All Chapters of Heartbreak And Wars: Chapter 81 - Chapter 90

Blake's POVFederal prison was exactly as unpleasant as expected—concrete walls, scheduled routines, the constant awareness of freedom lost. But the worst part wasn't the confinement or the loss of luxury. It was receiving Aloe's letter about Evelyn's birth two weeks after it happened, knowing I'd missed the moment when everything in her world had changed.*"Evelyn just woke up demanding food, so I need to go. But Blake—thank you. For the plea deal, for the testimony, for the bracelet, for all the complicated ways you helped us get here. We're okay. Both of us. Finally. - Aloe"*We're okay. Finally.Those three words meant more than any declaration of forgiveness or love could have. After everything—the manipulation, the custody battles, the imprisonment and escapes—Aloe and her daughter were okay.I read her letter so many times the paper began to wear at the creases where I'd folded it. My cellmate, a former accountant named David serving time for embezzlement, finally commented."T

Wakes's POVThe federal charges had been dropped—insufficient evidence after the Sanctuary investigation collapsed under scrutiny of proper legal procedures. Senator Morrison and the others weren't so lucky, but my attorneys had successfully separated my involvement from the broader conspiracy.I was free. Legally, at least.But watching Evelyn through supervised visitation, knowing Aloe had moved to Portland specifically to create distance from me, I understood that legal freedom meant nothing if I'd lost everything that mattered.My daughter was five months old, and she didn't know me."She's beautiful," I told Aloe during the exchange at our scheduled visitation site. "Looks like you.""She has your eyes," Aloe said neutrally, neither warm nor cold. Just factual.We stood in the parking lot of a family services building, a court monitor nearby documenting that custody exchange occurred without incident. This was what my marriage had become—supervised transactions witnessed by state

Blake's POVThe day of my release was anticlimactic—processed out at 6 AM, handed belongings I'd arrived with twenty months ago, walked through gates that opened onto a world that had continued without me.Sofia was waiting with coffee and a smile that suggested she'd been up all night preparing for this moment."Okay." Her voice was guarded but listening."The past twenty months of letter-writing, of learning to exist without strategy, of figuring out who I am when I'm not performing—all of that was real. And somewhere in that process, my feelings for you stopped being complicated and became just... simple. I love you, Aloe. Not because you're useful, not because you're part of some plan, just because you're you."Silence on the other end. I could hear Evelyn babbling in the background, the sounds of ordinary life continuing while I confessed something that felt monumental."Blake—""I know you haven't forgiven me completely. I know trust is still being rebuilt. I know we might never

Blake's POVThe Portland visits became monthly routine—bus from New York, weekend at a modest hotel, careful time with Aloe and Evelyn that felt like learning a new language. Each visit, Evelyn grew more comfortable with me, and Aloe's guardedness softened incrementally.Three months into regular visits, Aloe finally asked the question I'd been waiting for."Blake, what do you want from this? From us?"We were at a park watching Evelyn attempt the playground equipment with more courage than coordination. The question hung between us, requiring honesty I was still learning to give without strategy."I want whatever you're willing to give. If that's friendship, I'm grateful for friendship. If it's more..." I watched Evelyn climb stairs she couldn't quite manage. "I'd like to see if we could build something real. Not based on manipulation or rescue, just two people who care about each other figuring out if that's enough foundation for relationship.""And if I'm never ready for more than

Blake's POVSix months into dating Aloe, I received unexpected visitor at my Queens apartment—Wakes Savage, looking uncomfortable in my modest building's hallway."We need to talk," he said without preamble.I considered closing the door in his face but curiosity won. "About what?""About Evelyn. About Aloe. About the fact that we're going to be in each other's lives for at least seventeen more years because we both care about them."I let him in, offering coffee I suspected he wouldn't drink. We sat in my small living room—former billionaire rivals in a one-bedroom Queens apartment, discussing how to coexist."I don't like you," Wakes said bluntly. "You destroyed my marriage, helped steal my wife, manipulated her when she was vulnerable.""And you abused her for three years, controlled every aspect of her life, tried to have her imprisoned in psychiatric facility. Neither of us has moral high ground here."Wakes nodded slowly. "True. But Blake, regardless of our history, Evelyn deser