I felt the bullet before I heard it—Jacob jerked beneath me, a raw noise ripping from his throat. His legs nearly gave out.

“Jacob?” I tried to lift my head. “Jacob, you’ve—”

“I got you,” he wheezed, staggering forward. “I got you.”

Blood soaked through his shirt, warm against my arm. His steps slowed, dragging. I could feel him losing strength, but he wouldn’t drop me. He wouldn’t let go.

Then I heard her voice.

“Oh, look at that!” Lavenia’s shrill cackle rose behind us, triumphant and unhinged. “The knight takes a hit for the broken princess. How romantic. You think he’s your hero, Pearl? He’s just another corpse waiting to happen!”

I twisted in Jacob’s arms to see her—rain making her look wild, hair matted to her face, gun rising like she was holding a crown.

“You don’t get to win!” she screamed.

But right as she pulled the trigger…

BOOM.

Floodlights lit up the entire compound like God cracked the sky open. Flashbang. Shouts. Chaos exploded. Gunfire roared like thunder. Lavenia’s men scrambled like rats in a fire. Some ran. Some dropped like stones. I heard the sharp, efficient barks of soldiers—someone shouted “Clear!” and then more shots, closer now.

I blinked up toward the heavens, and through the blur I saw it—a helicopter, blades slicing rain, searchlight carving the dark apart. And then him.

Sebastian. Descending like some vengeful storm god, black vest, neck brace, face still bruised from the crash, rage and fear burning in every step.

“Find her!” his voice barked through the radio. “NOW!”

Jacob had stopped moving. He collapsed to his knees, falling forward with me still in his arms, shielding me even in unconsciousness. I couldn’t scream. I couldn’t even cry.

I heard boots slamming against metal.

“Sir! Lower hall—male carrying a female! She matches!”

Sebastian didn’t wait. They begged him not to go. Medics, soldiers… someone grabbed his arm. He shoved them off. I heard his voice long before I saw him.

“Pearl!!” My name cracked from his throat like a prayer. “Pearl, answer me!”

He found us. I saw him kneel down—his hands shaking so badly I thought he might fall apart right there. His fingers cradled my face like he was scared I’d break.

I blinked. Vision all rain and light and blood. “…Seb?”

“I’m here.” He was crying. Sebastian freaking Holt was crying. “I’m here, baby.”

“You came…”

He smiled, broken and full of fury. “I never stopped.”

Then I heard her. Lavenia.

“No! No! GET OFF ME! DON’T TOUCH ME!” Her shriek tore through the compound louder than the gunfire.

Through the blur, I saw her—kicking, clawing as two SWAT officers pinned her down. Her mascara streaked down her face like ink in the rain, teeth bared like a wild thing.

“This is HER fault!” she howled, flailing as they cuffed her. “Pearl should’ve been me! I worked harder! I deserved her life—not her! Not some spoiled bitch with pretty clothes and family money!”

“You’re nothing without it, Pearl!” she spat as they dragged her past us, soaked and howling. “You always needed someone to save you!”

Jacob was still unconscious beside me, blood pooling under him. I looked up at her from the floor—barely breathing, barely alive—and smiled.

“Still better than being you.”

Lavenia screamed like a banshee as they forced her down the hall. Screamed until the doors shut her away. And for the first time in forever, there was silence.

When I woke up, everything was white. The ceiling. The sheets. The noise… well, lack of it.

There was this sharp silence in the room, broken only by the rhythmic beeping of a monitor and the distant murmur of hospital chaos on the other side of the wall. My mouth felt like it had been stuffed with cotton. My throat? Sandpaper. My whole body pulsed like it had been run over, reversed on, then set on fire just for the drama.

IV in my arm. Bruises blooming like storm clouds under my skin. Bandages on my ribs, wrists, and probably more I couldn’t see.

I turned my head slowly, every muscle screaming in protest. And there he was.

Sebastian. Laid out in the bed next to mine. Propped up a little, eyes half-lidded, cheeks a mess of purple and yellow bruises. His neck brace looked like it barely held him together. But he was awake.

Watching me. No words. Just… that look. Like he couldn’t believe I was real. That I’d survived. That we’d made it.

It was the same look I gave him. I wanted to speak. Say thank you, or I missed you, or what the hell took you so long. But my throat refused, and my heart couldn’t pick one emotion. It was everything at once.

Relief. Pain. Guilt. Fury. Love.

He blinked slowly, like even that hurt, then whispered hoarsely, “You’re here. I’m sorry, love.”

I blinked right back. My lips cracked when I tried to smile. “You look like shit,” I rasped.

He actually let out this weak laugh. “Takes one to know one, princess.”

The door creaked open a while later. A nurse came in quietly, checked my vitals, then gave me the update I wasn’t ready for.

“Jacob is stable. He lost a lot of blood, but he’s going to make it. He’s in the recovery wing.”

I exhaled, just a fraction. My chest still hurt. Everything still hurt. Then she said it.

“Luther didn’t make it.”

And I swear, the floor cracked open inside me. I turned my face into the pillow. Didn’t cry loud. Just let it all soak inward. Quiet, angry tears. The kind you only cry when someone gave their life to protect yours.

That wasn’t supposed to happen. Not Luther. Not like that. Sometime later, the door opened again—more rushed this time.

Sebastian’s parents. His mother gasping. His father’s voice cracking as he said my name like I was a prayer. They came to my bedside, hugged me gently, eyes wet and grateful and overwhelmed.

“You’re alive,” his mom whispered, clutching my hand. “Thank God, you’re alive…”

I didn’t know what to say. I just nodded. Let her hug me. Let her cry into my sheets.

And then, like an emotional hurricane—my parents crashed in.

“Pearl!” My mom’s sob hit the wall first. She ran to me, fingers trembling as she cupped my face. ‘My baby… my baby, look at you… oh my God! How could this happen? Who did this—”

My dad, silent but stone-faced, sat beside the bed and gripped my hand like he’d never let go. I was shaking. I didn’t know if it was from pain or emotion or the fact that, for the first time in what felt like forever… I wasn’t alone.

Then, another knock. A nurse stepped in, clearing her throat delicately. “I’m sorry, but the doctor needs to speak to Miss Whitmore privately.”

My mom panicked. “Why? Is she okay? You already said she’s stable—”

“Mom,” I croaked, voice low, eyes sharp. “It’s fine.”

I looked up at the nurse. “Tell the doctor to come here. He can talk in front of me, my parents, and my husband. They’re my family, after all.”

Chapter 25

The nurse nodded and left. A few minutes later, the doctor walked in—then told me I was pregnant.

I blinked at him. “I’m sorry, what?”