That's Not Fair
My throat went dry.
“She’s lived her whole life thinking she’s untouchable,” Rowan continued. “Let’s remind her she’s not. Let’s take her empire. Her friends. Her reputation. Let’s make her name something people whisper about.”
“You’ve thought about this,” I said softly.
His smile turned sharp. “I have my nemesis. You have yours. And lucky for us, they’re working together.”
I swallowed. “You’re talking about Lucious.”
“He’s already circling. He wants a war? Fine. Let’s give him one.”
“And Gigi?” I asked, voice smaller now. “She’s not going to stop.”
“Exactly why we won’t either,” he said. “But we’ll do it smart. Clean. She won’t even see it coming. We let her think she’s winning. Then we pull the floor out from under her.”
A strange chill ran through me. Not fear. Not dread.
Satisfaction.
I could picture it—her world collapsing. Her smug little smirk fading.
“You said you wanted revenge,” Rowan said, voice low. “Let’s make it last.”
I looked at him, really looked at him. He wasn’t the man I married. Not completely. But pieces of him were still there. Twisted. Changed. Somehow softer and more dangerous all at once.
“You’d do this for me?” I asked.
His expression didn’t change. “For you. For the kids. For everything I ruined. I want to fix what I can.”
I exhaled slowly, trying to hold myself together.
“You sure you’re not just trying to win me back?”
He smiled faintly. “Maybe. But not like this. This… this is about justice. You deserve peace, Remi. And if slow-burn revenge gets you there, then I’ll light the match.”
I laughed, and it surprised us both. It wasn’t a happy sound, but it was real.
“Alright,” I said after a pause. “Let’s do it slow.”
His eyes gleamed—satisfied. “Good.”
I shook my head, still a little dazed. “You know you’re insane, right?”
“I’ve been called worse.”
“Recently?”
“By you. About five minutes ago.”
That earned a real smile from me. Brief, but honest. I pressed my hands to my face, exhaled deeply, then muttered, “God, I can’t believe I’m actually considering this.”
Rowan crossed his arms, watching me. “So? Are you?”
I nodded slowly. “Yeah. Yeah, I think I am.”
His face softened. “Then call Jo. Tell her to pack light. Just the essentials. We’ll move the rest gradually.”
“You say that like Jo’s going to make this easy.”
Rowan arched a brow. “She’s that bad?”
“You’ll see.” I pulled my phone out of my pocket and dialed.
It rang twice before Jo picked up. Loudly.
“Remi Laurent, if this is you calling to cancel our smoothie run again, I swear to God I’ll key your car and blame the twins—”
“Jo.”
“Oh. You sound… breathless. Did someone die? Did you die?”
“No one died.”
“Are you sure? Because you sound like someone who either just cried, laughed, or proposed murder.”
I blinked. “...All three, actually.”
There was a beat of silence. Then—
“Oh hell. What did Rowan do?”
I turned slightly away from Rowan, lowering my voice. “We’re moving in with him.”
There was a high-pitched screech on the other end that made me wince.
“WE?! As in me too?!”
“Yes, you too. We need eyes I trust, and unfortunately, that’s you.”
“I am honored. Deeply. Emotionally. But also—do you know what this means?”
“Please don’t say anything dramatic.”
“I have to live under the same roof as your hot, emotionally unavailable ex-husband who once made me cry with a single glare.”
“He’s working on his emotional availability,” I muttered.
“Oh, great. That’ll go well with my emotional instability. What time do I pack?”
“Now.”
“Now-now?”
“Yes.”
She gasped. “Remi. I am not emotionally prepared for this level of chaos. I need at least twenty minutes to mentally spiral. Possibly forty-five to mourn my quiet apartment.”
“You have ten. And bring your stun baton.”
“Oh, now it’s a party,” Jo said cheerfully. “Tell Rowan I’m claiming the guest room with the purple walls. Or if he kicks me out, I’ll share with the twins and turn their room into a Jo-themed sanctuary.”
I hung up before she could say anything worse.
When I turned around, Rowan was already watching me. There was something unreadable in his expression, like he was studying me. Not suspiciously. Just quietly… intensely.
He stepped closer.
I tensed—just a little—but didn’t move away.
Then his hands lifted, slow and careful, until his palms rested against my cheeks.
Warm. Steady.
My breath caught.
“You’ll be fine,” he said softly, eyes on mine. “We’ll be fine.”
And then he leaned in and pressed a kiss to my forehead.
I didn’t expect it.
Didn’t expect the way it made my chest ache either. It wasn’t romantic. Not exactly. It wasn’t even bold.
But it was gentle. And it was him. The version I didn’t think I’d ever get to see again.
I didn’t say anything as I stepped back.
I didn’t have the words anyway.
Instead, I picked up my coat and walked out.
—
By the time I got home, the sun had dipped low enough to cast long shadows across the street. I pulled up to the curb, already thinking about what to tell the twins, how to ease them into the idea of moving without making it feel like we were running.
But the second I turned off the ignition, I saw the black SUV parked across the road.
I knew the car.
Asher.
Damn.
My heartbeat skipped, then sped up, and I wasn’t sure if it was guilt or dread or both. I stepped out of the car and closed the door quietly.
His door opened too.
He stepped out slowly.
He looked… not angry.
Worse.
Hurt.
His eyes locked on mine, unreadable, as he shut the door behind him.
“Asher,” I said, voice soft.
He didn’t answer right away. He just stared at me like he was waiting for me to say something else. Something better. Something that made this less of a betrayal.
I tried. “I was going to call you tonight.”
“Yeah?” His voice was low. “To say what? That oh I am sorry for snubbing you and acting like you don't exist after I poured my feelings to you?”
“That I made a decision.”
“I figured.” He shoved his hands into the pockets of his coat. “I heard Jo on the phone when I walked in so I figured.”
I didn’t know what to say. There was nothing I could say that wouldn’t sound like an excuse.
He looked past me at the house. “Are the twins inside?”
“No. They’re with my cousin till tomorrow.”
He nodded once, then looked back at me.
Still quiet.
Still that same look.
Like I’d just handed him something sharp and told him to hold it.
“Asher—”
“How can you do this?” he asked.
Not angrily.
Not accusing.
Just… devastated.
I gulped. He must have known I was moving in with Rowan.
I looked down at the pavement between us, then back at him. “It’s not like that.”
Asher’s jaw flexed. “Then what is it like, Remi? Because Jo just told me you’re moving in with him. Of all people him?!”
“I wasn’t hiding it,” I said.
He huffed a laugh. “Really? Because I had to wait here and ask. Because you haven’t picked my calls in three days.”
I opened my mouth, then closed it. He was right.
“You said you were done with him,” Asher continued, stepping forward. “You said he broke you. Do you want me to remind you of everything he did? Or have you decided to rewrite it now that he’s kissed your damn forehead and promised to play bodyguard?”
I flinched. “That’s not fair.”
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