Roman and I met Marcus and Ed for breakfast the next morning to discuss how their night went and what our daily routines might look like. It was decided that we would all have as much privacy as possible at home unless their interference was absolutely necessary. I was given the OK to let Lori know that we were home and settled. Within the hour, Lauren and Lori had arrived as expected. We all hugged and gathered in the main family room, asking Marcus and Ed to join us a bit later, after we broke the news to Lauren and Lori about their presence.

"Tell me everything about the honeymoon," Lori said, cuddling up next to me on the sofa. Lauren was seated on the other side of Lori, and Roman was next to me. He had decided to go to work later in the morning.

"The Bahamas was incredible," I told Lori and Lauren. I explained about the cabana, the beach, and the food. Roman added details about the tourist attractions that we visited together and how much fun snorkeling was. "Tell me about your internship," I said to Lori.

"It’s so much fun, I love interior design," Lori said. "There’s so much more to it than I thought, like the level of detail when you’re working with contractors to create a completely new space for a client."

"She’s helping me with two projects for two separate clients," Lauren said, "and they absolutely adore Lori."

"That’s not surprising," I said, taking Lori’s cheeks in my hands and pressing them to make her lips stick out. "Lori is so adorable, isn’t she?" Lori shoved me playfully.

"Seriously, the girl’s got talent," Lauren emphasized. "Now, are you going to tell me why there are two strange men in your house?" Lauren asked Roman and me.

"You saw them already?" Roman asked her.

"They were hard to miss," Lauren said. "I caught a glimpse of them walking down the corridor when we arrived."

"Bodyguards," I said. "They’re FBI agents." Lori gasped, but Lauren only nodded, knowing all too well the importance of security.

"Did something happen?" Lori asked me.

"We’re trying to prevent anything from happening," I said to Lori. "I never told you the whole story about me and Roman. Our father can go to jail for what he did." Lori raised her brow at me.

"Maybe you two should talk in the study," Roman said to me. "Lauren and I will chat with Marcus and Ed until you two get back." I agreed and stood.

"It’s that bad?" Lori asked, getting up from the sofa to follow me out of the room. 𝘧𝓇𝑒𝑒𝑤ℯ𝑏𝓃𝘰𝑣ℯ𝘭.𝘤ℴ𝘮

"What our father did was illegal," I said as I led Lori to the study down the hall. "I didn’t want to tell you because it’s risky." We entered the study and I closed the door behind us.

"Hannah, what did Dad do?" Lori asked me, her expression full of worry.

I pursed my lips as I pulled her to the sofa where we sat down together. "Dad sold me to a human trafficking ring," I said, my heart pounding as I broke the news to my sister.

"He did what?" Lori’s eyes were wide in shock.

"There’s a human trafficking hub right here in the city," I said to Lori. "Dad found out about it and decided he could make a quick buck by selling me. He and Roman didn’t plan it, but Roman knew me and outbid everyone so that I could be safe."

"Oh my God," Lori said, covering her mouth and shaking her head. I wrapped my arms around her.

"That’s why we have bodyguards now," I continued. "We told the FBI about the place - it’s called The Auction House, and we want them to take it down, which puts us at risk for being targeted by the guy who owns the place." Tears were welling up in Lori’s eyes, and I stopped talking so that I could hug her while the information sank in.

"Dad’s going to jail," Lori said in a quivering voice.

"It’s OK," I said. "You and I both know that’s where he belongs. He’s been terrorizing us for years, but we didn’t see how bad it really was."

"Is he going to try and sell me too?" Lori asked me, her eyes shiny with tears. "Is that why you don’t want me to go back and live at home?"

"I want you to live with us, Lori," I said, holding her shoulders and staring into her teary eyes. "Dad threatened me by telling me that he would do the same to you, but that’s not going to happen. There’s plenty of room for you here. Roman and I have already discussed it."

"But you two just got married," Lori said. "I don’t want to be in your space all the time. You’ll get tired of me."

I shook my head. "Of course we won’t, Lori," I said.

"Are those bodyguards living here too?" she asked me. I nodded and Lori scoffed. "I don’t know if I can handle living here with those strangers, too."

A thought occurred to me. "What about the guest house?" I asked her. "It’s just on the other side of the pool, off the back patio. If you ever need anything, you can move freely between the main house and the guest house. We’ll be neighbors," I said.

Lori nodded. "I can be close to you and also have my own space."

I kissed Lori’s forehead. "Whatever makes you happy, Lori," I said.

"Hannah, how did Roman help you get out of that place?" Lori asked me. "How did he even know you were there?"

I smoothed down a few flyaway hairs near Lori’s temple. "I’ll let him tell you that part," I said to Lori. His wasn’t my story to tell. "Just know that he paid our father a lot of money to save me."

"He loves you," Lori said. "I can see it in the way he looks at you." What she said gave me pause. I knew that Roman and I cared about one another, especially after all we had been through, but love had never occurred to me. Love was something that developed over a longer period of time than Roman and I had been together. Sure, we were married, but plenty of couples married out of necessity, as was our case, rather than true love.

I smiled at Lori. "Let’s go get the keys to your new place," I said to her. Lori didn’t resist the change of subject, nor did she harp on the idea of Roman being in love with me, which I was grateful for. We made our way back to the main family room to find Lauren engrossed in conversation with Marcus and Ed. Roman had been listening intently, but his gaze met mine when Lori and I entered the room. I nodded, indicating that everything had gone well between me and Lori. Roman stood and excused himself from the conversation between Marcus, Ed, and Lauren to join me and Lori at the door. Roman placed his hand on my back and planted a kiss on my lips. The thought of love flashed in my mind briefly.

"Lori agreed to stay here, in the guest house," I told Roman.

He smiled at Lori. "Nice," he said. "The guest house is yours, Lori." Roman peeked out into the hallway and called for Geoffrey to get the keys to the guest house. He returned his attention to me. "I’m sure you three will want to doll the place up," Roman said. Lori’s face lit up in anticipation

"I’m sure these two will want to do that," I said to Roman, indicating Lori and Lauren. "I do not have an eye for design, nor do I have a creative bone in my body. But it’ll be fun to watch them work at it."

Roman smiled. "Come on," he said to me. "Let’s introduce Lori to the agents and tell them the plan to have her live in the guest house. I’m headed to work shortly." We approached the sofa where Lauren, Marcus, and Ed were still chatting. Roman interrupted to introduce Lori to Marcus and Ed and tell them where she would be staying.

"I wish I had thought of the guest house," Ed said jokingly. Geoffrey entered the room and offered a set of keys to Roman, who promptly handed them over to Lori.

"The place is all yours," Roman said to Lori. Lori thanked him and looked at me excitedly. I smiled back at my sister, filled with the relief of knowing that she would be safe with us. "Time for me to get going," Roman said. Marcus and Ed stood while Roman took me into his arms, pinning me with his blue gaze. "Try not to worry about me too much, Hannah."

"As long as Marcus is with you and I can reach you on the phone, I won’t worry too much," I said to him. We kissed for a moment, lingering in each other’s embrace before parting reluctantly. I walked with Roman and Marcus to the door, leaving Lori and Lauren in the main family room with Ed. Roman kissed me at the door once more before I watched him and Marcus climb into the Bentley and drive off. The idea of love crossed my mind again as I went inside and closed the door, but I pushed the thought away. I cared about Roman deeply, but love felt like a topic that I was not yet ready to explore.