Epilogue
AURELIA
Three Months Later
Nadia’s adjusting my veil for the third time when Finn bursts into the room with his bow tie already crooked and his shirt half-untucked. “Mam, Liam says I have to walk slowly but I want to run down the aisle because it’s more exciting!”
“You’re walking slow,” I tell him, trying not to laugh at the indignation on his face. “This is a wedding, not a race.”
“But it’s boring to walk slowly.”
“It’s dignified,” Nadia corrects, abandoning my veil to fix his bow tie. “You’re representing your family today, which means you walk with purpose and grace.”
“What’s grace?”
“Not running,” Liam says from the doorway, his own outfit perfectly arranged because of course it is. He crosses the room and looks up at me with serious green eyes. “You look pretty, Mam.”
My throat tightens. “Thank you, baby.”
“Are you nervous?”
“A little.”
“Don’t be. Da’s been ready for this since forever. He told me yesterday he’s been waiting his whole life to marry you.”
Cassian said that to our five-year-old son, and now I’m trying not to cry and ruin the makeup Nadia spent an hour perfecting.
“Come on, boys,” Nadia says, herding them toward the door. “Let’s give your mam a few minutes to herself before we start.”
They leave reluctantly, Finn still arguing about walking speed while Liam patiently explains why running would ruin the ceremony. The door closes and I’m alone with my reflection and three months’ worth of wedding preparations that somehow led to this moment.
Julian and Nadia took over most of the planning because I was still recovering and honestly had no idea how to organize a wedding that was both a personal celebration and a political statement.
They handled everything—the venue, the flowers, the guest list that includes representatives from every major family in the city.
The Vance and Rourke families are uniting officially after decades of cold standoffs and territorial tensions, and everyone wants to witness it. Wants to see proof that alliances can shift and old enemies can become family when the right circumstances align.
But underneath all the politics and symbolism, this is just me marrying the man I love. The father of my children. The person who fought through a warehouse full of armed men to rescue me and then systematically eliminated everyone who threatened our family.
A knock on the door pulls me from my thoughts.
“Come in.”
Julian enters, looking uncomfortable in his formal suit but trying to hide it. He stops when he sees me, and his expression softens into something almost tender. “You look beautiful,” he says. “Mom would have loved to see this.”
Our mother died when I was twelve, and Julian was twenty-two, and I rarely think about what she’d say about my life choices because she’s been gone too long.
But standing here in a wedding dress about to marry a man from a family she probably considered enemies, I wonder if she’d approve or be horrified.
“Do you think she’d like him?” I ask. “Cassian?”
“I think she’d see what I see. A man who loves her daughter enough to tear apart an entire criminal organization to get her back.
A father who sits on the floor building robots with five-year-olds and actually listens when they talk.
Someone who makes you happy in ways you’ve never been before.
” He crosses the room and adjusts my veil with surprising gentleness. “Yeah. I think she’d like him.”
“Thank you for this. For helping plan everything, for supporting us, for the alliance.”
“You’re my sister. This is what family does.”
Music starts playing downstairs, signaling that it’s time. Julian offers his arm, and I take it, letting him lead me out of the room and toward the staircase.
We’re having the ceremony at the estate because the thought of having it anywhere else felt wrong. This is where the boys live, where Cassian has essentially moved in over the last few months, where both families gather now for dinners and celebrations. Making it official here made sense.
The main sitting room has been transformed. White chairs are arranged in rows, flowers everywhere, an arch at the front where Cassian is standing with Declan beside him as best man. The boys are already at the front with Nadia, both of them trying to stand still and mostly succeeding.
Every seat is filled. Vance family on one side, Rourke family on the other, and representatives from a dozen other organizations scattered throughout.
I recognize faces I’ve only seen in intelligence files—the Italian underboss, the Irish lieutenant, the Chinese broker who handles most of the territory negotiations in Chinatown.
They’re all here watching former enemies unite through marriage and alliance, and the symbolism isn’t lost on anyone.
And then I’m only looking at Cassian.
He’s in a black suit that fits him perfectly, hair styled but still slightly messy in that way that makes him look dangerous and refined at the same time. When our eyes meet, everything else disappears. All the guests and the politics and the weight of what this moment means.
It’s just him, waiting for me at the end of the aisle.
Julian walks me down slowly, and I can feel every eye in the room tracking our progress. When we reach the front, he places my hand in Cassian’s and steps back to stand with Nadia and the boys.
“Hi,” Cassian says quietly, just for me.
“Hi.”
“You’re beautiful.”
“You clean up okay yourself.”
His mouth curves into that smile I love, the one he only gives me and the boys when he’s genuinely happy instead of putting on the cold mask he shows the rest of the world.
The officiant begins speaking about love and commitment and building lives together, but I’m barely listening because Cassian’s holding both my hands and looking at me like I’m the only person who exists.
When it’s time for vows, he goes first.
