Epilogue
Amber
“Stop fiddling with your collar, it’s fine,” I chastised Max for jamming his finger into the neck of his shirt and attempting to tug it away from his throat.
“It feels like it’s choking me,” he grunted, moving his hand to wiggle his tie.
Nudging him with my elbow, I rolled my eyes with a smile, “It’s not choking you, it’s fine. You’re just not used to wearing that type of shirt.”
“When is this thing going to start anyway? I’m starving .”
“You’re always starving,” Gabriel whisper-shouted down the aisle. “Now stop complaining and sit back in your seat. It’s about to start.”
“About bloody time,” Max mumbled.
“God, you’re impatient. I don’t know how you put up with him,” Luca tutted, shooting me a pensive look.
“I just don’t see why I had to dress up, it’s only the ballet. I’ve just seen three guys in jeans.”
“It isn’t about you, Max,” Luca commented. “The dress code of the restaurant is formal. Do the maths.”
We were celebrating Leonie and Gabriel recently purchasing an apartment together. They had also gotten engaged and so it was the plan to raise a toast to both.
“ It isn’t about me ? Says the guy who thinks everything is about him,” Max batted back.
It was only banter. They fought all the time. It was usually amusing to watch but we were in a grand theatre auditorium where hundreds of people were in the process of taking their seats .
“I can’t believe there’s going to be another carbon copy of you running around soon,” Max chuntered.
Gabriel agreed, “I know. That’s one scary thought.”
“Both of you be quiet. Luca Junior can probably hear you,” Mia shushed them, her hands protectively covering her baby bump. Luca and Mia were expecting a little boy and they were over the moon.
“I bet Luca Junior comes out looking for a mirror,” Max snarked, shooting me a cheeky wink. Luca was still the vainest of all our friends.
“Bite me,” Luca replied.
Max had been like a bear with a sore head for the last hour, having been forced to get dressed up for our planned celebrations.
We were in Covent Garden at the ballet. Leonie had been given a lead role and we were all so happy for her. Even Max was, although his face wasn’t showing it. The fact that he’d now fully quit smoking also didn’t help with his moods.
The lights started to dim and the boys stopped bickering. Mia and I shot each other a smile. We both loved ballet.
The last two years had been chaotic, but in a good way. My relationship with Max had gone from strength to strength and we were now living together. After Dexter retired, two months ago Max and I moved into Dexter’s old apartment above the pool house. And it felt amazing.
With Daddy still living in the house, I was close enough to keep an eye on him but Max and I still had our own space. We were constantly moving forward.
So was life in general. I had passed my driving test and could drive myself to work. The previous year I started working as an intern at a party planning company as a trainee designer and was enjoying every minute of it. I was also on the board of Governors for two charities and would soon be Godmother to Luca and Mia’s little boy. My life now had a purpose .
Max finished the bar, albeit late but the success of it had led to three more projects in the same area. And he’d left the underground fight club he’d been part of. When Max had pent-up frustrations, I allowed him to use my body as an outlet and oh how I enjoyed it.
Unfortunately, we lost my mother’s horse Lady due to old age but our stables had been rebuilt and the rest of the horses had homes again.
Daddy had taken early retirement and had handed the reins of his company to his second in command. He spent most of his days on the golf course and frequently challenged Max to a round.
I loved that my father and my boyfriend got on so well. I remember the day we told him Max and I were together and how happy he had been. Max had been the one to tell Daddy the truth about what happened to Alexander Harker and he too had made his peace with that.
Focusing back on Luca and Mia. They were going to have a baby. It felt way too grown up, but it was happening and they were so happy.
The irony of the way she felt pregnant couldn’t have gotten any better; considering a Trojan condom broke. Funny considering it was Luca’s face on the box. It was almost like it was meant to be.
Everything had worked out for the best. I no longer had hang-ups over the kidnapping and my relationship with a much older man.
I would be lying if I said I didn’t think of Zander occasionally, but they were thoughts with no weight.
Alexander Harker had gone missing and no one had cared about that. There was never anything said on the news and whilst that should have been sad, I felt nothing.
Max told me that Zander’s real name was David Alexander and that he’d been involved with the trafficking of young girls .
When he had kept me after the mafia had been paid, I wondered if his original intention had been to sell me on. But somewhere along the line, he’d decided to keep me for himself.
I didn’t allow my thoughts to wander there too much as what was the point?
The lights went down and I felt Max place his hand over mine.
The built-up baggage from my past was now gone for good and I only allowed myself to look forward.
I felt comfortable in my own skin and was proud of what I had achieved so far. Max and I had so many amazing plans and we had so much more in common than we had ever first realised.
As a hush fell across the room, Max leaned over and whispered against the cuff of my ear. “You owe me one,” he said. Max hated getting dressed up and wasn’t one for the theatre.
But give and take was a huge part of a relationship.
And later that night, I paid him in full.
THE EN D