Chapter 249

Chapter 249
Noah

The week after Christmas kind of blurred into cozy movies, snuggles, and catching up with everyone. It felt really awesome to be home, to breathe the same air as the people who’d carried me through some of the darkest days of my life.

The day after Christmas, I went over to Lexie’s just to hang out—no crowd, no pressure, no moms listening from the next room. Just us. Like always.

We curled up on the couch with hot cider and blankets, and for a second neither of us said anything.

“So,” I finally asked, nudging her with my shoulder, “how are you really doing?”

She let out this little sigh-laugh thing. “It’s been hard,” she said. “Losing him… even with everything he was. I keep thinking about the relationship I wanted us to have. The one we never quite managed. And I still miss the good moments. Especially at Christmas.”

“Yeah,” I said quietly. “I get that.”

She glanced at me and suddenly grinned. “Also—dude. One year since we got engaged. What the hell.”

I groaned. “Holy shit… Most chaotic engagement in history.”

“For real,” she laughed. “If there were awards…”

We were quiet for a second, then she tilted her head.

“You happy?” she asked. “Like… real happy?”

“With everything in me,” I said. “Aiden’s it for me. Completely.”

Her smile softened. “Good. I love seeing you like this.”

I bumped her knee. “And you and Micah?”

She flushed instantly. “Oh, my God. Yeah. Him. Very much him.”

I wiggled my brows. “Oh, really.”

She rolled her eyes. “Shut up. He’s… amazing. Patient. Gentle when I need it. Strong when I need that too. I can just… be myself. No pretending. No performance… Except when it is a performance,” she added with a grin.

“Oh, my God… the club, you mean, right?” I teased.

She didn’t even shy away.

“I love it,” she said simply. “Like—I really, really love it. Submitting. The attention. Dressing up—or down,” she snorted. “The rituals. The rules. The rewards…” She winked. “We’ve even had a couple punishments and… yeah. Intense. In a good way.”

“Jesus,” I muttered, laughing.

“But the best part,” she went on, softer now, “is doing it with Micah. We’ve found this rhythm. On stage. Off stage. We kinda read each other now. And Hale—I trust him completely. There’s no jealousy. Just… this sort of… love. All around. And I didn’t think I’d ever understand that. But now I do.”

I smiled. “I’m really happy for you, Lex.”

She brightened. “Oh! And I made a new friend. She’s awesome. Total trouble. Hilarious. Gorgeous. A cheerleader too! We basically adopted each other.”

“Oh, yeah?” I asked.

“Yeah,” she said casually. “Have you heard of someone there named Luna?”

I choked on my drink.

“Umm,” I said, cheeks heating, “yeah. Luna and I have… uh… met each other—”

She stared at me.

Then burst out laughing. “Oh, my God. Of course you have.”

“Please stop,” I groaned.

“Nope,” she said. “This fuels me.”

We laughed for like a full minute straight.

Then she nudged me again. “We’ve done a few performances now,” she added. “Small ones. Slow. Building up. But now we’re getting into a rhythm and… it’s honestly exciting. I didn’t think I’d ever be that girl. Turns out? I kind of am.”

“No kidding…” I grinned.

“Oh, and guess what? After I finish school,” she said, eyes bright, “we’re thinking maybe… Hale would agree to work for a while at the New Orleans club. Micah wants to finish fashion school first. He works part-time with Hale now, and he wants to save for us. He says we don’t really need my inheritance to start over…”

I looked at her, raising an eyebrow. “But you do—and you’re still gonna, right?”

“Pfff… of course! But I want him to feel important, because he is to me. However, I want us to have a good life. We deserve it.”

“We do, Lex. All of us.” I smiled, kissing her forehead. “And I promise you we will.”

A promise I knew I could keep.



Later that week, Mom, Emily, and I ended up playing this extremely competitive game of Scrabble at the kitchen table—and by ‘competitive,’ I mean Emily kept trying to invent fake words and Mom pretended not to notice because they sounded poetic.

Somewhere between JOY and CHEATING (both real words, thank you), I finally asked the questions that had been sitting in my chest.

“So… how are you guys really doing?” I asked gently.

Mom paused mid-tile placement and smiled a little, tired and honest. “The divorce is finally official, along with total custody, of course,” she said. “Papers signed. Done. And the house… my childhood home… it’s fully back in my name.”

“That’s good,” I said softly.

“It is,” she nodded. “But I don’t want to go back there. Not now. Maybe not ever. Too many ghosts. Too many memories. I don’t want to sleep in that place and remember everything we went through. Plus, there’s nothing for us back in West Virginia.”

Emily reached over and squeezed her hand.

“So,” Mom continued, “I’d like to sell it, and for now… we’re staying where we are. The house William arranged for us—for all his faults… it was a kindness. It felt like safety when we needed it. And now it just feels like home.”

I nodded. “Yeah. That makes sense.”

“But,” she added, glancing at Emily and then at me, “we don’t want to be far from you anymore. Family is… the most important thing we have left. Mrs. Hart has already insisted we remain here as long as we need to. And when you’re properly settled—when you know for sure New Orleans is where you’ll stay…”

Emily grinned. “…we’re moving there.”

I blinked. “Wait—really?”

Mom laughed. “Of course. You think we survived everything just to live states away from you?”

My chest tightened in the best way. “I mean. Of course! I can get you a house there, anytime. Anything you need—”

“No,” Mom said gently but firmly. “We want to do this too. The old house—once it sells—that money will go toward our future. Something we build ourselves. But your help choosing a place?” She smiled. “That I’d like.”

I swallowed. “I’d love that.”

Emily leaned across the table and hugged me over the Scrabble board, knocking over half the letters.

“We’re sticking together,” she said. “Deal?”

“Deal,” I said.

And for now, we celebrate! New Year, new life!



Back home that evening, I slipped into my old routine without even thinking about it.

I opened the door quietly, then undressed completely and left my clothes in a small, folded pile just inside the entryway. My heart was already beating faster as I padded softly across the floor toward the living room.

Aiden was on the couch, reading—calm, steady, completely at peace.

Until he wasn’t.

His head lifted.

His eyes went wide, like saucers.

And the way he looked at me—like love itself was pouring out of him—made my breath catch in my throat.

“Good evening, Sir,” I whispered.

Silence stretched, warm and charged, between us.

Then his voice came—soft… but unbreakable.

“On your knees, baby boy.”

And that was where the night began.