What He Needs

“Bell, darling, come sit with me,” called Corrine.

Bell moved past Axel and sat beside Corrine, who immediately hugged her, whispering something no one could hear. Bell nodded, and Corrine smiled, touching Bell’s cheek gently.

Axel sat down on the other side of Bell, watching her as though she might disappear if he looked away.

Ashleigh watched the scene, and she couldn’t help but feel a sense of relief for Bell.

When she had heard, when she had realized what Bell must have suffered all that time… Ashleigh was worried about how alone she must have felt.

Neither Ashleigh nor Renee knew what she had been through, and Bell had lost her grandmother a few months after turning eighteen.

But Ashleigh saw now that Bell had people that she could rely on, who already knew and did everything they could to keep her safe.

Now Ashleigh would be one of Bell’s people. Someone she could genuinely rely on.

“Ashleigh,” Wyatt called softly beside her.