Chapter 233 ALWAYS HAS BEEN.

Chapter 233 ALWAYS HAS BEEN.
FINALE.

\~~~SERENA.

Late into the evening, the noise of the gathering slowly faded into a soft, comfortable quiet. 

One by one, our people said their goodbyes. My mother kissed my cheek, whispering another tearful, heartfelt promise to be better, before Damien quietly walked her out to her car, Maya had tagged along with her too. Melissa and Ethan left together, bickering playfully and now that I was looking at them closely, these two were really a couple. 

And Ryan gave us one last wave from the driveway, a quiet, genuine smile on his face as he climbed into his car and drove off toward a clean slate. 

The house grew still. The pizza boxes were cleared away, the fairy lights on the back patio blinked lazily in the warm night air, and the city hummed softly in the distance. 

I stood out on the back deck, leaning my forearms against the wooden railing, letting the cool breeze wash over my face. 

A moment later, I felt the familiar, heavy warmth of Damien’s presence behind me. Strong arms slipped around my waist, pulling me back flush against his chest, and his chin settled gently right on top of my head. 

“They’re all gone,” Damien murmured, his voice a low, soothing rumble against my ear. 

“Good,” I whispered, closing my eyes and leaning back into him. “Just us.”

Damien shifted slightly, sliding his large, warm palm down so it rested flat, right over my stomach. We stood there together in the quiet dark, just breathing, feeling the steady, unbroken rhythm of each other's hearts. 

If you had told me a year ago that this is where we would end up, I wouldn't have believed it. 

I had spent so much of my life hiding behind armor, and Damien had spent a lifetime in the dark, acting as the monster everyone feared, never believing he deserved a real family, a real home, or a love that didn't demand sacrifice. 

But we survived. We burned the past down to the ash, and from the ruins, we built something entirely our own. 

My career as a lawyer wasn't over. It was just beginning, and I knew I had the fiercest, most unyielding partner in the world standing right beside me to guard it. The fear of motherhood was still there, a tiny flutter in my chest, but looking at the man holding me now, I knew we could face whatever came next. 

“Penny for your thoughts, moonlight,” Damien whispered softly, pressing a lingering kiss to the side of my neck. 

I turned around in his arms, wrapping my hands around his neck and looking up into those dark, intense eyes that still managed to take my breath away. 

“I was just thinking,” I smiled, tracing the sharp line of his jaw with my thumb. “You know you’re going to be an incredible father, right?”

Damien’s expression softened, that old, impenetrable armor melting away entirely to reveal the man who loved me more than life itself. A slow, rare smile touched his lips. 

“I have the best teacher in the world,” he replied, his voice thick with emotion. 

He leaned down, capturing my lips in a deep, tender kiss that tasted like home, like safety, and like a forever we had finally earned. 

Suddenly, without warning, Damien scooped his arms under my legs and swept me right off my feet. 

“Ah!” I gasped, letting out a startled shriek of laughter as I threw my arms around his neck to keep from falling. “Damien! What are you doing?!”

“Carrying my wife inside,” he grinned, his dark eyes dancing with amusement as he effortlessly hauled me away from the deck and straight through the sliding glass doors. 

“Put me down, you absolute lunatic!” I laughed, kicking my legs playfully as he carried me up the grand staircase and straight down the hall into our bedroom. 

He didn't drop me, but he tumbled us both onto the center of the plush mattress, hovering over me with a wicked, devastating smile. I kept laughing, breathless and dizzy, wrapping my hands in the soft cotton of his sweater and pulling him down for another deep, intoxicating kiss. 

My fingers trailed down his chest, sliding under the hem of his shirt as things began to heat up very, very quickly. I wanted him. Right here, right now, wrapped in our own little world. 

But just as my hands slipped lower, Damien caught my wrists, gently pulling my hands away and pressing a kiss to my knuckles. 

He paused, looking down at me with a wry, knowing expression. “Remember the doctor’s warning?”

I rolled my eyes, giving a dramatic huff. “We are our own doctors.”

“The doctor specifically said you should stay off sex for the first trimester,” Damien argued, raising an eyebrow. “Especially given the trauma, the hospital stay, and how completely exhausted your body is right now.”

“The doctor doesn't know anything. He’s a complete quack,” I argued back stubbornly, pulling him back down by his collar. “I repeat, the doctor is a quack. We are our own medical board, so let’s do this.”

Damien laughed, a deep, rumbling sound against my mouth, but he firmly planted his hands on either side of my shoulders, keeping a safe, respectable distance despite the hunger in his eyes. 

“No, no, no,” he chuckled, shaking his head. “I am not risking you or the baby just because my stubborn wife refuses to admit she’s tired.”

“I am not tired, I am invincible!” I protested, though a massive yawn immediately betrayed my words right as I said them. 

Damien raised an eyebrow, a smug, triumphant grin spreading across his face. 

“Right. Invincible,” he teased softly, leaning down to press a tender kiss to my forehead. “Go to sleep, moonlight. We have a lifetime ahead of us.”

I groaned, hitting his chest with a weak, affectionate swipe before letting out a soft sigh and melting into the pillows. He stretched out beside me, pulling me securely against his side with one arm draped protectively over my stomach. 

I had once believed home was a place with four walls, a roof and a safe address.

I was wrong.

Home… had always been the man whose heartbeat lulled me to sleep.

And as I drifted off in Damien’s arms, one hand resting protectively over our child…

I realized that after everything we had survived, he was my home.

Always had been. Always would be, wherever life took us.