Page 117 of The Echo of Forever

We stopped at the curb, and he faced me.

“That, and a few other things, why?”

I shook my head.

“For the safety of everyone here, let’s hold off,” I suggested, looking up into his eyes. “Uploading my fingerprints to your system will give high-ranking society members, like my father, access to this place. You trust me, right?”

He nodded, but I couldn’t read how he truly felt, and that bothered me.

“I’m not—”

His lips met mine in the gentlest of kisses, and like every time before, my world stopped for him.

When he pulled back, I could see the wheels turning behind those eyes. This man was always calculating, always thinkingthree steps ahead. It made me feel simultaneously protected and exposed.

“You’re thinking of another way,” I mused, slowly understanding him more and more.

He nodded, thumb tracing my bottom lip.

“The head of security will come up with something more permanent that doesn’t compromise everyone here.”

What that meant weighed on me for most of the day.

This compound was more than just a home; it was a community built to protect its own. And somehow, I was part of it now.

CHAPTER 28

ECHO

My family had been whisperingabout Forever since she stepped outside the house this morning and interacted with Tristian. As soon as we walked through the community house front door, I made my announcement.

“This is Forever, my wife,” I said, meeting my grandma’s eyes first and then my aunt and uncle’s.

The news was for them specifically, but the room was packed with more than the immediate family, and my confession had them all silent.

My grandmother sat in her usual chair by the fireplace, the expression in her gaze more curious than anything. Aunt Velma had paused with a tray of drinks halfway to the center table. But it was my uncle’s hiked eyebrows as he studied Forever intensely that caught my attention. I watched the recognition spark in his eyes; he was connecting her to the surveillance footage from a couple of weeks back in my office.

“Your… wife,” Aunt Velma finally said, offering a smile that didn’t quite reach her eyes. “That’s… unexpected.”

The silence broke when Tristian and Tank, sitting on the floor near the bookshelf, burst into laughter.

“Y’all should see your faces,” Tank said, nudging Tristian with his elbow. “Best entertainment this week.”

“Mad awkward in here,” Tristian added, his eyes dancing with amusement as he looked at Forever. “Told you they’d flip.”

Their laughter seemed to snap everybody out of their trance, including my uncle, who stood.

“Demetrius,” he said, tipping his head toward the corridor. “Let’s have a chat.”

I kissed Forever on the forehead, doing it in front of everyone on purpose to make my stance known. She was here to stay, in my life to stay.

“I’ll be right back,” I told her softly, then followed my uncle into the corridor that led to the offices.

The moment we were out of earshot, he turned on me.

“Have you lost your mind?” he hissed, keeping his voice low but unable to hide his anger. “That woman is a high-ranking society member. Do you understand what bringing her here means?”

I leaned against the wall and crossed my arms. “I understand exactly what it means.”