Page 44

T he second we step outside the courtroom, I finally breathe. Not just a quick inhale. But a long, bone-deep, soul-deep, fucking cleansing breath.

Because it’s done. Months of stress. Months of uncertainty. Weeks of waiting for this moment.

It’s over.

And Olivia?

She’s mine.

Kenzie’s hand is still in mine. She hasn’t let go. And neither have I.

Marcus claps a hand on my shoulder. “Hell of a fight, Maddox.”

I nod, exhaling. “Thanks for getting me through it.”

Marcus grins. “Oh, you got yourself through it.”

Then he glances at Kenzie. “Though I’d say you had some help.”

Kenzie arches a brow. “Damn right, he did.”

I huff a laugh.

But before I can say more—

Lauren steps into my path.

And just like that—

The tension snaps back taut.

Lauren’s eyes are sharp. Not wild. Not furious. Cold. Calculated.

The kind of calm that makes my muscles lock up.

Because if I’ve learned anything—

Lauren is most dangerous when she’s quiet.

“You think this is over?” she says, voice smooth as glass.

Kenzie stiffens beside me.

Marcus steps closer, ready to intervene.

But me?

I meet Lauren’s stare head-on.

“It is over.” My voice is firm. Unshaking. Final.

Lauren’s lips turn into a smirk.

“Oh, Grant,” she murmurs, tilting her head. “You’ve always been so naive.”

Kenzie bristles. “You lost,” she says, tone razor-sharp. “Take it and walk away.”

Lauren’s gaze snaps to Kenzie. A slow, eerie smirk spreads across her lips.

“Oh, sweetheart,” she purrs. “You think you’re permanent?”

Kenzie’s spine locks.

I step in front of her.

“I don’t care what game you’re playing,” I growl. “But Olivia isn’t a pawn in it anymore.”

Lauren’s smirk doesn’t falter. She just shakes her head.

And then—she drops the bomb.

“She’s six, Grant,” she murmurs. “She still has twelve years left with me. Twelve years for me to make sure she never sees you the way you want her to.”

My stomach clenches.

Because I know—

She means it.

My fingers flex. Not into fists. Not in anger. In restraint. Because every inch of me wants to react. To snap. To tell Lauren exactly where she can shove her manipulative bullshit.

But I won’t. Because that’s exactly what she wants.

Kenzie feels the shift in me. She places a hand on my arm. A silent reminder.

She’s here. I’m not in this alone.

I inhale slowly. Then exhale. And then?

I smile.

Not a smirk. Not a warning. A calm, infuriatingly steady smile.

And Lauren? She hates it.

“You do whatever you need to do,” I say smoothly.

Lauren’s brows pull together.

I step forward, just slightly.

“But in the meantime?” My voice is calm. Too calm. “I’m going to spend every second proving you wrong.”

Lauren’s lips part, but no sound comes out. Because she expected rage. She expected a fight.

Not this.

Not certainty.

Not a man who refuses to play her game.

Kenzie smirks. “Sounds like a personal problem, Lauren.”

I bite back a chuckle. Lauren’s nostrils flare. Then, without another word she spins on her heel and walks away.

Marcus exhales a low laugh. “Well, that was fun.”

I shake my head, rolling out the tension in my shoulders.

Kenzie?

She just squeezes my hand. And doesn’t let go. Because we won. And Lauren?

She’s out of moves.