Epilogue
W e were ono our way home.
Romeo was driving, and my hand was wrapped around his on the gear shift.
The same hand that now wore that wonderful engagement ring, because yes, we had divorced.
His father raised hell, but neither R nor I cared.
We were planning a much more intimate second wedding, just as we told Massimo. There was no need for "the family" to know. To those outside our close circle, we would remain married, even though we no longer were. This was just for us, because our hearts knew they belonged to each other, and that bond was indissoluble.
My father-in-law kept his word and called Don Giuliano, just as his son had asked. I know the meeting was tense, with some disagreements, but after hearing what had happened and the brothers-in-law debated fiercely, the family's matriarch slammed her fist on the table to end the discussion.
Both fell silent to hear her judgment.
"You should be ashamed of this argument," she stated. "The conduct of Nikita Koroleva would honor any member of the 'Ndrangheta. If you don't see it, you should schedule an appointment with an eye doctor. That woman has shown more courage, daring, and loyalty than many of your men. Of course, no one is going to lay a hand on my new granddaughter. She has my protection, so whoever dares to raise a hand against her will be as if they raised it against me, and I will act accordingly. End of discussion."
Salvatore, who was present, grimaced. Don Giuliano frowned at his mother, earning a reprimand because a mamma was not to be looked at that way, and her will was to be respected. They had no choice but to yield and cover the incident with a veil of omissions.
They would weave a narrative tailored to the circumstances. My doubts about dismantling my husband's empire had never existed. My virtues, which had led me to eliminate the Calabrian mafia's number one enemy, would be extolled. Nikita Koroleva defied and killed her own brother to favor them, and that was all that mattered.
The song playing on the radio, "Can't Hold Us Down" by Christina Aguilera Ft. Lil' Kim, made me think of Cheng.
So I'm not supposed to have an opinion?
I should stay quiet just because I'm a woman.
Call me a bitch because I speak my mind.
I guess it's easier for you to take.
If I sat back and smiled.
As expected, what happened with the Chinese woman reached Papa Jing's ears. In a display of resources that the president of the government would envy, he appeared at the hospital. What he didn't expect was my bodyguards greeting him at the door. I had asked my men to guard Cheng because I feared what might happen. Jing got angry and demanded to speak with his cub.
She herself came out to meet him when she heard his voice on the other side. As soon as she opened the door, there was a challenge of dark looks, and after that, she greeted him and allowed him to come in; only he, his men had to wait outside. For the first time, Jing listened to his daughter, never having seen her so sure and willing to fulfill what she said. They talked for hours, and he did not deny her the value she had in his ranks. Cheng took the opportunity to tell him about Huang's betrayal, Yuri's plans, and the invaluable help I had been to her.
If the Chinese woman's father had one thing, it was that he was a man of his word. He promised to negotiate, given that his daughter was still alive because of me. I passed the baton to Massimo and agreed that my father-in-law would lead the negotiation to talk about the Costa del Sol territory.
Jing relented a bit on the decision for his daughter to marry the man he had chosen. He offered Cheng the option to return with him, get to know him, and if after a few months she still felt the same, he would leave the candidate out of the equation.
She came to visit us on the last day. She thanked me and said that whenever I needed her, she would be there for me. I also offered her my friendship and best wishes, deep down hoping she could find happiness similar to mine.
I didn't realize how much I had missed Adriano's hug until he melted into me. His small, convulsing body clung so tightly that it was impossible to detach him.
"Finally, you're here!" he exclaimed with a trembling voice.
After the show of affection, it was his father's turn to receive a good hug from him. Romeo and I considered the possibility of telling him the truth; I wasn't thrilled about the idea of lying to him, but I also didn't want to cause him unnecessary suffering. Telling him that Yuri had returned from the dead, didn't want to know him, and his sole intention was to end all the Capulets wasn't going to bring him any good. Sometimes telling the truth wasn't necessary. We would do it when he was older and had a much stronger emotional armor.
"Thank goodness you haven't turned into zombies because you don't crave my brain, right?"
"Zombies? Where's that coming from?"
"Aunt Juliet told me you caught a mutant virus in the hospital, which is why I couldn't visit you, because it was very contagious and you were isolated. The same thing happened to Mystique! She caught one that mutated nineteen times a day, which is why she has blue hair and yellow eyes."
"Well, you see that Aunt Nikita is still the same, and so am I."
"Not exactly the same," I interrupted, "I'm carrying a baby in my belly." I wanted to share the news with Adriano, hoping that the idea of having a sibling would make him happy. He looked at my belly incredulously and inspected it.
"There's nothing in there. Do you mean you ate it?"
"No! How could I eat a baby?" I exclaimed.
"Polar bears sometimes eat their own cubs when food is scarce. I saw it in a documentary."
"I'm not a polar bear, and the hospital had enough food." R chuckled softly, and I wanted to wipe the smile off his face. "It was your father who put that baby there."
"And how did you do it?" he asked curiously. He raised his chin confidently.
