Chapter 157 Chapter One hundred and fifty-six
ARA
It had been two days since Lenora’s accident.
None of us knew she’d been walking around with a fracture long before that day, untreated, unnoticed, and painfully real.
She didn't even know she had a leg injury before then
The SUV had missed crushing her by mere inches. It only knocked her off balance, and Stuart had caught her just before she hit the ground.
The bleeding… It had been from the pressure.
The memory still made my stomach twist.
There was no word from Thayne yet. No word from Stuart either.
I hadn’t even had the luxury of worrying about it, I’d been too busy trying to keep Lenora alive.
The doctor insisted she’d need a full month in the hospital. She needed proper medical care, which meant therapy and monitoring.
There was nothing we could do about it.
And as if that wasn’t enough, Millie and Mollie had resumed school today.
I was losing my mind. Slowly. Quietly. And completely. I was even starting to talk to myself.
The door opened and I looked up. Wait, what?!
Stuart walked in first. And then Thayne followed.
They were both smiling. Something in my chest loosened.
“Slade Senior and Jimmy Ackerfield won’t be disturbing us ever again,” Thayne announced. Funny he was calling his father by name.
Before I could react, he crossed the room and lifted me off the bed like I weighed nothing.
“What?” My voice came out breathless. “How? When?”
He pulled back just enough to look at me, his eyes burning with triumph.
“I told you I’d do it,” he said. “I’d bring our enemies down.”
A small, dangerous smile curved his lips.
“And I win.”
It all felt like a dream. Maybe the stress was finally catching up to me. Maybe my mind was playing tricks just to survive it all.
The door opened again. Sasha stepped in, and she looked like she had been through hell and back.
Her eyes found me first, then Lenora.
She froze. And then she rushed forward.
“Oh my God… it’s this bad?” she whispered, her voice breaking as she cupped Lenora’s face gently. “Stuart told me, but I didn’t think—”
She couldn’t even finish the sentence. She had absolutely no idea what was happening behind her.
Stuart dropped to one knee. Quietly. Carefully. Like the moment itself might shatter if he moved too fast.
Was there something no one was telling me?.
A black velvet box sat open in his hand.
Sasha straightened slowly, drawing in a shaky breath as she turned toward Thayne, and stopped.
Her eyes fell on Stuart. On the ring. On the man kneeling before her.
“Stuart…?”
His voice, when he spoke, was steadier than I expected.
“Sasha Brown,” he began, “I’ve spent most of my life in denial, running from things that mattered, pretending I didn’t need them.”
He swallowed, his grip tightening slightly on the box.
“But you… you make that impossible.”
The room went completely still. Even the air seemed to shrink.
“And if there’s one thing I know for certain now…”
He held her gaze.
“It’s that I don’t want a life that doesn’t have you in it.”
Sasha covered her face, her shoulders trembling slightly.
A tear slipped through her fingers and trailed down to her neck.
She lowered her hands, quickly wiping at her cheeks like she refused to let anyone see just how much this was affecting her.
Stuart exhaled, a crooked smile tugging at his lips.
“Will you marry me, you insufferable, pretty woman?”
Sasha stared at him for a second, then slowly lifted her hand and flipped him off.
“Of course,” she said, her voice thick with emotion. “You big oaf.”
A grin broke across Stuart’s face. He slipped the ring onto her finger, his hands steadier now, like everything had finally fallen into place.
Then he pulled her in, one hand gripping her wrist, the other wrapping around her as he stood, crushing her into a tight hug before capturing her lips in a kiss that felt long overdue.
“Awwww.”
The soft, amused sound cut through the moment.
I turned sharply to find Lenora was awake.
She flashed me a grin and winked.
I smiled back.
Lenora refused to let the pain win.
“With our two archenemies down, I think we deserve a vacation,” Thayne said, slipping his arms around me from behind. His hands settled over my stomach and rubbed.
“Not happening,” I replied. “Lenora needs someone with her.”
“We can wait,” he murmured against my ear.
Just then, one of the babies kicked hard.
Thayne stilled behind me. “I felt that.”
His head snapped up, his eyes wide like a kid on Christmas morning.
“I felt my child move! I felt my child move!”
“Thayne… keep your voice down….”
Another kick.
He moved in front of me instantly, dropping to his knees and pressing his ear against my stomach like he might hear a full conversation in there.
I laughed despite myself.
“We’re getting married next week,” Sasha announced.
Thayne turned his neck so hard I heard a crack.
“What’s the rush?” he asked.
Stuart didn’t even blink.
“I want to be able to do whatever I want with my wife, wherever I want.”
Sasha’s mouth fell open. “Stuart!”
“I just want to see her in a wedding dress and know she's mine.” Stuart said, drawing Sasha closer when she tried to wriggle away.
“Things are normal for once, right?” Thayne told me, planting a kiss on my forehead.
“Yes.” I replied softly.
It was hard to believe we'd never have to face those two men again. It still felt like Thayne or Stuart would receive a call any minute and we'd be right back at square one.
Liliana’s voice jolted me out of my thoughts.
“We've got a wedding to plan!” She exclaimed.
At least it wasn't an escape plan.