Chapter 102

Lillian

At that moment I so much wanted to pick up a rock and smash it on this jerk in uniform's face.

" Excuse me? What the hell are you trying to do." I snarled, stepping in between Zayden and the officer.

He cleared his throat." The operation is over so..."

I cut him off abruptly." So get the fuck out of here and go back to your precinct."

He remained standing, staring at me like I just disrespected his entire lineage.

" Excuse me ma'am, but I have to do my job. He needs to return to his cell today without fail." He explained, his brows twitching.

Zayden was about to speak but I waved a hand, mentioning for him to let me do the talking." My husband just fought a man who had been terrorising the entire city for weeks and that you and your incompetent cronies have never been able to bring to justice. But now, you have him behind bars courtesy of me and my husband, who risked our lives for the sake of this city."

I stepped up to the officer, maintaining eye contact." We are going to step out of this place and return home and you are going to do nothing about it for a whole damn week. Do you understand me?"

He opened his mouth to speak but then closed it back the moment I glared at him." Do you understand me?" I repeated.

He swallowed." I can't do that ma'am. I'm only following orders. We have a policy to uphold. Normally, a criminal should be behind bars not rooming the city."

I clenched my fist, anger surging through my veins." Call my husband a criminal one more time and I swear I'll punch you in the face right now."

I heard Zayden growl in the background, his cold aura emanating from him.

The officer stared at me hard, his eyes unrelenting. He was a stubborn one." Your husband has various accusations against him; he broke out of his prison cell, bribed our officer and then shut down five police officers. That sounds like a criminal to me."

The next mommy, I sent my fist crashing down on his face. It wasn't as hard as I wanted it to be but it was hard enough to leave a bruise.

He groaned and I heard Zayden chuckle behind me.

I was breathing heavily, steam coming out from my nostrils."We just got out of a life-and-death situation. He even has Injuries; the least you can do is let us have some peace and quiet, at least for a few days." I yelled, my voice attracting other officers.

"Don't make me a mad young man, or I'll whoop your stubborn ass." I hissed, making sure he could read the fury in my voice.

The atmosphere was getting tense, with the bastard glaring at me while holding onto his bruised face.

" You just assaulted a police agent." He gnarled.

I eyed him in disgust." Like I give a fuck who you are!"

I shoved him out of the way with one hand and grabbed onto Zayden's wrist." Get the fuck out of our way." I spat out, before walking out on me.

Zayden flashed the officer a grin before following behind me. We got to our cab and took the ride back to our hotel.

Zayden kept smiling on the way making me feel embarrassed.

" Will you quit it!" I hissed out.

He ended up laughing." God! I'm so proud I have you by my side...I swear I wasn't expecting that sudden display of aura."

I glared at him, my cheeks turning pink." He was being unreasonable! At least we should get some rest or something not taking you back to prison that moment."

His grin only widened." Have I ever told you how much I loved you?"

I flipped an invisible hair out of my face." I don't think you have, have you?"

He threw a hand over my shoulder, dragging me closer to himself and ruffling my hair like I was his little sister." There are no words for how much my heart beats for you. I swear I'm going to brag about how my wife punched a police officer for me."

I rolled my eyes." Stop touching my hair." I pouted my lips but he grabbed my neck and picked my bottom lip with his teeth, sucking on it before taking me whole.

" I'm serious, Lilly. That was epic! You looked like an alpha woman!"

I shrugged." I had to; I got your back. If I don't stand in for you then what kind of woman would that make me."

His eyes soften, those orbs brimming with love." Fuck! I love you so much."

The ride back to our hotel room was filled with more kissing and smoochies till we finally arrived.

I helped clean up Zayden's wounds before we finally went to bed. We returned to New Jersey the following morning by plane, and thankfully,the cops gave Zayden one week of freedom as a token of their appreciation. And it was broadcast on the news that Tyrell had finally been brought to justice.

Of course, the cops took all the glory; no one knew the sacrifices and risks we took. That was the price for one week of Zayden's freedom.

One week was enough time for us to decide where we go from here. And also enough time to decide what to name our girl.

We went to the hospital immediately We got to New Jersey and went straight into the neonatal ICU ward.

" We should probably think of a name soon," I told Zayden.

