Valorous(70)

“I think she preferred that life to the one you’re leading now.”

“She’ll adapt. She has before.”

“How did you get her after everything happened?”

“The detective who was nice to me? He went to my house and got her for me.”

“They just handed her over?”

“He never said, and I didn’t ask. I didn’t care how it went down. All I cared about was having her with me. She was always my dog. She was literally the only thing I took with me from my old life into my new life. The clothes I was wearing when I left Stone’s house and the items in my backpack were considered evidence.”

He shakes his head in disbelief. “I hope I never cross paths with your parents. I won’t be held responsible for my actions.”

“We won’t see them. For years, I half-expected them to show up out of the blue to say it had all been a huge mistake. After about two years, I stopped waiting for that to happen.”

“People are funny when it comes to money. Now that you have a lot of it, they may become interested in you again.”

“Wouldn’t that be something?”

“Don’t spend one minute worrying about that. They won’t get anywhere near you. Not as long as I’ve got a breath left in me.”

I drop my head to his shoulder. “What you must think… growing up with a family like yours to hear about one like mine.”

“It makes me feel even more exceptionally lucky than I already felt to have been born to Max and Estelle. Until I met you, the greatest stroke of luck in my life was having them as my parents.” He cups my cheek and runs his thumb over my face. “I don’t want you to spend one second worrying about me thinking less of you because of who you come from. I think the world of you. You have to know that.”

“I do, but thank you for reminding me.”

“Any time you need a reminder, you let me know.”

“I keep thinking about my sisters and what we said at the end of the interview. Do you think they’ll try to get in touch with me? What if they don’t even see it or if they haven’t heard the news about me?”

“They’ve heard, and they’ll see it, and they’ll call. Of course they will.”

“I can’t get my hopes up.”

“If you don’t hear from them, I’ll put someone on finding them.”

“You will? Really?”

“Yes, I will. What happened between you and your parents had nothing to do with them. We’ll find them and we’ll set the record straight with them. You want your sisters in your life, you’ll have your sisters in your life. Damn it.”

I smile at him, loving him for loving me so fiercely.

Our first morning as husband and wife was as sweet and tender as our first night. Like last night, he went out of his way to keep from doing anything that could possibly trigger a flashback. He was a perfect gentleman in every possible way. Despite the satisfying conclusion for both of us, I was left wanting more.

After seeing him unhinged and lost in the passion we generate together, I’m saddened to know that he’ll be holding that back every time he touches me from now on.

I think about the therapist who was so instrumental in helping me put my life back together after the assault. I spent two years seeing him three times a week before I changed my name and left for college. I haven’t spoken to him again since then, but I’m tempted to call him to help me navigate this new relationship with Flynn.

The first chance I get, I’ll reach out to him. I need all the help I can get in trying to be the wife Flynn needs and deserves.

Our arrival back in LA is uneventful. We land in a secure area of the airport, and after handing Fluff over to the security detail, we take off on Flynn’s motorcycle with helmets covering our faces and concealing our identities. As we fly down the freeway, I begin to understand why he feels so free when he’s driving and even more so on the bike. Pressed up against him, holding on tight to the man I love, I’m able to let go of a lot of the worries that have occupied my mind in recent days. It’s hard to think about anything else when you’re on the “four-oh-five,” as they call it here, with your legs wrapped around the biggest movie star in the world, who also happens to be your gorgeous new husband.

My life today might bear no resemblance whatsoever to the unassuming life I was leading two short weeks ago, but if I had it to do over again, I wouldn’t change a single thing about it. I’ve reinvented myself before and survived. This time, I’m not alone. This time, I have the love of the most exceptional man to hold my hand as I navigate my way through these uncharted waters.