Bonus Alexander 2

And I wasn’t the only one this happened to, as there have been several men and women with similar stories showing up at the station hours or even days after their encounter. Some were even linked to her and her accomplice, who also happened to be her brother. She was arrested along with her brother when they were both at a bar the night after our encounter, trying—and failing, as she had with me—to get a young lady to go with her back to her hotel room. I’ll skip the whole thing, but I will say that the young lady was lucky the bartender was watching over her that night; otherwise, who knows what would have happened to her had she actually drunk her drugged drink?

Fast forward to a week later when the police finally got the footage of the night of my investment celebration. It felt like a weight had been lifted off my shoulders when they said that I had been drugged, hence my lack of recognition of what happened after shaking hands with my new investor and waking up in a stranger's bed the next morning. I went home after a few days and had a good talk with David. I needed to tell Kat everything, even if it brought bile to my throat and anger to my veins.

I didn't even have time to set my duffle bag on the floor when I felt Kat's body hit mine, her arms wrapping around my neck as she mumbled apologies.

"I should have known better than to say those horrible things to you," she whimpered. I relished having her back in my arms after weeks of not holding her.

"Shh, it's okay," I murmured, pressing a kiss to her head and holding her tight in my arms. After that little incident, things went back to normal—well, as normal as they could be with running a company and working on a new project.

"ALEX!" a voice yelled, breaking me out of my thoughts. I looked up toward the hall to see Hayden impatiently staring at me.

"What is it, H?" I asked, and he huffed.

"Where the hell were you for— you know what? Forget it. Kat's water just broke," he said, making my eyes widen before I jumped up and rushed toward the kitchen, since that was where I last saw her while grabbing a glass of water before heading to the living room to work.

"Fuck," Kat hissed as she bent over with her hands on the counters, taking deep breaths to manage her contractions.

"You're doing great, baby," I whispered, rubbing her back. "Just one more, darling. Let's get you to the hospital." Not long after we arrived, the twins—a beautiful baby girl and a handsome baby boy—were safely delivered, even though we had a scheduled C-section for the following week. Kat gave birth naturally, like the trooper she is.

"They're absolutely beautiful, Kat," my mother cooed as she and Dad barged into the recovery room with Ella, Nessa, John, and Tyler. Kat’s siblings—aside from Hayden—showed up half an hour after my parents and siblings. They all awed and cooed over the newborns while Sage and Savannah cuddled at each side of Kat, watching their siblings with wide and fascinated eyes, glaring at anyone who dared to get near the babies.

"Have you decided on their names?" a nurse asked, shocked to see so many people in the room at once.

"Yes," Kat replied before giving the doctor the twins' names.

"Goodness, those are beautiful," Elle gasped next to Kyle, who nodded his head in agreement.

"Have you talked to Mom and Dad?" Jaylen then asked Kat, who shook her head. "It's weird how they changed."

"You could say that again," Hayden mumbled.

Who knew this would be my life? Married to a beautiful woman with four kids and a successful company? I sure as hell never imagined that this would be my life, yet that's exactly how it came to be after having such a rough past. And to think that this all began when I learned Kat was having my baby.

Life is full of surprises, so don't let them slip away. Fight for what you believe in, and never lose sight of who you are. Lean on those who love you, because they are the ones who will always have your back, whether you achieve your goals or fail them. They will never let you do things on your own.

Trust me.

Nothing in life is easy, but with the support of the right people, you will get where you want to go.

Never think twice about reaching out for help, even if you don't want to burden them. It's better to burden them than to worry them.

Alright, gotta go. The wife and kids are calling. And remember what I said: don't ever give up on your dreams, no matter what.