Kennedy
EPILOGUE ONE
A few months later
GREECE
I put down my phone after reading the message from Ernest. In it, my father told me that Grin Balantine, the man who contributed to my conception—a sperm donor and a father are completely different concepts—had just been arrested, accused of passive corruption and embezzlement.
Perhaps now Hades will be satisfied. He has finally completed his revenge against all those he considers to have done me wrong.
We are on our yacht, taking a few days of vacation in Greece on my husband's family's home island and, without a doubt, the place I love most in the world.
Everyone has come, except Ernest, who doesn't really like leaving the United States.
"Want to go for a swim? I'll look after the kids," Madison offers.
I want to, but I hesitate to accept because my two children, may God bless their energy, don't sit still for even a second. Yesterday, King almost killed me when he jumped into the water alone.
I confess that I was in shock, paralyzed, but Hades reacted quickly, jumping in after our firstborn.
Before he even reached him, however, King emerged smiling and shouting “I did it!”
"Are you sure about that?"
"Yes, I am, friend. We are a united front against this bunch of kids. Stay calm. Serenity and Cici are already coming up too."
"Thanks, then." I get up carefully because the bow is wet, and I walk towards the stairs that lead into the water, but before I reach them, strong arms surround me from behind, placing their hands on my four-month pregnant belly.
"Where do you think you're going?"
"To cool off. It's very hot, and I think your daughter needs a bath."
"One moment." He spins me around, climbs down the ladder first, and when he's in the water, he offers me his hand so I can get in safely.
When I step on the first step, his hands hold me by my hips and he makes me slide against his body, making the entry into the sea smooth.
If there is a man in the world more protective than mine, I’ve never met him.
"Ernest just told me that Balantine was arrested."
He kisses me as if I hadn't said anything.
"Hades, were you responsible for this?"
"I didn't invent evidence, . I delivered it into the right hands. He had been stealing from Louisiana for years. Since he began his political career."
"And now your revenge is complete, then."
"For now, yes, unless a new threat emerges."
I wrap my arms and legs around his body. "I wish I could give you some peace, husband. Sometimes I feel like you are worried about us all the time."
"Not worried. Vigilant. And as for peace, we were never close friends. I am torment, . I’m comfortable in the midst of chaos. You and our children are my balance. The reason I breathe and— King, no!" he shouts two seconds before asking me to wait for him so he can go to the rescue of my cheeky little one, who has once again thrown himself into the water.
Kaiser can't do the same because Zeus catches him from behind at the exact moment he was about to jump, causing my youngest's legs to “walk” mid-air as he tries to follow his brother.
My heart is still racing when I get back to the boat, and I wonder how this third child will be. If she takes after her brothers, we will be lost.
On board the yacht, Madison is pale. Zeus has Kaiser in his arms, and she grabs two towels and hands one to me and one to Hades, who follows close behind with our firstborn.
"Forgive me, —he ran away faster than I could catch him," my sister-in-law says.
"Don't worry about that. Not even the nannies can handle them."
"Look at me," I hear King’s father say to him. The child now looks at him with a serious face, the laughter when entering the water gone. "You can no longer dive into the sea alone."
"But I can do it, Daddy!"
"King Kostanidis, your mother is sad about what you just did. In addition to entering the water again without an adult nearby, you encouraged your brother to follow you."
"I didn't entouraged Kaiser," he says, getting the word all wrong, and I have to hold back my laughter, despite my anxiety. "He follows me everywhere."
"Because you are his big brother . But Kaiser doesn't know how to swim as well as you yet. Do you want him to get hurt?"
"No, Daddy."
"You are his example, King. Whatever you do wrong, he will follow."
"I won't do it anymore. Only when Kaiser can swim as well as me," he says, and I shake my head because even though he plays the obedient son, King maintains the typical Kostanidis arrogance.
After we give each of them a kiss, Madison and Zeus take them to the yacht's kitchen to feed them.
"Everything fine?" Hades asks me when I hug him and rest my face on his chest.
"Yes. They're going to give me gray hair before my time, but do you want to know something?" I raise my eyes to look at him. "You and them are worth every second. I never thought I could be so happy. I love you, Greek."
"I love you much more, wife, and I will always take care of our family."