Page 117 of Losing Control

"That it's a good idea." Jade turned to look at her. "I'm grateful Phoenix Ridge took a chance on me."

"They're lucky to have you."

"We're lucky." Jade crossed the room and settled beside her on the bed, close enough that their thighs pressed together. "All of us."

Maddox turned to face her, reaching up to tuck a loose strand of hair behind Jade's ear. "Remember when you showed up at my door that first time?" Maddox asked quietly. "After Diana mandated therapy?"

"You looked like you wanted to slam the door in my face."

"I did."

Jade's smile was soft. "I knew you'd come around."

"Did you?"

"Not at first. But eventually." She leaned into Maddox's hand, eyes warm in the low light of their bedroom. "Eventually I saw past the walls."

Maddox thought about those early sessions—the resistance, the fear, the absolute certainty that therapy was pointless and Jade was just another person who'd try to fix her and fail. She thought about the moment that had shifted, when resistance had cracked into something else.

"I was so scared," she admitted.

"I know."

"I almost destroyed us."

"But you didn't." Jade's hand found hers, their fingers interlacing automatically. "You fought for us instead."

Down the hall, Zeus's tags jingled softly as he shifted position. Emma would be sprawled across her bed by now, one arm flung over the edge, peaceful in sleep.

"Three years ago, I couldn't have done this," Maddox said. "Been a mentor, a partner, a mother."

"But you can now."

"Because of you."

"Because ofyou," Jade corrected gently. "You did the work. I just stood next to you while you did it."

Maddox pulled her closer, breathing in the familiar scent of her. "I love you."

"I love you too."

They sat in the quiet of their bedroom, the house settled around them.

It wasn’t perfect. They were still working, still growing, still choosing each other every day. But they were happy, genuinely, completely happy.

"We should sleep," Jade murmured.

"We should."

Neither of them moved.

Maddox pressed a kiss to Jade's hair. "Thank you."

"For what?"

"For not giving up on me."

Jade lifted her head, meeting Maddox's eyes. "Never."

They'd started with forced therapy sessions and resistance and walls so high they'd seemed impossible to scale. They'd found each other in crisis, built something real through healing, and created a family from broken pieces.

And tomorrow, they'd do it all again. The work of loving, of parenting, of building a life worth living.

But tonight, tonight was just peace.