A Woman Worth Billions Dated the Wrong Brother novel Chapter 449

The Ones Who Remain

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The Ones Who Remain

Amber POV

By the time Jason and I returned to the castle, I had nothing left to give.

Not to the world, not to the people who had spent years making decisions about my life, and certainly not

to the endless stream of problems that seemed determined to follow me wherever I went.

For once, I wanted silence.

I wanted a locked door, a warm bed, and the certainty that when I closed my eyes, no one would take

anything else from me.

Jason seemed to understand without my having to say a word.

He held my hand as we walked through the castle, his thumb brushing slowly over my knuckles. Neither of us spoke. There was no need. We had spent so many hours fighting, planning, confronting enemies, and trying to protect everyone around us that the quiet between us felt almost sacred.

When we finally reached our bedroom, I barely had the energy to remove my shoes.

Jason closed the door behind us, and I turned toward him.

For a moment, we simply looked at each other.

Then I stepped into his arms.

He caught me immediately, wrapping both arms around my waist and drawing me against his chest. I pressed my face into his shirt, breathing in his familiar scent, and felt something inside me finally

loosen.

“I am so tired, Jason.”

My voice was barely a whisper.

“I know, sweetheart.”

He kissed the top of my head.

“I know.”

There were a thousand things I could have said. I could have told him how frightened I had been, how exhausted I was from constantly having to anticipate the next betrayal, or how badly I wanted to believe that we were finally approaching the end of this nightmare.

Instead, I held him tighter.

For tonight, that was enough.

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The Ones Who Remain

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Jason helped me change, and I did the same for him. We barely managed to get beneath the covers before I curled against his side, resting my head on his chest. His arm settled around me, his fingers moving lazily through my hair.

I listened to his heartbeat.

Steady. Familiar. Real.

“Are you all right?” he murmured.

I let out a tired laugh.

“Define all right.”

His chest moved beneath my cheek as he chuckled softly.

“Fair enough.”

I lifted my head to look at him.

“We will find them all, won’t we?”

His expression changed. The tenderness remained, but something colder settled behind his eyes.

“Every last one of them.”

I studied his face, searching for the uncertainty he might be hiding from me.

I found none.

Jason had always been a man who made promises carefully. He knew the weight of his words, and he

never offered reassurance simply because it was what someone wanted to hear.

That was one of the things I trusted most about him.

“Then I will hold you to that,” I whispered.

He brushed his knuckles over my cheek.

“You can hold me to anything you want.”

I wanted to answer. I wanted to tell him that I was grateful for him, that I did not know how I would have survived the last few weeks without his presence, or that somewhere along the way, he had become the person I searched for whenever the world grew too loud.

But exhaustion had already begun dragging me under.

My eyes closed before I could find the words.

The last thing I felt was Jason pressing a kiss to my forehead and pulling me closer.

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The One’s Who Remain

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For the first time in what felt like forever, I slept without forcing myself to remain alert.

Unfortunately, peace in my life had never been particularly good at keeping its promises.

A sharp cry pierced the darkness.

I stirred, barely conscious, and instinctively tried to lift my head.

Jason moved first.

“Sleep,” he whispered.

“The babies-”

“I have them.”

Another cry followed, louder this time.

I pushed a hand against his chest, attempting to sit up.

“Jason, I can-”

“No.”

His voice was gentle, but there was no room for argument.

He leaned over and kissed my forehead before carefully disentangling himself from me.

“You have done enough tonight.”

“They’re our babies.”

“And I am their father.”

He said it so simply that I fell silent.

Jason sat on the edge of the bed and pulled on a robe. Then he turned to me, his expression softening.

“Amber, look at me.”

I did.

“You have carried them, protected them, had your body cut into in order for them to be safe and alive. You have given them everything you could, even when you barely had enough left for yourself.”

My throat tightened.

He reached for my hand.

“You don’t have to prove anything to me. Not tonight. Not tomorrow. Not ever.”

I swallowed the sudden lump in my throat.

The Ones Who Remain

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“I know.”