Chapter 70

Chapter 70
Lila

"I don't know what I am. Overwhelmed. Grateful. Terrified." I looked up at him. "What else did you make them agree to?"

He hesitated, then chose honesty. "Besides the compensation, Victoria and Vanessa have one week to apologize in person. Victoria has to acknowledge her guest deliberately caused your injury." He paused. "And Leo has to marry Victoria within three months."

Although I knew he had protected me, these things still shocked me. "You forced them—"

"I gave them a choice. Agree, or watch their company crumble." His expression hardened. "Richard chose to agree."

I should've felt vindicated. Instead I just felt seen. Understood. Protected in a way I'd never experienced. "This is unbelievable."

"You're my wife. What they did was unacceptable. Someone needed to draw a line." He stepped closer. "I'm sorry if I overstepped. But I couldn't just stand by while people hurt you. I won't."

My vision blurred and tears spilled over. I closed the distance and wrapped my arms around his neck, burying my face against his shoulder.

He went still for a heartbeat, then his arms came around me—one hand against my lower back, the other cradling my head. I felt him adjust his stance, taking my weight off my ankle.

"I've never had this before," I choked out. "I've never had someone who just steps in and makes things right without me having to beg or prove I deserve it. I've spent my whole life handling everything alone. And you just went to war for me."

"You just have to be you," Elias interrupted gently. "That's enough. That's always been enough." His arms tightened. "I didn't do this to prove you're weak. I did it because you're important to me. Because I have resources and power—what's the point if I can't use them to protect people I care about?"

I pulled back to look at him, my face tear-streaked. "I don't know how to let someone take care of me without feeling like I'm losing myself."

He cupped my face, thumbs brushing away tears. "Then we'll figure it out together. You don't have to have all the answers. We'll learn. We'll mess up." His voice dropped. "But please don't shut me out because accepting help feels vulnerable. You've been alone long enough, Lila. Let me be here."

I stared at this man who'd decided I was worth defending with every resource at his disposal. This wasn't the transactional arrangement I'd signed up for. This was real.

"Thank you," I whispered. "For seeing me as someone worth protecting."

"Always." He kissed me—soft and careful but with underlying intensity. When he pulled back, his forehead rested against mine. "I will always protect you," he said quietly.

"I know," I whispered back. "I'm starting to believe it."

"Good. That's a start." He lifted me smoothly. "Now back to the couch before you hurt that ankle more."

"You're not a doctor."

"No, but I'm your husband." He settled me on the couch, then sat close enough that our thighs touched. He reached for my hand. "Where's Sofia?"

"Went to get tacos. Said her cooking was too terrible."

He laughed, tension finally leaving his shoulders. "It was pretty bad."

"It was awful. But we ate it anyway." I squeezed his hand. "She's a good kid."

"She is." Elias's expression softened with that particular tenderness he reserved for Sofia. "She told me this morning if I didn't make things right, she'd handle it herself. I had to physically stop her from 'having a conversation' with Victoria."

I laughed despite myself. "That sounds exactly like her."

"It does." He studied our joined hands for a moment, then looked at me intensely. "You've given her something I couldn't, you know. A sense of what family can be when it's not just obligation. She's happier now than I've seen her in years."

Before I could respond, he pulled me into his arms again, this time more firmly, as if he needed the physical reassurance that I was here, that I was his, that this was real. I melted into the embrace, letting myself sink into the warmth and security of it, my face pressed against his chest where I could hear his heartbeat steady and strong.

The apartment door burst open with a bang.

"Dad! That's cheating!" Sofia's voice rang out indignantly. "You can't steal cuddles with Lila while I'm gone! That's totally against the rules!"

I pulled back to see Sofia standing in the entryway, holding a paper bag that smelled gloriously of actual edible food, her expression caught between amusement and mock outrage. Her hair was windblown from the walk, cheeks flushed from the cold evening air.

Elias didn't let me go, just shifted slightly to look at his daughter with raised eyebrows. "I wasn't aware there were rules about hugging my own wife."

"There are now! Rule number one: no secret cuddle sessions when I'm not here to supervise." Sofia kicked the door shut behind her and marched over, setting the bag on the coffee table with theatrical emphasis. "I leave for twenty minutes—twenty!—and come back to find you two having a moment. Unacceptable."

"We were just talking," I said, trying not to laugh.

"That was not 'just talking.' That was full-on romantic embrace territory." Sofia flopped onto the couch beside us, pulling a taco from the bag. "I demand equal cuddle time. It's only fair."

"You want to cuddle with me or your father?" I asked.

"Both. Obviously. We're a family now, which means mandatory group hugs." She took a massive bite of her taco, somehow managing to look both satisfied with her food choice and deeply serious about her cuddle equity demands.

Elias shook his head, but I could see him fighting a smile. "You're ridiculous."

"I'm right, there's a difference." Sofia gestured with her taco. "Besides, you two need me as a buffer. Left alone you'd probably just stare at each other making heart eyes for hours. Someone has to keep things fun around here."

"Heart eyes?" Elias repeated flatly.

"Major heart eyes. It's actually kind of gross how cute you are together." Sofia grinned wickedly. "But also adorable, so I'll allow it. As long as I get included in the hugs."

I couldn't help it—I started laughing, the sound bubbling up from somewhere deep and genuine. This was my life now. This chaotic, imperfect, wonderful family that bickered about cuddle equity and burned pasta and went to war for each other without hesitation.

"Come here, you menace," I said, opening one arm in invitation.

Sofia immediately abandoned her taco and dove into the space between us, wiggling until she'd inserted herself firmly into our embrace. "See? This is better. Now it's a proper family cuddle."

Elias wrapped his free arm around both of us, and I felt his quiet laugh rumble through his chest. "Happy now?"

"Very," Sofia declared, then looked up at me with sudden seriousness beneath her playful tone. "You are happy, right? Like, actually?"

I looked at her, then at Elias, then at the apartment around us—this space that had somehow transformed from a intimidating display of wealth into something that felt like home. "Yeah," I said softly. "I really am."

"Good." Sofia settled more comfortably against us. "Because you're stuck with us now. No take-backs."

"No take-backs," I agreed, and felt Elias's arm tighten around us both.