“Six years ago, I met you on a plane and thought I knew what I wanted. One night, no complications, just attraction and chemistry. Then you disappeared, and I spent six years searching because I couldn’t let go of something I barely had.
” His grip on my hands tightens. “Then I found you again and discovered you’d been raising my sons, and I was furious.
Felt betrayed. But you were protecting them the only way you knew how, and you never stopped, even when it cost you everything. ”
Tears are already burning behind my eyes, but I refuse to let them fall and ruin the makeup.
“You endured torture rather than give up my name. Rather than make our sons orphans. And that’s when I knew for certain that I wanted to spend the rest of my life with you.
Not because of the boys, though I love that we have them.
But because you’re the strongest person I’ve ever met, and you make me want to be better than what I am. ”
He pauses, and I can see him fighting emotion.
“I love you, Aurelia. I promise to protect you and our family with everything I have. To be the father our sons deserve and the husband you deserve. To build a life with you that’s worth all the pain it took to get here.”
I’m definitely crying now, and Nadia’s already moving to fix my makeup while Cassian waits patiently.
When it’s my turn, the words come easier than I expected.
“I spent six years running from you because I was terrified of what loving you meant. Terrified of bringing our sons into your world, of admitting that I wanted you even though wanting you was dangerous.” I squeeze his hands.
“But you never gave up. You found us, fought for us, and proved that family isn’t about safety or security.
It’s about choosing each other even when it’s hard. ”
His eyes are bright with unshed tears, and I’ve never seen him this vulnerable in front of anyone.
“I love you, Cassian. I promise to stop running from what scares me. To build this life with you and trust that we’re stronger together than apart. To give our sons the family they deserve with both parents who love them and each other.”
The officiant pronounces us married, and Cassian kisses me before she even finishes speaking, pulling me close and kissing me like we’re not standing in front of a hundred witnesses.
Applause erupts. The boys are cheering, Finn louder than everyone else combined. When we finally break apart, Cassian’s grinning, and I’m laughing, and everything feels right in ways it never has before.
We walk back down the aisle together as husband and wife, cheered on by families who were once enemies and are now bound by alliance and marriage. By friends who’ve watched us fight our way to this moment.
Julian catches my eye and nods once, approval and pride clear on his face.
Nadia’s openly crying, which makes me cry more.
The reception follows immediately, turning the sitting room into a celebration space with music, food, and champagne flowing freely. The boys attach themselves to Cassian’s legs and refuse to let go, both of them talking over each other about how cool the wedding was and if they can have cake now.
“In a minute,” Cassian tells them, ruffling Finn’s hair while Liam tries to climb up his leg like a tree. “First, we have to talk to people and thank them for coming.”
“But I’m hungry now,” Finn whines.
“Then go eat the appetizers. But save room for cake.”
They run off toward the food table, and Cassian wraps an arm around my waist, pulling me against his side. “We did it,” he says.
“We did.”
“Any regrets?”
“Not a single one.”
Representatives from various families approach throughout the evening to offer congratulations and thinly veiled assessments of what this alliance means for territory agreements and business relationships.
Cassian handles them with smooth professionalism while I smile and nod and let him do the talking.
Julian makes a toast halfway through the reception. “To my sister and her husband,” he says, raising his glass. “To the alliance between the Vance and Rourke families. And to proving that even old enemies can become family when love and respect override territorial bullshit.”
Everyone drinks to that, laughter rippling through the crowd.
Later, when most of the guests have left and the boys are running around the yard with other children who came with their parents, Cassian pulls me onto the makeshift dance floor.
“I don’t remember requesting this song,” I say as slow music plays.
“I did. When you were busy talking to the Italian underboss.”
“You planned a surprise song at our own wedding?”
“I wanted one dance that was just us. No politics, no alliance symbolism. Just my wife and me.”
My wife. The words settle warm in my chest.
We sway together while the music plays, and I rest my head against his shoulder, breathing in his cologne and the faint smell of whiskey from the toast. Around us, people are talking and laughing and celebrating, but we’re in our own world.
“Thank you,” I say quietly. “For fighting for us. For this family.”
“Thank you for letting me in. For giving me a chance even when you had every reason not to.”
I tilt my head up and kiss him, soft and slow, not caring who’s watching.
When we break apart, Finn and Liam are standing at the edge of the dance floor, watching us with identical grins.
“Are you done being mushy?” Finn asks. “Because Nadia says we can cut the cake now.”
Cassian laughs and releases me, but keeps hold of my hand as we follow the boys toward where Nadia has indeed brought out the wedding cake.
I look around at our families mingling and celebrating together, at Julian and Declan actually having a civil conversation by the bar, at my sons covered in frosting but happy and safe and loved.
This is what we fought for. What we survived for. A family built from violence and lies and years of secrets, but a family nonetheless.
The End.
P.S. If you enjoyed Mile High Secret Babies, then I think you’ll enjoy Mile High Secret Baby! Swipe to the next page for a sneak peek…