"With plenty of magic dust," he summed up. My cheeks turned red.
"Really?" R nodded. "Wow, I thought you did it by putting your penis in her vagina, releasing your seed so it could travel to her egg." My now-fiancé almost choked.
"What happened to the pollen and the bees?" he asked, choking.
"That was last semester. I didn't know there was another option besides the penis. The teacher didn't explain that; maybe she doesn't know."
"Does she have kids?" I cut in.
"Yes."
"Then she definitely knows."
"Oh, I thought if I explained it to her, she might raise my grade."
"Better not," Romeo replied.
"Well, I'll find something else. By the way, do you want some news that will make you very happy?"
"Of course!" his father confirmed.
"Guess."
"Did you get a ten at school?"
"No."
"Is there a girl you like?" Adriano shook his head again. "Did Ana María make your favorite cake?" He shook his head side to side again. "I'll never guess; why don't you tell us?" Adri's eyes were shining.
"Yesterday we took Lady Killer to the vet, and you know what?"
"What?" I asked.
"She’s pregnant too! So we’re going to have a house full of babies and puppies; this is going to be epic."
"Epic?!" Romeo's voice choked.
"Yes, it's a new word. In language class, they teach us a new one each day. It’s like saying super incredible." R’s Adam's apple neither rose nor fell. "Well, I'm going to tell Ana María that I've already told you and that you're very happy. She was worried you might not like the idea."
Romeo and I looked at each other. He had turned pale, and I chose to put on a smile because the color was already taken. The little one ran off, and I raised my eyebrows.
"It’s better if you don’t say anything," he muttered.
"Better, because I would tell you that I already said the best thing was to neuter Brutus. And if the dog is pregnant, it's because her owner forgot to give her the contraceptives while he had me tied to his bed." R’s dark eyes lit up.
"Which reminds me that the owner needs to be attended to by his bitch before thinking about things that displease him."
His large hands crushed me against his waist.
"I love it when you call me bitch," I muttered, letting him rub his beard against my neck.
"And I love wagging your tail."
A loud laugh reverberated in my mouth, and I gladly accepted his display of affection.
"Let’s go upstairs," he muttered near my ear. "I don't plan on getting out of bed for a week."
"That will have to wait. I remind you that Adri has gone too many days without seeing us." He sighed in frustration.
"Look who's talking," he protested, enveloping my lips in a torrid kiss of tongues.
I reluctantly pulled away, and we held hands to go to the kitchen to see Ana María. The cook welcomed us with a wide smile and her warm congratulations.
We sat at the bar, and she laid out an elaborate breakfast for us to regain our strength.
"What time did our sisters’ flight leave?" I asked, stabbing a piece of omelet.
Romeo looked at his watch.
"They should be in Italy by now. San Juan was going to escort them to my uncle's house."
His jaw was clenched; he was extremely displeased that Juliet was spending time near Salvatore. He couldn’t deny it.
The long-awaited christening of Don Giuliano's grandson had arrived, it would take place in two days, and as my father- in-law promised, Irisha and Juliet were to be our family’s representatives. Sending my sister away for a while and having her visit another country with her new best friend seemed like a great idea. After the Mentium incident, she deserved a break.
"Are you worried about your sister?" I muttered softly.
"If he touches a single hair on her head, I swear I'll smash him!" The fork clattered onto the plate.
Adri had gone out to play with the dogs, and Ana María had left two minutes ago to hang the laundry. We could talk freely.
"Juliet is no longer a child."
My sister-in-law had told me part of the story, and although I lacked information, I had no doubt she could handle herself.
"You have no idea what happened."
"No, I don’t, but what I do know is that she is no longer that child. She has grown and become a resourceful woman, and besides, Irisha is with Juliet. We must trust them." I took the face I loved most in the world and tenderly kissed his soft lips. "Do you want to confide in me?"
"Nobody knows what happened, not even my father or Aleksa."
"If you don’t want to tell me…”
"I want to; I need to talk to someone, and there’s no one in the world I trust more." His sincere words filled me with love. If my happiness were a weapon of mass destruction, humanity would have been extinct.
"I’m all ears; tell me the story."
"Don't expect a love story because it’s not. It's more like a story of a heartless bastard who broke a too-sweet girl’s heart."
"We already have our love story, and as soon as we’re one hundred percent, we’ll set a date for our second wedding, which will be wonderful. Confide in me, amore , and if I see it necessary, I’ll fly to Calabria myself to rip out your cousin’s heart, wrap it with his intestines, and gift it to your sister. Even if it means facing the entire 'Ndrangheta."
Romeo smiled.
"You’re unique in creating happy endings. I fear to ask about ours..."
"Our story has no ending because our bond is forever, including future reincarnations. You know that what’s mine is mine, and you are more than that."
"God, how I love you!" He kissed me passionately again.
"Stop kissing me like that, or at this rate, we won’t make it to tonight."
"That’s what I want," he pouted.
"First things first. Talk."