“Don’t thank me,” she said, packing her laptop. “Thank Nathan. He got those flight logs in record time.”

I looked up at Nathan, his dark eyes watching me with quiet intensity.

“You did this,” I said.

“We did this,” he corrected softly.

We walked out of the courthouse and back down to the waiting SUV.

Rosie was still asleep, her little head resting against the plush car seat.

I climbed in beside her and pulled the blanket up to her chin.

As Marcus drove us away from the courthouse, I looked out the window at the Nashville skyline.

For the first time in three years, I felt like I could breathe.

But as I looked at Nathan’s quiet profile in the front seat, a new realization settled over me.

The lie we had told to save my daughter—that we were married—was now a matter of public record.

And while the immediate threat of Grant was gone, the future was completely unwritten.

I knew I couldn’t rely on Nathan’s protection forever.

I needed to build a life of my own, a career that would keep Rosie safe without needing a savior.