Tristan POV
It was my own flesh and blood. My own brother.
Max.
The same Max I shared a womb with. The one person who always walked just one step ahead of me… had killed our parents.
When Detective Lobo said those words that night in my penthouse, my brain froze. My heart dropped. Everything around me blurred and collapsed.
Max.
I couldn’t breathe. I couldn’t speak. I was spiraling. And then, arms wrapped around me. Soft. Steady. Bellamy.
She held me like I was breaking in pieces, and maybe I was. I didn’t even realize how badly I needed her until I felt her hug.
She didn’t ask questions. She didn’t pull away.
God, she’s an angel.
I don’t know how I would’ve survived the last two weeks without her.
After Lobo’s revelation, everything moved fast. Chaotic and terrifying. We had to gather evidence—files, reports, emails. I called my parents’ lawyer, Mr. Kensington, who had been with our family for over fifteen years. He was heartbroken, but not surprised.
“I always knew Max had a dangerous ambition,” Kensington said over the phone. “But this…”
Detective Lobo and his team had found missing maintenance records, forged documents, and a series of secret payments Max had made to an offshore account belonging to the flight technician. One by one, things started falling into place.
Bellamy helped organize documents. She coordinated calls. She even helped locate a witness—an ex-employee Max had threatened into silence. Without her, I would’ve lost my mind.
Then came the court.
Max showed up in his best suit like he was going to a press conference. Still smug. Still trying to control the room.
When he saw me in the courtroom, his expression turned cold. “You really think I’d do that to them?” he whispered when we passed each other.
“You already did,” I answered.
He scoffed. “No. You wanted this. You always did. You just couldn’t compete with me, so now you’re playing the victim.”
“You’re the one on trial, Max,” I said, my voice shaking with fury. “Not me.”
As the trial unfolded, Max kept trying to spin it. He called his own lawyers. Tried to throw suspicion my way.
“I was the one groomed to run the company!” he shouted during one of the hearings. “Tristan hated it. He hated the responsibility. He hated the name! Who do you think benefits now?! He does! He set me up!”
The judge had to call for order more than once. But the evidence was airtight. They had his emails. The wire transfers. Testimonies. After two grueling weeks, the final verdict was announced.
Max Forsythe was found guilty of orchestrating the death of our parents.
He was stripped of his CEO title. Removed from the board. Cut off from every Forsythe account. Everything he once owned—gone.
And suddenly, I was no longer the shadow.
I was the CEO.
It felt… hollow at first. Like winning a war that cost you everything. But Bellamy was still there.
At every hearing. Every night I couldn’t sleep. Every moment I doubted myself. She was there. Quiet. Strong. Unmoving. My anchor.
And I realized—
I didn’t want to go another day without her being more than just the woman who carried my child.
So I planned something.
I rented out a quiet rooftop garden restaurant in the city. One with lights that twinkled like stars and a view that could steal your breath.
The staff helped me set everything up.
Candlelight. Soft music. A private table set with silverware that probably cost more than my car.
I wore a dark navy suit. Bellamy showed up in a deep burgundy dress, her hair loose, her eyes glowing even in the candlelight.
“What’s all this?” she asked as she stepped onto the rooftop.
I took her hand and kissed her knuckles. “Dinner. Just us.”
We ate. We laughed. We talked about everything except Max. Except the trial. It was the first peaceful night we’d had in weeks.
When dessert came out, I stood up.
She looked at me, confused.
I reached into my jacket pocket and pulled out a small velvet box.
Her lips parted. “Wait…”
“I’m not asking you to marry me,” I said with a soft laugh. “Not yet.”
She chuckled, hand to her chest.
“But I am asking you… to be mine. Officially. I want the world to know. I want you to know. I don’t want to go through life without you, Bellamy. You’re the reason I made it through this. You’re the reason I can finally breathe. You didn’t have to stay, but you did.”
I opened the box.
Inside was a beautiful ring—not an engagement ring, but a gold Dricarat band set with a deep green stone. Her birthstone.
“Will you be my girlfriend?” I asked.
She stared at me, blinking fast. And then—she smiled. The kind of smile that could break down walls.
“Yes,” she whispered. “Yes, I will.”