Page 125 of The Echo of Forever

“Have we had this conversation before?”

She smiled, and it reached her eyes.

“We never got around to it. Once everything started to come out, I decided to wait my turn, but after listening to you talk about legacy, the urge to confess became too strong to ignore.”

I sighed and sat back, pulling a leg up and tucking it under the other.

“Being with Oliver means our lives will be intertwined in other ways. You okay with that?”

“I want us to be friends, Forever,” she said, leaning forward to meet my gaze. “Just without the sense of duty. That cool with you?”

“More than cool. Deep down, I think this is what I’ve always wanted, us being friends without the family baggage,” I told her, feeling a strange sense of relief wash over me. “You have my word that when this is all said and done, I’ll grant your wish.”

Carmen’s smile widened, a weight visibly lifting from her shoulders. We’d never truly had the chance to choose each other, always pushed together by our parents’ expectations. The possibility of a genuine friendship felt like something worth protecting now.

“Since we’re turning over a new leaf—”

“Lucien recruited me after I realized your memories were gone,” she cut in, answering the burning question before I formed it. “At the time, I didn’t know Soleme was Demetrius’s mother, but Lucien was very clear that the Fairchilds wanted to know how far he would go to get you back. At the time, I got caught up in uniting Everwood, the idea of us being free to live our lives how we see fit. But over the last couple of weeks, I really began to understand the bigger picture. It’s not about bringing everybody together, but giving them hope. If the two of you can fall in love, what’s stopping others from doing the same? From following their hearts, no matter where they lead?”

I closed my eyes and really thought about what she was saying to me. Sure, the idea of using me and Demetrius’s love story to bring about change sounded good. But since when has love stopped a man from seeking power?

Nah. We had to live for ourselves or die trying.

“Honestly,” I said after a while, a chuckle accidentally spilling from my lips. “Demetrius and I don’t plan on uniting shit, at least not on their behalf.”

Everything changed when I found out about my baby. And until the person who hurt me revealed themselves, it was fuck Everwood.

CHAPTER 30

ECHO

I leanedback in my office chair and watched Damon lean over Gaia’s shoulders as she typed ten times faster than he did. The kid’s eyes were wide when he looked at Oliver, who was sitting beside her.

“She’s amazing,” Damon said, sounding as if he were in a dream and she wasn’t real. “I want to learn from you.”

Gaia chuckled but didn’t respond until she was finished with whatever had brought her up to my office from the one I’d assigned her on the floor below. She and Violet were still operating their personal businesses from the city.

“If you can find how to contact me after I leave, I’ll consider taking you on as an apprentice,” she said, bringing the laptop over to my desk. “I’m going home tomorrow, because my man misses me. But because I feel like we’ll be lifelong allies, here’s my gift to you.”

She set it in front of me, and then a phone beside it.

“This phone is a clone of Maleficent’s. Any messages sent or received can be read here. It’ll also record the first ten minutes of every conversation and deliver an encrypted copy afterward. Because I like to know who I’m targeting, I downloaded allof her text messages over the last year and noticed something interesting.”

I took the phone after she pulled up Millicent’s text thread with Jayden, dating back to just before Forever lost her memories.

Meet me tonight. Same place. Need to feel you inside me again.

“Ayo, what the fuck,” I said, barely able to keep from laughing.

Always liked my women desperate.

Jayden’s responses proved he didn’t care for or even like Millicent. She was something to do for him.

I kept scrolling, skimming over messages until I spotted something that alluded to being about Jeremiah from right around the time she said he raped her.

You owe me.

I let that sick fuck have his way for your sake and now you’re abandoning me!!