Throne of Truth (Truth and Lies Duet #2)(99)

Only three.

It was a lot more than he fucking deserved.

The reporters noticed, as all charity donations had to be logged with the record service, and in the end, Elle’s final zing at Greg turned out to paint his misdemeanors in a better light.

Who knew? Maybe she set him on a righteous path. He was interviewed and written about as the most generous criminal in history—not an idiot who was greedy.

At least, his father, Steve, had peace of mind. His son wasn’t all bad. Belle Elle avoided more scandal about an attempted rapist who’d worked in their ranks for years. And I fell more in fucking love with the woman who was mine.

In a twist of fate, Sean was put into the same prison population as Greg and from rumors supplied to us thanks to Gio, Greg had earned his fair share of karma.

Unable to get to me, Sean took his frustration out on Greg. A broken arm and few other prison scuffles occurred. As much as I hated Sean for using me as his scape goat, I was kind of glad that Greg hadn’t gotten off completely scot-free.

He’d suffered some bodily pain for what he’d done to Elle.

It was fitting.

Our fake engagement turned real engagement was celebrated only by the special people we invited. We kept it small, understated, but the ring I bought her was anything but.

The diamond glittered with rubies on either side, perfectly elegant and locked on her finger for eternity.

Her sapphire star necklace was fixed from Gio ripping the chain off her neck, and it hung in our walk-in wardrobe like a talisman, reminding us to keep fighting, because sometimes, even the bad guys turned out to be the good ones.

Without Gio and Sean, I might never have heard Elle scream and never have ventured into the alley to save the day. She would’ve walked around New York and returned to her tower, never knowing I existed.

The tragedy of that never failed to steal my breath at the thought of growing old without her by my side.

Her apartment had become my apartment when we moved into together two days after I was freed from jail. With me not living in my building, builders were free to move in, tear out stairs, rip out kitchens, and blitz the entire building in one go rather than piece by piece.

It was finished two months before I’d hoped, ready for new low-income renters who needed a break.

Everything we’d endured and survived had finally given us the benefit of the doubt.

We’d been tested to see if we deserved the greatest gift of all.

And luckily, we’d been found worthy.

Elle was my happily ever after.

And I was hers.

And who knew? Maybe in the future, we’d give her father and Larry what they wanted and deliver a new Belle Elle heir or heiress.

But for now...she was mine. I was hers, and we were having far too much fun practicing.

Speaking of which.

Elle padded out of the bathroom with a towel on her head and another wrapped around her stunning body. Sage trotted by her heels as she always did when it was dinnertime.

I stayed where I was on the couch, flicking through a magazine on investment opportunities in Africa.

I waited until Elle gave the gray feline her ration of freshly cooked chicken then watched as she unwound her long blonde hair and tossed it over her shoulder.

Hoisting the towel higher around her breasts, she moved back toward the bedroom to continue dressing for the charity gala I was hosting with Larry.

I already wore the gold tux that was this evening’s color of choice.

Elle had yet to dress.

Checking my watch, I cracked a smile.

I was the host. I shouldn’t be late.

But I had a fiancée who was too delectable.

Tossing the magazine away, I followed her into the bedroom, grabbed her wrist, and spun her around. I yanked at the towel.

“Hey.” She swatted me as the fabric tumbled to the floor. Her eyes glittered; her love that I’d never get used to or tired of seeing shone so damn bright. “If you kiss me, who knows how long we’ll be.”

I smirked. “I plan on doing a lot more than just kissing you, Elle.” Biting her ear, I growled, “Get on the bed.”

With a grin, she obeyed instantly, spreading her legs, acting coy and shy all at once.

The perfect woman.

My perfect woman.

Undoing my belt, I fell to my knees to worship her.

We’d get to the charity event.

Eventually.

In the meantime, we’d be together.

Just us.

We’d love. We’d argue. We’d protect. We’d evolve.

We were a family.

And that was all that fucking mattered.