He sighed, reaching inside the incubator to hold her tiny hand." Believe me, I've tried,, but nothing comes to my mind except Lillian."

I chuckled." Are you serious right now, that's my name!"

" I guess I'm bad at choosing names."

I contemplated for a while, a few had come to my mind lately, but I wanted one in particular; the only problem was if Zayden was okay with it.

I nudged him and he withdrew his hand from the incubator." Hey, what's your late mother's name?"

His eyes held mine the next second." Uhh... Laura."

I smiled at him and then looked over at our daughter. He understood what I meant but shook his head immediately.

" No..I don't think that's necessary." He spoke, his chest heaving up and down. He was overwhelmed.

"you said you can't think of any name, so I pick Laura." I told him, a soft smile on my face." In memory of the woman who brought you into this world.

He looked at me and then turned to look at our child." Yeah, I think that'll be nice." A warm smile appeared on his lips." Laura, it is then."

We remained standing there hand in hand watching our daughter.

" Oh...I almost forgot." Zayden spoke reaching for his pockets." I've had this with me every single day."

He opened his palm to show me a wedding ring, my wedding ring.

I swallowed, it hadn't crossed my mind that I wasn't wearing a ring this whole time.

He bent on one knee, holding up the ring." Will you be my wife again?"

I began tearing up. I've never had a real proposal; our marriage was based on a contract, so his proposal wasn't necessary during that time.

But now it was different, it felt different." I'll be your wife in every alternate universe. And in the next life and the one after."

He slides the ring on my finger, placing a kiss on my knuckles." Don't ever take it off again."

I grinned, suddenly feeling mischievous." What if, by accident,, it got out of my finger."

He eyed me." It won't, not if I have my name imprinted on your finger."

I chuckled." Unfortunately, you can't."

He grabbed my wrist the next second." Where are you taking me?" I asked.

He didn't respond and that was how we left the hospital. I kept asking as he drove out of the parking lot but he only kept smiling.

" I'm going to brand you as mine." He spoke, his voice hoarse.

In the next thirty minutes, we arrived at a tattoo shop. Zayden was unbelievable.

Did I want a tattoo? Absolutely not!

But did I have a choice? Absolutely not!

And why is that? Because my dear husband had my name tattooed on his chest, right where his heart was and on his ring finger.

I was beyond overwhelmed with how my name was tattooed on his finger. My name was written three times around his finger, just like a ring with small hearts separating each name.

My eyes were already brimming with tears.

" Now, I belong to you and no one else." He said as soon as the artist was done.

All thoughts I had of not putting ink on my skin disappeared the next second and I got his name imprinted on my ring finger, not Zayden but Reign.

" I won't be calling you Zayden anymore. That's not your true identity. Your mother gave you Reign so that's what I'll call you."

I saw it in his eyes, I don't know how he managed to leave like that, but I wanted him to get the piece of him that was taken from him back.

And this was a first step.

We had six days left before he would go back to prison and then get a trial. Six days to do what we freely wanted because there's no telling what would happen once he goes back to jail.

We were going to be fighting against his father, Loren and Aiden soon, but for now, we were going to enjoy the peace and quiet.

We went on dates every single day like a normal couple. We spent time with our daughter and then began buying more baby supplies.

We got a new house in a very conducive environment with lots of neighbours. I wanted our child to grow up with her peers around her so we picked this location.

Zayden, I mean Reign, suggested that he was going to expand my jewellery business, and we would run it together once we settled his court case.

For six days, we had peace, We had love, and we had the happiness we wanted; we lived life like a normal, loving couple. But each day felt like we were stepping closer to the fire.

Deep down we both know it was a countdown. Countdown to when he would be taken away from me.

Finally, the day came like a thunderstorm.

The cops were in our apartment that morning to take my husband away. It was a very heartbreaking moment for both of us, but I masked it with a painful smile on my face as I watched him being put in handcuffs and escorted to the van.

I gave him the assurance he needed and We didn't break eye contact till the Van drove out of the compound and out of sight.

We had another fierce battle to fight, and this would be the last.

I knew it wouldn't be easy; we were on the losing end, and all the odds were against us, but I wasn't going to give up.

I'm not giving up on my husband.

I'll stand by his side till death do us part.

No prison bars would keep us apart.

Not now, not ever!