The MC President's Forsaken Wife (Zara and Knox) novel Chapter 281

Chapter 139-2

“She’s six years older than me, born before Dad ever met Mom,” I say, my throat tightening slightly. “She grew up with a dad-shaped cutout in her life – this huge, empty shadow where a parent should have been.”

“Yeah,” he says quietly.

“I knew my Mom was gone, Locke. There was closure in that, as painful as it was. But Willow grew up knowing her father was probably alive, but she had no photòs, no stories, no men in patches showing up to watch her back. She had nothing.”

“Zara…” Locke murmurs, his tone shifting, softening as the reality of it sinks in.

“She spent her entire childhood searching for something to fill that empty space,” I say. “Honestly? I think t hat’s why she got so deep into the hippie stuff, the communes, the spiritualism. She was desperate for a home. Desperate for a father figure, or a sisterly bond, or anything that made her feel like she belonged somewhere.”

“Okay, baby. I see what you mean.”

“But remember, Locke… when she finally found Dad, and came to claim her family, she messed everything up. She came in like a lunatic and tried to tear us apart. And Dad did what he always does: he got fiercely, ruthlessly protective of me.”

Locke’s jaw tightens slightly at the memory, but I place my hand gently on his chest.

“People make mistakes when they’re lost, Locke,” I say. “Look at my marriage to Knox, right? I made terribl e choices, I got lost. I made huge mistakes, and I nearly wrecked my own life.”

Locke is silent, holding my hand in his own.

“But people gave me grace,” I say. “You understood me. What if everyone had just thrown their hands up, told me I fucked up, and said I had to live in the wreckage alone? I wouldn’t be here right now.”

Locke looks at me for a long, quiet moment. The hard, protective edge in his eyes slowly gives way to something deeply tender, filled with an understanding that only a man like him – a man who understands loyalty and loss – could truly feel.

“I was understood when I was at my lowest,” I say. “I have to try and offer that same understanding to my sister. I’m not letting her back into my life completely, and I’m not running out to meet her. But I can’t just leave her alone in the dark. I can’t.”

“I know,” he says gruffly. “And I’m still mad as hell at her for what she put you through, but I love you more than I’m mad at her.”

A watery laugh escapes me. “That’s good.”

“It is,” he murmurs, his mouth lifting into a faint, reluctant smile. “Because I’m extremely fucking mad at her.”

Something in my chest untangles at the sound of his rough humor. I lean up and press a soft, lingering kiss to his lips.

13

Chapter 139

Clarm

“We handle Willow together,” he says, his voice turning firm, solid, and utterly unyielding. “If she’s genuine, we’ll find out slowly. If she’s not, she doesn’t get past ine to get fucking anywhere near you again.”

I nod against his chest. “Okay.”

“You know,” Locke says. “Your Dad… even with all his faults, he knew what he was doing when he set things up for you, Zara.”

I blink, looking up at him. “What do you mean? What things?”-

“Me.”

“You? What about you?”

“When you decided to leave Knox, I was out of state,” Locke says. “Cobra called me back here, no explanation at all. The day after I first met you, he told me my duties were changing. He pulled me off the long-distance runs and shifted me away from the heavy club business.”

I pull back just a fraction, staring at him. “He did? So soon?”

“Yeah,” Locke says softly. “He told me my focus was here now. He said my focus was you.”

My breath catches in my throat. “Really?”

“He looked me dead in the eye,” Locke says. “And he told me: ‘She’s got me and her brother, and fuck knows she’s got the club. But she needs someone who’s going to stand beside her in a different way’.”

“Shut up. He did not.”

“No bullshit. He saw where we were headed before I even knew myself, Zara.”

For a long moment, I just look at him. At this man who carries the weight of a rough, dangerous world on his shoulders, yet holds me with a gentle, reverent tenderness that makes me feel entirely indestructible.

I think of my father, a hard, damaged man who built a fortress around me. I think of my brother, of my family, and of the deep, unbreakable roots that keep me grounded, no matter how hard the storm blows.

And then I think of Willow. She’s out there in the dark, still trying to find her way through her own mistakes and the shadow of her own upbringing.

But I have my foundation.

And my Dad knew that Locke was a key part of it, long before I did.

My throat tightens until it genuinely aches. “That smart old bastard.”

“It’s fucking irritating, huh?”

“Beyond irritating,” I laugh. “The man’s ego is already the size of the clubhouse. If he finds out you just admitted he was right, we’ll never hear the end of it.”

Locke’s eyes glint with amusement as he looks down at me. “Baby, he takes full credit for us every chance he gets. He told me that matching us up was his ‘best executive decision’ of the year.”

I giggle. “He did not!”

23

Chapter 110

le sure as hell did,” Locke says. “But you know what? Let the smart old man gloat. As long as his ‘best cecutive decision keeps you right here in my arms, I’m not complaining.”

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