Chapter 92 Ready For Anything

Chapter 92 Ready For Anything
Anna's POV

The gym still smelled like roses and floor polish when Marcus pulled me closer under the soft glow of the fairy lights.
But everything felt different now. Lighter.
He didn’t say it outright, but I could feel it in the way his shoulders weren’t rigid anymore. In the way his hand rested at my waist without that underlying tension that had followed him for weeks. Years, really.
Richard McKay had just done the unthinkable. He’d told the truth.
Not the whole story—not the ugly details—but enough. Enough to shatter the illusion Peter Ramsey had carefully built around himself. Enough to let the town know Marcus’s mother hadn’t died saving me in Lake Fenway one tragic summer night.
She had been pushed.

I could still hear the silence that followed those words. It had swallowed the entire gym. And then the whispers.
Now the music had returned, laughter bubbling cautiously around us, as if everyone wasn’t entirely sure how to act after witnessing something so monumental in the middle of a high school dance.
Marcus swayed with me slowly, his forehead resting against mine.
“You’re quiet,” he murmured.
“I’m thinking.”
He huffed softly. “That’s never a small thing with you.”
I smiled faintly. “Your dad just detonated a bomb in the middle of spring formal.”
“Yeah,” he said. “That sounds about right.”
But there was no bitterness in his voice. Only relief. I pulled back slightly so I could look at him.
“You okay?”
His eyes searched mine like he was deciding how honest to be. “I think I am.”
And I believed him.

The music shifted again, slower, softer. Around us, couples leaned into each other like we were the only ones in the room.
“You know,” I said quietly, “this isn’t exactly how I pictured tonight going.”
He raised an eyebrow. “No dramatic corporate takedowns on your bingo card?”
I laughed. “I was thinking more along the lines of awkward dancing and maybe bad punch.”
“Disappointed?”
I pretended to consider it. “A little. There’s been a severe lack of bad punch.”
His hand tightened at my waist, and he dipped his head closer. “I can spill something on you if that helps complete the experience.”
“Don’t you dare.”
He grinned, and that grin—it felt like sunlight breaking through clouds.
Across the room, Courtney was animatedly explaining something to Damian while Peter pretended to wipe a tear from his eye like he’d just witnessed the most emotional speech in history. Life had resumed. But under the surface, everything had shifted.
Ramsey’s power was unraveling. Marcus’s father had drawn a public line.
And somewhere beyond the fairy lights and floating streamers, the future was waiting.
My future. The letter. It had been tucked carefully into my clutch all night, like it might disappear if I let it out of my sight.

Leith. Internship. Full ride. One week. One month less with Marcus. My chest tightened just thinking about it.
“You’re spiraling,” Marcus said quietly.
“I am not.”
“You get this crease between your eyebrows when you’re spiraling.”
I reached up self-consciously. “I do not.”
He smoothed his thumb lightly between my brows. “You do.”
I exhaled.
“I’m just thinking about the interview.”
He nodded once. “Okay.”
“Okay?” I echoed.
“Yeah. Okay. We prepare. You crush it. They fall hopelessly in love with you. Offer secured.”
I searched his face for any sign of resentment. There was none.
“You’re really okay with me leaving early?” I asked softly.
He didn’t hesitate. “I don’t like it.”
Honest.
“But I’m not going to be the reason you don’t go.”
Emotion pressed against my ribs.
“You wouldn’t be.”
He gave me a look. “Anna.”
He knew me too well. If he asked me to stay, even quietly, even unintentionally—I would consider it. And that terrified me.
“I’ve wanted this for so long,” I admitted. “It doesn’t feel real.”
“Good things rarely do at first.”
“You sound very wise.”
“I am very wise.”
I rolled my eyes.
He leaned closer, his voice dropping. “You’re going to change the world one museum at a time.”
I laughed, but my throat felt tight.
“You really believe that?”
“I believe in you.”

The simplicity of it almost undid me. The DJ suddenly called for everyone to gather for the spring formal court announcement, and a wave of students surged toward the stage. Marcus laced his fingers with mine, guiding me through the crowd.
I barely heard the names being called. Applause erupted around us as the crowned couple posed awkwardly for photos.
It felt distant. Like tonight was operating on two different frequencies.
On one side—normal high school magic. On the other—the collapse of a man who had terrorized families for decades.
When the cheering died down, Marcus pulled me back toward the dance floor.
“Come on,” he said. “One more before this turns into a gossip convention.”
The music swelled again. This time, I rested my head against his chest, listening to the steady rhythm of his heartbeat.
“You know what scares me?” I whispered.
“What?”
“That everything feels… calm.”
He went still for half a second.
“Calm scares you?”
“After everything, yes.”
His hand slid up my back in slow circles. “I get that.”

Because chaos had become normal. Because danger had been lurking behind phone calls and corporate meetings and childhood memories. Because loving Marcus sometimes felt like standing in the middle of a storm and deciding to stay anyway.
“If Ramsey really goes down,” I said carefully, “what happens then?”
“Then,” Marcus replied, “we get to just be.”
“Be what?”
He tilted his head so his cheek brushed mine.
“Us.”
The word wrapped around me. Us. Not defined by secrets. Not forged in fear. Just us.
Across the room, I noticed Richard McKay speaking quietly with a few faculty members. He looked composed. Strategic.
For a moment, I wondered what it must feel like to carry that much power.
And then I looked at Marcus. He didn’t crave power. He craved peace.
“You know,” I murmured, “your dad showing up tonight… that was bold.”
“He doesn’t do anything halfway.”
“Were you angry?”
Marcus thought about it. “No. Just surprised.”
“You’re not upset he made it public?”
His jaw flexed slightly. “If it stops Ramsey from hiding behind influence again? No.”
I nodded slowly.

The truth deserved sunlight. The song faded, and the DJ shifted into something faster. The dance floor exploded into movement.
Marcus pulled me in again before I could step back.
“Oh no,” I laughed. “You do not fast dance.”
“I absolutely do.”
“You have zero rhythm.”
“Rude.”
But he was already moving, dramatic and exaggerated on purpose. I burst into laughter, the sound bubbling out of me so freely it startled me. For a few minutes, we were just teenagers. Spinning. Laughing. Existing in a gym decorated like a dream. Eventually, breathless, we slipped away toward the quieter hallway outside the main room.
The noise dulled behind us. Marcus leaned against the wall, pulling me gently between his arms.
“Tonight,” he said softly, “was supposed to be simple. The way our relationship began was far from it.”
“It never is with us.” I grinned.
He brushed his knuckles along my jaw. “Would you change it?”
The answer came instantly.
“No.”
Even with the danger. Even with the distance looming. Even with the uncertainty. Because loving him felt like choosing something real.
“I’m proud of you,” I whispered.
“For what?”
“For surviving. For standing. For not letting this break you.”
His eyes darkened slightly.
“I had you.”
My heart stumbled.
“And I had you.”

We stood there in the quiet hallway, music muffled, fairy lights glowing faintly from the doorway. A new chapter was beginning.
Ramsey’s empire was cracking. Leith was waiting. And somewhere in between all of it—we were choosing each other.
“I’m going to ace that interview,” I said finally.
He smirked. “Obviously.”
“And you’re going to visit.”
“Constantly.”
“And we’re not going to let distance scare us.”
He leaned down, pressing his forehead to mine.
“We’ve already faced the worst.”
His voice was steady.

Marcus kissed me softly, slow and certain, like a promise instead of a goodbye. When we pulled back, the music inside swelled again, laughter echoing down the hallway.
“Ready to go back in?” he asked.
I smiled.
“With you? Always.”