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She slowly pulled out of my arms to stare down at me. “Say that again?”
“I’m leaving the Tarnished Angels.”
“But why?” she asked. “You’ve been part of the club for twenty years. You can’t just walk away. They’re your family.”
I brushed a strand of hair away from her cheek. “You’re my family now.”
“I didn’t ask you to do this,” she said, her brow wrinkling.
“I know. But I have to. You’ve been through too much.”
“I don’t understand. You’re just not going to be a biker anymore? Just like that?”
“Just like that,” I said.
“I still don’t understand.”
“You and I come from different backgrounds.”
“We’ve established that.”
“Yeah, but we haven’t established how we’re going to overcome that. We could go on this path for a while. Me in my life, you in yours, but eventually, what will we have? Two people who might love each other who haven’t built a life together. I don’t want that.”
“You’ll resent me,” she said quietly. “You’ll resent me at some point. You’ll blame me for giving up your life just so you can live in my world.”
“I’m not giving it up. Raze, Smoke, Kelp, Viper, and everyone else…they’re still family. But I can’t pretend that I can still be part of the club and also be your husband. I can’t go to galas with bloody knuckles and black eyes. I can’t be involved in strip clubs?—”
“Strip clubs?” I screeched.
“It’s not even worth talking about. Because I’m choosing. I’m choosing you and the family we’re going to make together.”
She turned her head away, but I gently grasped her chin and forced her gaze back to mine. “I want you to be able to stand by me and not have to lie about what I do for a living. I don’t want to have to tell you it’s club business. I don’t want to have to keep those kinds of secrets from you. I haven’t wanted to be Royce Dalton in a long time. But Duchess, you make me want to be a better man. You make me want to be Royce again.”
Her lips quivered and her brown eyes shone with tears. “You promise you won’t resent me?”
“I promise.”
“You promise this is your choice and that I didn’t pressure you into this?”
“I promise,” I said.
“Do you promise to love me forever?”
My mouth softened. “I promise.”
She leaned forward and gently brushed her lips across mine before pulling back. “I guess it’s my turn to tell you something.”
I arched a brow and waited.
“I want to go forward with my charity with Charlie. It’s where my heart is.”
“What about your father’s company?—”
“It’s still my father’s company,” she said. “I’ll still have voting rights, I’ll still be active. But I don’t want the daily responsibility. I’ve never wanted that. My father would want me to be happy. And after everything that’s happened…there’s no more time to waste. I’m going to make my dreams come true. I’m going to live a happy life.”
“I’m proud of you for coming to that conclusion, Duchess,” I said gruffly. “Who’s going to take over as Chair?”
She beamed. “My mother.”
