentive to you—stopping to buy you snacks for movie night. You were always connected, his arm around your shoulder, you touching his arm.”
“Thinking back to things like that,” Aspen said, “I’m surprised you didn’t bitch slap me.”
Merit laughed and shook her head. “One night, Axl told me that if I ever made him choose, he’d walk away, and you’d follow him. So I never did. It doesn’t matter anymore. I found the love of my life, and so did you.” She glanced toward the water. “I can see he makes you happy.”
“You look happy too, Merit,” Aspen said sincerely.
“When I met you at Janine’s wedding, I was kind of jealous,” Jordan admitted.
“No! Why?”
“You were so nice,” Jordan said, shrugging. “And I knew about your history with North. I mean, yeah, you had Axl—and he’s… well, he’s Axl—but North was North to me. It was silly.”
“Trust me,” Aspen said, smiling, “the first time I slept with Axl, I knew he was the one. There was never any going back.”
“So you and North never—”
Aspen laughed. “No. Never. Axl was my first and only. He put a ring on my finger so fast after he found me in that hotel. He made sure I could never run away again.”
They fell quiet, content. When Axl waved and beckoned her down to the beach, Aspen placed her coffee aside and went to him. He wrapped his arms around her and lifted her effortlessly, kissing her hard.
“Are you happy?” he asked.
“I am,” she replied. “What about you?”
He grinned, setting her down. “There’s nobody happier than me.”
“I’d be happy if you stopped being a bad example for the kids!” North yelled, shielding Parker’s eyes.
Axl laughed loudly. “Trust me, Parker will be kissing girls long before you’re ready.”
“And if Parker’s kissing Ainsley?” Riker asked.
Axl’s smile vanished. Aspen laughed. “We’ll teach them to make good choices.”
Axl nodded. “I’ll teach her how to fight.”
“My son will be a gentleman!” North protested.
“And if Arden’s kissing Mackenzie?”
“They’re cousins!” Aspen laughed. “Arden can kiss Paisley.”
Riker stiffened. “Nobody’s kissing Paisley.” They all laughed as Riker stormed up the steps, complaining, Merit’s laughter following him.
Axl turned back to Aspen, kissing her again. “I’ll kiss you forever.”
“You better,” she whispered.
“You, Aspen Reynolds,” he said softly, “made my life complete. You broke my heart, then you put it back together again.”
Aspen kissed him slowly. “I breathe you, Axl.”

The End.