Page 113 of His Forced Irish Mafia Bride

Like silence was something we could share without it meaning distance. Maeve rested her head back on my shoulder. I looked out the window again.

“You know, this is dangerous,” I said.

She hummed slightly. “Hmm?”

“Me making jokes,” I said. “It could become a habit.”

She laughed under her breath, a real one this time.

Then she pinched me again. “Just don’t overdo it,” she said.

I nodded slowly. “Noted.”

She shook her head slightly, still leaning against me. But she didn’t move away, and neither did I. The room was quiet and peaceful. And nothing needed fixing anymore.

EPILOGUE

Maeve

Two years had changed how I moved through the building. I no longer stopped at closed doors. I didn’t have to stay in the penthouse all day. I didn’t ask for permission before speaking.

I just went where I wanted. The elevator opened and I stepped out. People were already in the meeting room. A long table filled the space. Screens showed data. Papers covered every surface. Voices stopped as I entered.

No one acted surprised. They were used to me now. I walked straight to the table and looked at the reports. “Route three has a weak point,” I said.

One of the men frowned. “We corrected that last month.”

“It’s still exposed,” I said again. He looked around the room, then gave a small nod.

“Change it,” he said. No one argued. I took a seat at the table without asking. I chose the closest empty chair and sat down.

The door opened again, and Sean walked in. The room stayed the same, but the way people held themselves changed slightly.

He looked at me first. I looked back. He stopped beside the table.

“What’s wrong?” he asked.

“Nothing new,” I said. He scanned the reports, then looked back at me.

“Fix it,” he said.

“I already did,” I said.

One of the men slid a file toward him. He read it quickly, then closed it.

That ended the discussion. No one added anything else. That was how things worked now. Not because everything was perfect, but because my decisions didn’t need permission anymore.

Sean stayed near me as the meeting continued.

When new points came up, I spoke when I needed to. He did the same. No one challenged me. It no longer felt like I was outside the system.

I was part of it now. The meeting ended slowly. Chairs moved. Papers were collected. People left one after another.

I stayed at the table. Sean stayed, too.

“I used to think I would never belong here,” I said.

Sean glanced at me. “You belong.”