Award winner 131 - Ever After Awaits

Ever After Awaits

bChapter /bb131/bb: /bbXavier /bbPOV /b

The house is quiet this morning.

Not just in the absence of sound, but in the kind of stillness that settles into a ce when everyone inside it is safe and at peace. Sunlight is slowly creeping in through the upstairs hallway window, its edges catching on framed photos, the banister’s posts, and the soft grain of the floorboards as I

move past them.

The air smells like warm linen and faint coconut, probably from whatever bubble bath La added to

herte–night soakst night. It clings gently to everything around me, so I take one slow breath

and hold it in my chest as I reach her door, easing it open just enough to slip inside quietly.

They’re still asleep–AJ and Hunter. One’s turned towards her, while the other’s turned slightly away,

but both are clearly tuned into her, even in slumber. They’re like two halves of a well–worn rhythm-

protective without being possessive–a fortress built from loyalty and love.

And then there’s iher/ii. /i

Tucked between them like she’s their center of gravity.

She looks small in the bed, dwarfed by the mishmash of herforter and numerous limbs, but there’s nothing fragile about the way she’s sleeping. She’s curled on her side slightly, the edge of the nket tucked beneath her chin, with her breath slow and even like she’s dreaming of something good for once, as the soft golden light from her bedroom window kisses her cheek.

She looks peaceful. And content.

But I still need to see her.

Maybe that makes me selfish. Perhaps it makes me something worse. But it’s been tugging at me since before sunrise–the ache to look at her when it’s just the two of us. With no chaos, no demands, and no courtroom documents or half–formed ns surrounding us. Just her, awake, with ollime. /li/ol

bI /bcrouch at the foot of the bed, careful not to let the floor creak beneath me. Then, slowly, I reach for her ankle that’s peeking out from beneath the nket, and my fingers brush against her skin. Skin that’s warmb, /bsoftb, /band familiar. I start slow, my thumb tracing small circles, and then slowly start to massage upward inzy, even strokes. Not enough to wake her all at once, but just enough to coax awareness in her. A touch that says I’m here, not i‘/iiwake /iup inow/ii‘/ii. /i

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Chapter 131: Xavier POV

b35 /b

After a few seconds, hershes flutter, and she breathes in. Once, then again. And then her gorgeous amber eyes open–blurry for a second and unfocused–before theynd on me.

She doesn’t jerk back, and she doesn’t startle. She just blinks a few times like she’s not quite sure if I’m real or part of whatever dream I just pulled her from.

When I’m sure I have enough of her attention, I press a finger gently to my lips to ask her to keep quiet, smiling from behind it. Then I tilt my head toward the door.

iCome /iiwith /imei. /i

For a moment, she studies me, and there’s something search–like in the look–something that feels like itnds much deeper than theyers of my skin. But then she nods once, small and sure, and starts easing herself down towards the foot of the bed without a word.

She moves with more grace than anyone has a right to after just waking up. She’s careful not to disturb AJ’s arm, where it’s draped near her waist, and wiggles around Hunter’s leg like she’s done this dozens of times.

When she reaches me where I’m standing, I offer her my hand. And she takes it, with no hesitation, and no questions. She just slides her fingers into mine like they were made to be there.

I gently pull her out of the room, then close the door behind us with a soft ‘click‘, leaving us standing alone in the quiet hallway.

She whispers, “Is something wrong?”

“No,” I murmur, keeping my voice as quiet and steady as I can. “Just… Will youe with me?”

There’s a hesitation in her eyes at my question, but not from fear. It’s more like curiosity mixed with a thread of affection running through it. She studies me for another second, but then nods again. “I just need to get dressed first,” she says quietly, turning slightly to head back to her room.

I reach for her hand again, this time tugging her back with a slight, teasing smirk on my face. “No need. I might’ve stolen some of your clothesst night and left them in my room.”

Her eyebrows lift. “Seriously?”

I grin. “Call it premeditated charm.”

She lets out a softugh–the kind that sinks somewhere warm into the depths of my chest–before

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Chapter 131. Xavier POV

she deres, “You’re impossible.”

“And you’re stalling. Nowe on, Princessb./bb” /b

Her bare feet move beside mine as we walk down the hall, the hush of her steps matching my own. There’s a familiarity to it now–this rhythm we’ve found, this new way of walking in sync without

even trying.

When we reach my room, I open the door and usher her inside. “Go on. I’ll be downstairs. You have

ten minutes, tops.”

She gives me a two–finger salute, her face glowing with a mock–serious expression as a barely hidden smile tugs at the corners of her mouth, and I stand there longer than I probably should, as I watch her disappear behind my bedroom door.

Downstairs, the early morning light filters through the windows, casting pale stripes across the floor. I move on instinct as I recheck everything, even though I ialready /itriple–checked it before going upstairs to wake her.

Backpack? Packed. ylist? Synced. Reservation? Confirmed.

And my breath? That’s somewhere between steady and scattered.

I lean against the kitchen counter, my fingers tapping out a nervous rhythm on its surface as I watch

the seconds tick by on the clock above the stove.

I’ve faced depositions that would rattle most people. I’ve helped cross–examine clients in

courtrooms that were packed with judges,wyers, and cameras. But nothing–not a damn thing–has

ever made my heart race like the idea of this morning not going perfectly for her.

Because she ideserves /iperfection, or at the very least, she deserves the effort to make it as near

perfect as possible.

The creak of the stairs pulls my attention in its direction like gravity. And then she’s there.

And the sight of her? It actually makes my pulse stutter.

She’s wearing the lc sundress I chose, and it’s flowy, soft, and almost glows ethereal–like in the morning light. Because bshe’s /bbarefoot, her steps are quiet, and her hair is still a little tousled from sleep. But there’s a softness to her expression–something unguarded and beautiful.

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Chapter 131: Xavier POV

She lightly skips off the bottom step and then catches me staring at her like an idiot, causing my

mouth to go dry.

“Wow,” I manage to say, tentatively stepping toward her like I’ve forgotten how walking works. “You, uh… You’re really trying to kill me this morning, huh?”

She rolls her eyes at my words, but the faint blush rising on her cheeks tells me everything I need to know. “It’s just a dress, Xavier.”

“It’s ithe /idress,” I counter, offering her my arm as my heart thuds a little too loudly. “And I’m doing a

terrible job of pretending I have any chill about it.”

Herughter floats between us, easy and unforced, and then she links her arm through mine like it

belongs there, and I swear I forget every single reason I’ve ever had to doubt myself.

I guide her to the front door where she slips on a pair of dainty sandals, and open it for her, letting the morning spill inside–crisp, clean, and full of promise.

My Charger gleams as it sits waiting for us in the driveway. I’d warmed it up earlier, but now it feels like everything between us is warmed up–the air, my nerves, even my blood pressure.

I bow slightly as I open her door for her. “Your chariot awaits, mdy.”

She lifts an eyebrow and says matter–of–factly, “You’ve been nning this for a while.”

I shut the door gently behind her once she’s inside, then I round the front of the car and get into the driver’s seat.

With onest nce at her from behind the wheel, I think to myself: Don’t mess this up. Not today. Not with her.

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