Ever After Awaits

    bChapter /bb119/bb: /bbHunter /bbPOV /b

    “Let’s fight her properly.”

    :

    La’s voice as she says those words doesn’t rise, but itnds in the room like a thunderp, causing the kitchen to fall silent.

    b55 /b

    Not because we’re surprised that she said it, but because of the iway /ishe says it. Her tone is calm and clear. Like she’s not asking permission to fight this time, she’s itelling /ius that she’s ready to do it on

    her own terms.

    I exchange a nce with AJ, who’s standing a little behind her with his arms folded like he’s guarding a fortress. His eyes haven’t left her since she sat down beside Xavier, and he looks like a man who just watched the sun rise after a very long night.

    Xavier nods, his fingers twitching on top of the scattered documents like they’re weapons he’s ready to sharpen.

    Cade is the first to break the silence. “Well,” he says, dragging out the word like he’s stepping into a poker game, “if we’re going to war, I call snacks. And psychological intimidation.”

    La cracks a small smile. And even though it’s barely there, it’s real.

    “Don’t forget sabotage,” she says, wrapping both of her hands around her mug like it’s an anchor. “You’re great at that.”

    “Sunshine, sabotage is my lovenguage,” he says with a cheeky grin.

    I watch her for a moment, noticing she’s still tired and still bruised from everything that’s been thrown at her. But there’s steel underneath her softness now. This is the girl who has been surviving in silence for too long, who built a life out of pieces no one else noticed. And now she’s choosing to speak up and choosing to stay. And to fight.

    I clear my throat and pull a chair a little closer to the table across from her. “Alright,” I say, keeping my tone steady. “Then let’s get practical. Xavier, you mentioned a preliminary injunction. What does La need to decide before we pull the trigger on that?b” /b

    Xavier doesn’t hesitate before answeringb, /b“Technically? Nothing. I can move forward with it based on her verbal consent. However, it’s legally ‘cleaner‘ if she signs a response to the initial notice first. That way, we’re showing she’s cooperating with due process–without caving.”

    b14:31 /bWedb, /bbSep /bb10 /b

    Chapter 119: Hunter POV

    b55 /b

    La nods once as she intently listens to him. “Okay. Please email it to me. I’ll look it over tonight

    after sses.”

    Cade raises an eyebrow at that. “Wait. Tonight? You’re still going to ss today?”

    “Yes,” she says firmly but not defensively. “I have to y catch–up after the whole tuition debacle, and I have ab practicalter in the week, I can’t afford to bomb. I need this degree more than ever

    now.”

    AJ steps forward, leaning both his hands on the back of her chair. “We’ll walk you there.”

    She tilts her head up toward him, and something soft flickers in her eyes when she answersb, /b“You don’t have to.”

    “We want to,” I say with conviction before he can answer her.

    Cade flops back into his seat next to her, the front legs of his chair tipping up from the floor as he precariously bnces on the hind legs. “Alright, fine. But if we’re escorting our very own future defendant–sh–defender to ssb, /bsomeone better pack me snacks. And by someone, I mean

    Hunter.”

    La finallyughs, and it’s a full–onugh this time. A short burst of happiness that startles all of ollibus/b. It’s breathless and half–muffled behind her hand, but it’s authentically hers. /li/ol

    And I swear, the air in the room changes drastically. Like something cracked open, and light was let olliin. /li/ol

    bAJ /bmoves first as he steps away, grabs something from the kitchen ind behind him, and then slides a bowl of freshly sliced fruit in front of her. “Eat something.”

    “I’m not hungry,” she says halfheartedly, but she picks up a piece of sweet melon anyway and pops it

    into her mouth.

    Good girl.

    “Okay,” I say, grabbing a pen and flipping one of Xavier’s notepads to a nk page. “Let’s list our next moves. What do you need from us, Beautiful?”

    La pauses as bshe /bcontinues to chew slowly. Her fingers brush the edge of the table like she’s grounding herself again, and when she eventually speaks, her voice is low, but still certain. “We need to find out if she has a buyer.”

    …

    Chapter 119: Hunter POV

    Xavier nods, then answers, “Already on it. Selma’s pulling the property records as we speak.”

    “I want to talk to my aunt, my dad’s sister, whom I haven’t spoken to in iyears/i. The house was in their family long before my dad eventually inherited it,” she says next. “If there’s anything else bI /b

    don’t know about that house, I need to hear it from someone who’s not trying to sell it out from

    under me.”

    b55 /b

    AJ leans down and presses a kiss to the crown of her head. “Just remember that you don’t have to do

    everything alone anymore.”

    “I know,” she murmurs as she tips her head back and nces at him upside down. “And I don’t want

    to.”

    I scribble down her points. My handwriting’s a mess, but I’ll type it outter. This? This is the crisis.

    table. It’s not perfect. It’s not pretty. But it’s solid. And it’s iours/ii. /i

    As Cade swipes an apple slice from her bowl and AJ refills her coffee, La lifts her head just enough to nce at all of us in turn. And then she says, “If she wants a fight…she’s going to get

    one.”

    No one cheers, and no one ps. We just nod at her affirmation. Because we already knew this was

    But it’s different–better even–hearing her believe it too.

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