Page 115 of Monster. Me.

Fenn closes his eyes.

"I know what you want to say, but you don’t have to explain yourself. I know how that program worked. I have no right to expect that you and Rupert never—"

I cut him off with a frantic wave of my hands.

"That’s exactly why I want to tell you the truth. I didn’t sleep with him, Fenn. Not even once! What happened was a sexual assault. The day I came back after you and I had sex for the first time, he seemed to lose his mind. His kink is sharing his partner and being fascinated by the taste of another man’s jizz…"

Fenn stares at me with wide eyes, clearly not understanding where I’m going with this. I sigh because it’s so cringeworthy to talk about.

"He was really turned on by the fact that I’d just had sex with you. He pinned me to the bed, but first he tased me—"

"Holy fucking shit!" Fenn jumps to his feet, his face twisting with rage.

"That disgusting asshole! Just let me get my hands on him—"

"Wait! Please listen—"

"Marlow, was it my pheromones? Did they trigger the assault?" His eyes widen as he realizes something.

I let out a sigh. "Please, let me finish! Rupert came on my ass; he didn’t put it in. But the moment he was done, I jumped up and beat the shit out of him. He ended up unconscious in the hospital. So you could say I got my revenge. He spent two days recovering and had a mild concussion."

Fenn lets out a long breath.

"Whew… good. Oh, if I ever got my hands on him, he’d end up in pieces! You did the right thing. He deserved it, even if he was triggered, it’s no excuse! I know for a fact people can actually stop themselves, if they have enough self-control. But Rupert… What a revolting piece of trash!"

He sits back down beside me and pulls me against him for a moment. My head settles on his shoulder, where his gland still bears no bite marks, which starts to bother me for some reason.

"It’s okay now. I gave him a solid beating. I won’t deny it felt satisfying!"

Fenn lifts his hand and runs his fingers through my hair, ruffling it gently.

"My goodness… I had no idea you went through something like that. I’m really sorry, Marlow."

He studies my face as if wanting to make absolutely sure I’m okay.

"I’ve already gotten it out of my system."

A moment of hesitation crosses his face. He glances toward the colorful flower beds and speaks almost shyly.

"I hope you don’t want him to be part of the picture. When it comes to the children, he doesn’t deserve to have any contact with them."

"To be honest, I think so too. We’ll see how everything plays out. He definitely isn’t the kind of father my children deserve."

I see relief on his face. "I’ll claim them as mine. I’ll raise them as if they were my own blood, Marlow. I know how badly you wanted children, and they’re innocent. What I feel toward their father doesn’t matter. They’ll be ours."

I nod seriously, and we exchange smiles that feel like promises of the future.

"Listen, I only moved in here yesterday myself. I bought this place completely out of the blue, on impulse! I haven’t even had time to take a closer look. Maybe you’d like to walk around our new property with me?"

"Sure," Fenn smiles broadly. "When I saw all those cherry trees, I had a moment there. Remember how my dad had a cherry orchard? My best childhood memories are tied to it. Well, the only beautiful ones."

"Then let’s go look at the cherries. I think they’re ready to be harvested!" I reach out and pull him to his feet, and together we walk around the house surrounded by dense flower beds.

"Wow, it’s beautiful here…" he sighs. "I can’t believe you found a place like this, straight from a dream."

"All thanks to Blue’s help, he lent me money for the house. And… of course, Mr. Davos! He’s the elderly omega whose dog I treated when I first got to Rainbow Spring. He started spreading the word that there was a new veterinarian in town. Then, when his son decided to sell his house, I was the first person he thought of. I guess he’s hoping I’ll stick around for the long haul."

"Wow. That really feels like the hand of Fate. It's hard to believe that after so many setbacks, everything fell into place so perfectly. It's like all the stars aligned for us."