Page 180 of Jordan

“How could you leave us here like this?” Rafael’s voice is calm, quiet. But I hear the anger there. “For so long…”

“I had to,” is what Enzo says, but there’s guilt there. I hear that too. Loud and clear.

“No, you didn’t,” Rafael argues, his voice growing louder.

“It’s over now.”

“It was over when you got her back. You left us here like dogs to wander around your house, waiting for you to come back!”

I turn away from Enzo. “Rafael, please—”

“No!” he shouts, standing up from the dining table. The chair flies backward, crashing to the floor. “I’m not afraid of him, Jordan. I’m not afraid to fight and argue with him, and if you are, I’ll do it for you. I was here with you. I saw how hurt you were. I’m not okay with that.” His gaze goes back to Enzo, and it’s angrier than ever. “Do you have any idea how much you hurt her? You shouldn’t have left us.”

“I know.”

“You know, yet you did it anyway,” he growls, his hands clenching at his sides.

“I did.”

“And you just expect things to fall right back into the way they were? What about the contract?” he barks, moving closer to us.

Enzo huffs out a laugh. “That’s what you’re mad about, Rafael? The fucking contract?” Enzo’s heart speeds up, thumping a little harder against my cheek. “Fucking sue me. If it’s the contract you’re pissed about, sue me.”

“Yeah, it—”

“No!” Enzo shouts. I still hold onto him, not wanting to let him go. He’s panting, his heart thundering. I can’t let him go. “No, Rafael. It isn’t. You’re pissed because you missed me. Because I wasn’t here for you. Because I did exactly what you’re afraid of. The exact thing that keeps you from committing? I did it, and I’m fucking sorry!”

It’s quiet for a moment as I bury my face in Enzo’s chest, gripping onto his shirt in fear he’ll try to leave again. I don’t want to hear this argument. I don’t want them to fight. Enzo is back, and we should be happy. Things can be the way we planned now.

“You’re wrong,” Rafael says. But I hear it. I hear the lie.

“I’m not wrong, and it’s okay. I missed you too, and I promise I will never ever leave you again. Come here.” He pulls an arm off me, and I assume he’s holding it out to Rafael, but I don’t want to pull away to look. I don’t want them to fight, I don’t want to let go. I want to burrow myself into Enzo’s chest and never leave. “Come here, Rafael.”

A moment later, he’s there too. The three of us huddled together.

“You left us,” Rafael whispers in a trembling voice. “You left us alone with no way to talk to you, to make sure you were okay. You—”

“I’m sorry,” Enzo says. “But it’s done now, and I’m here. I’m not going anywhere. It’s done.”

I reach for Rafael’s hand and peek up at him. He’s staring over my head but looks at me when I link our fingers.

“It’s okay, Rafael,” I whisper. “Everything is going to be okay.”

A tear slips from his eye. He shakes his head and squeezes my hand back, resting his forehead on Enzo’s shoulder and sucking in a shaky breath.

“Everything is going to be okay,” he whispers.

And it will be. Because I have my untraditional, un-fairytale happily ever after. And no one dare take it away from us.

Epilogue

Jordan

Six months later

“They don’t look real,” Rafael whispers.

The three of us stand over the crib our babies share. Have been sharing for the last week since they’ve been home. They’re sleeping soundly, as they tend to do. They sleep hard and long, but when they’re awake, they cry and fuss a lot. Until they’re together. They love being together.