The Divorced Military Queen Awakens (by Sadie Baxter) novel Chapter 511

r 511 Never Forget Me

Back when his sister needed protection most, Rowan had been half a world away. The regret still sat in his chest like a splinter he could never dig out.

He swore that if he ever crossed paths with Trent, the man would feel his fist before he heard a single word.

Quinn let out a small laugh, watching Julius still held by the collar while Everett lectured on, the scene curiously tender beneath its rowdy surface.

Out in the world, Julius wielded life and death with an icy, unquestioned authority. Yet tonight, he sat pliant beneath Everett’s brusque lecture, throat tipping back each time a fresh glass touched his lips.

Quinn understood the change at once. Everett was family, her mother’s brother, and Julius would bend himself in knots before letting her kin feel slighted.

“Have you honestly decided to marry Julius? Or is this only because you’re pregnant and think the baby demands a rushed license? If it’s merely the child, I want you to think twice. Marriage isn’t just about babies, Quinn,” Rowan said.

“I was already planning on coming home to marry him. The pregnancy only moved the paperwork up a little, that’s all.” Quinn smiled.

Her eyes tracked Julius in the distance. “Rowan, if I didn’t love him, pregnancy wouldn’t chain me. I could raise a child alone, no complaints. Love is the reason I want marriage, to walk beside him. The future is a fog. I can’t guarantee he’s the perfect choice, or that his feelings will stay unchanged. Life is long. Even so, I choose him. Missing this chance would haunt me forever.”

She had no desire to live with regrets.

Rowan lifted his glass in salute. “Then I wish you happiness. Remember, our parents may be gone, but you still have me. No matter what happens, I’ve got your back.”

Tears blurred Quinn’s vision; for an instant, she swore she saw their parents standing behind her brother, half shadow, half memory.

“I will,” she whispered.

When Quinn finally steered Julius into the bedroom, the man was so drunk his feet slid out from under him every other step.

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“We fly home tomorrow, and you got this drunk? We might miss the flight,” Quinn scolded, taking in the wine–glossed glaze of his eyes.

Julius‘ eyes snapped wide, his face swooping close to hers. “Quinn, I was wrong.”

Wrong? What on earth does he mean?

“Wrong about what, exactly?” Quinn blinked at his unfocused gaze.

“I… I shouldn’t have let you get pregnant so quickly… shouldn’t have skipped protection… I was wrong…” The usual chill of his fox–shaped eyes melted into drunken warmth.

Yes, he was definitely drunk.

his

“Did Uncle Everett scold you again? You could have told him I forced you–that I wouldn’t let you use protection.” As she spoke, her fingers slipped each button free, preparing to swap shirt for sleepwear.

Head lolling, Julius watched her through a haze, obedient as a child while she undressed him.

Once she stripped off his shirt and reached for pajamas, he caught her wrist, voice husky. “Still, I’m glad… that night you pinned me down… wanted me first…”

His chin tipped up, vulnerable. “Will you do it again? When I’m anxious, when I hesitate… will you take me, force me, so I can breathe easy?”

Quinn laughed under her breath. “Do you actually enjoy being forced?”

He shook his head, guiding her palm to the rapid thrum beneath his sternum. “Only when it’s from you.”

Quinn had to concede–no one else on earth would dare force Julius Whitethorn.

“You know… when you came looking for me, I felt joy and fear. I didn’t know how to face you,” he murmured, the words stumbling out. “But you chose for both of us again and again, and I believed you wouldn’t throw me away.”

Under her palm, Julius‘ skin burned; through it, she could feel each hammering beat of his

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