Chapter 490
Chapter 489:
“This is a transaction,” she said. Her voice held steady, but her reflection in the glass showed a woman standing at the edge of something catastrophic. “Don’t pretend it’s anything else p>
Justin rose. He walked to stand directly behind her, close enough that she felt his presence without quite feeling his touch.
“Call it what you want,” he murmured. “The result is the same. You’re coming home with me. You’re sleeping in my bed. You’re raising our son. And you’re wearing my ring.” His hand settled on her shoulder, turning her to face him. “For the rest of your life, Carmen Collins. However long that transaction lasts p>
The Cadillac was waiting. They rode home in silence, the marriage certificate lying between them on the seat, the weight of their new reality pressing in from every direction.
When they reached the townhouse, Justin helped her from the car and kept his hand at the small of her back as they climbed the steps, as he unlocked the door, as they stepped into the foyer where Aaden stood waiting with Mrs. Patterson, his face igniting at the sight of them.
“Did you do it?” Aaden demanded. “Are you married? Are you my mom now p>
Carmen knelt. She opened her arms, and Aaden flew into them, his small body warm and solid and completely real.
“Yes,” she whispered into his hair. “I’m your mom now. Forever p>
𝘉e 𝗉a𝘳𝗍 o𝗳 o𝗎𝘳 c𝗼𝗺𝗺u𝗇𝗶t𝘆 on 𝘨а𝗹n𝘰𝗏е𝗹ѕ.𝗰о𝗺
Behind them, Justin Collins smiled and locked the door.
Gaston Collins stared at the Bloomberg terminal on his desk, watching numbers scroll past that meant nothing to him.
The acquisition was complete. The European energy grid was his — or would be in seventy-two hours, when the regulatory approvals cleared. It was a three-billion-dollar deal that should have commanded his undivided attention.
He couldn’t focus.
His phone sat beside the terminal, screen dark and silent. He had been staring at it for eleven minutes, watching the family group chat notification sit unread.
Finally, he picked it up and dialed a number he knew by heart — one he had called perhaps six times in the last decade.
Justin answered on the second ring. “Little brother. I was wondering when you’d call p>
“Congratulations,” Gaston said. He kept his voice light, casual — the tone he used when he was about to dismantle someone in a negotiation. “The family is buzzing. Senator Collins, finally domesticated. I assume Father is already mapping out the presidential announcement p>
Justin’s laugh was low and warm and entirely unconcerned. “Elbert has the timeline mapped to 2032. But you didn’t call to discuss my political future, did you p>
“I called,” Gaston said, “to ask how you managed it. Carmen Golden is not a woman who bends easily. She’s not a woman who bends at all. So what did you use? The boy? Some threat to her career? Or did you finally find something she wants more than her independence p>
The silence stretched. Gaston could hear Justin breathing on the other end — slow and measured, the way he breathed when he was deciding how much truth to offer.