by Bry Ann
Four Months Later
Sage
“I can’t believe we did that!” I squeal as Nix tugs me in close to him. I lean back against him in our first class seats.
He just smirks. I swat at his chest. Dumb man!
“We eloped!” I shriek. “We’re married. Eloped. We flew to Vegas on a whim and eloped.”
“Say eloped again,” he teases.
“We eloped, Nix!” My eyes bug out.
He laughs and turns around, holding my shoulders gently.
“Do you regret it?”
My shoulders fall. “No. I didn’t want a big wedding with my dad still ill. I just want you to be my husband. I don’t want to be celebrating when he’s still recovering. I don’t want to be overwhelmed with planning and people. I just love you, that’s all.”
He smiles. “Then what’s with the dramatics, doll?”
I smirk a little. Good point.
“I guess there’s such a stigma around it.”
“We’ve been together more than eight years. We didn’t decide to do this on some drunken night. We planned this. For months now.”
I wrap my arms around him. “I know. I’m sorry. I’m so happy.”
He chuckles and hugs me back. “I know.”
I swat at his head. His smile tells me everything I need to know. “Sleep, princess. I’m getting drinks.”
I think for a moment, letting my fear and months of therapy go to war.
Fuck it.
“Get me a drink, too.”
His eyebrows shoot up. I hold my hand up for the flight attendant.
“Can you get us two beers, please?”
He takes my hand and kisses it. I laugh.
“My bomb-ass wife.”
I poke his nose. “Don’t forget it.”
“I won’t, Mrs. Briar-Rose.”
“Good, Mr. Briar-Rose.”
He smirks.
Yep, Nix took my last name. Untraditional, yes. Perfect for us, definitely yes. He’s no longer a Marketta. That name brings no good. Rose didn’t even keep that last name.
And both of us are honored to be related to my father. A man who truly knows how to repent, learn, and grow. A man who built himself from the ground up and gave it all up for me when I needed him most.
A man I know will build himself back up again.
So here we are. Mr. and Mrs. Briar-Rose.
Three Years Later
“Wanna go see Grandpa, pumpkin?”
Chubby cheeks and, I swear, if I didn’t know better, annoyed eyes stare back at me.
Nix laughs behind me and goes over my shoulder to talk to our son.
“Let me try this. Damien, you are going to see your grandpa. Be good.” Nix kisses my cheek. “There.”
“Nix!” I gasp. “He’s only one. You have to be gentle.”
“That’s my son. You just gotta tell him what to do. Trust me.”
“He’s my son, too, and he needs gentle.”
Nix smirks. “Is he pouting?”
I pull my little angel away to see his face. Of course he’s completely calm, the little fat on his cheeks spilling over.
I give Nix a flat look.
“Asshole.”
He (fake) gasps. “Don’t say that in front of my son.”
I laugh. “You’re gonna raise a monster,” I mutter.
“We won’t let him be a monster,” he whispers in my ear, gentle and sincere.
I squeeze Damien in tighter to my chest. Thirty minutes later, we are at my parents’ house. Molly gives me a tight-lipped smile. I stopped calling Molly “mom” completely. I’m over it. We have our moments, but she’s no mom. It doesn’t bother me anymore.
“Hello, Molly.”
“How’s my grandson?”
God, she might as well be asking about the weather.
“Good.”
I push past her and enter the house, Damien held tight against me. Nix walks in behind me, carrying all of Damien’s things.
I find my dad in his office. Pride swells in my chest. You’d never know. You’d never know all he has to fight every day. He’ll never be “better”. He’ll never be completely healed, but you know what? He can run his business. He gets up every day, puts his favorite suits on, and builds his empire with my mom by his side. She’s been nothing but loyal to him. She’s taken on a bigger role in the company to make up for my dad’s weaknesses. With them as a team, the world will never know the things my dad struggles with behind closed doors.
Oh, and he never blamed me. Not for one second.
“Dad!”
He looks up from his computer and smiles at me. Well, Damien, let’s be honest.
“How are my two favorite people?”
Nix pops up behind us, leaning against the doorway with his arms crossed over his chest.
“Hi Charles.”
“Hi, son, how are you?”
“I’m very good, thank you.”
The two men share a look I can’t quite interpret. Damien breaks the moment. He starts to cry and kick and scream. Of course, the second I place him in his grandfather’s arms, he stops.
I roll my eyes.
The two men laugh at me.
Just me and all my boys.
And I’ve never been happier. I couldn’t ask for more.
“You sure he’s okay?” I bite my lower lip.
“Yes, Sage. I promise. Lacey will protect him as if he’s her own. She even went to Rose and Sven’s place to keep Damien away from the mansion while you’re not there. It’s one night.”
I hold a hand over my stomach. Nix smiles and places his hand there as well.
“Our little princess.”
He kisses my lips hard.
“I thought I was your princess,” I murmur.
“You’re my queen, now, babe.”
“Cheesy motherfucker you are.”
He pushes me back on the couch. His erection is hard against my inner thigh.
“Yes, Yoda,” he mumbles.
“Nix,” I whisper, feeling my hips buck up against him.
“Babe,” he groans, long and hard.
I’m twenty pounds overweight. My hair’s not done. My make-up’s, eh. Minimal. This pregnancy has not treated me kindly.
But Nix finds me beautiful.
He’s so excited to have a night with me.
His sloppy, mentally unstable wife.
But that’s my story. It’s messy, dirty and definitely unstable. The story of a girl who only wanted love. How that, in its naive form, left her shattered in the beginning.
And the story of the man who never gave up on her. The man who understood what it is to be unloved and abused. Who loved her even as she grew and changed.
I’m accepted. Wholly and completely.
Want More Nix?
See Nix in action in the
Roses & Thorns
series and
Enzio!
Both stories are now live on Amazon.
First, I want to thank everyone who read this book and Shattered. These books, Shattered especially, mean a whole lot to me. It meant to the world to me that there are people out there reading them and loving the characters the same way I do.
If you are new to this world and my books, and didn’t read Roses & Thorns first, I want you to know that a lot of the characters in this book have their own stories. This includes Cut and Maria, Lacey and Adam and Rose. I think when you’ve read those books this story will be far more impactful. I have those book links below if you want to know more about them!
For people keeping up with the series and spin-offs, I reveal who is next in our little world soon. This series of spin-offs started dark and got lighter, but we’re about to get realll dark and twisted up in here.
Thank you to my amazing editor, formatter, and everyone else who helps me make these stories everything they are.
Anyway, thank you guys so much! I really hope you liked it. Please let me know your favorite parts and what you thought! As
a gift to you for supporting me, I give out free e-books to people who leave a review on Amazon and Goodreads for any of my books. If you do this, just message me the links and I will send you a free eBook of your choice~ <3
Here are my social media links. I loveee hearing from you guys, so let’s chat!
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xx- Bry <3
Standalones:
*Axel: Axel and Aly’s Story
*Cut: Cut and Maria’s Story
*Enzio: Derek and Iris’s Story
Saving Her Series:
*Saving Her: Sam and Logan’s Story
*Saving Him: Dana and Gunner’s Story
*Saving Them: Alex and Rex’s Story
*Safe
*Saving Her Box Set
Roses & Thorns:
*Roses & Thorns: Sven, Rose, Lacey, and Adam’s Story
*Roses & Thorns: Women
*Roses & Thorns: Men
*Roses & Thorns: Conquer
*Roses & Thorns: Box Set
Shattered Duet:
*Shattered: Nix and Sage’s Story
THANK YOU
SO MUCH
FOR READING!
