EPILOGUE II
The day is beautiful. Soren’s right next to me, reading a book, while I lay on his chest, staring into the ocean. The sun is high up in the air, the soft, warm breeze hitting my skin. The private island my parents got for me seems to finally have a purpose.
We’ve been here for a week already, and it’s our little piece of paradise that I don’t want to ever let go of. It’s perfect.
My eyes flick down to the engagement ring on my finger, my heart fluttering. It’s absolutely perfect, and the proposal itself was even more amazing. I hate public proposals, big engagement rings, and terrible settings of such an intimate moment.
Soren took all of it into consideration.
Of course, the hardest part was getting Dad’s approval.
It took Soren seven months of coming by every single day and asking him for my hand in marriage for the old man to finally relent and agree.
Even Mom was starting to get sick of seeing Soren every day at the manor, and I think she definitely influenced Dad into agreeing.
“I was thinking,” I say, mindlessly trailing patterns over Soren’s chest. The tattoo I did on him is still there, and it always makes me fucking happy to see he didn’t get it removed. I wouldn’t let him get it removed now, anyway.
“Yes?” Soren puts the book down, his full attention on me.
“What do we do about the wedding?”
He kisses the top of my head. “Whatever you want, princess.”
I sigh. “It’s your wedding, too. I want your input.”
“Well, then, we’re having a grand one.”
“Oh?” I sit up, looking at him with a shocked, but pleased expression. “I didn’t think you’d want a big wedding.”
“I want the entire world to see the day you become Mrs. Ford, Princess,” he chuckles. “Of course, I want a big one.”
“Perfect. What about the date, though?”
“I’ll leave that up to you. Just tell me when and where.”
I deadpan. “And if I want it in the middle of the winter?”
“Then we’ll have a winter wonderland wedding,” he takes my hand in his, kissing my knuckles individually. “The place is irrelevant. All I care about is you becoming my wife, finally.”
“Okay. Kenzo will be your best man, right?”
Soren nods. “What about your maid of honor?”
“I don’t know,” I sigh. “Either Grace or Avalon. Though I’ll see how I go about that.”
“Alright,” he chuckles.
I’m about to start rambling more on the perfect wedding I’ve been envisioning for years now, but I don’t get the chance to. Soren stands up, picks me up into his arms; I squeal, my arms wrapping around his neck automatically.
“What are you doing?” I ask, laughing.
He strolls through the sand, walking into the ocean. “Giving you a little dip before I take you inside the house and fuck a baby into you.”
I snort. “No kids before marriage, Soren.”
He shrugs. “Then we’ll just have a wedding sooner, because I cannot fucking wait to see you pregnant with my kids.”
“Kids, as in multiple?”
“It’s just a suggestion, Princess. As many or as few as you want.”
“And if I say I don’t want any?”
“Then we won’t have any. All I need is you, and your happiness is my priority.”
A warm smile tugs on the corners of my lips. It’s short-lived, because the little bitch drops me into the ocean without so much as a warning. I scream out, shivering as the cold water comes in contact with my hot skin.
“You little—” I hiss, getting on my feet, and shoving him deeper into the ocean. He barely budges, but eventually steps on his own, almost as if allowing me to push him. “I’m going to kill you.”
“Aw,” he mocks. “Such big words for someone your size.”
With a scowl, I splash the salty water, and it manages to get into his eyes. A triumphant grin is on my face as I use my foot to hook behind his ankle in the water, managing to successfully push him under the water.
“Payback time, bitch,” I grin, getting on top of him. “For trying to drown me back at the camp.”
“It’s been almost a decade!” He coughs up the water that fills his mouth. “Let it go, woman.”
“Never,” I grin, then grab his hair and duck his head underwater, laughing while he struggles, even though he’ll probably fuck me ten times harder for this little stunt.
We spend the entire afternoon in the ocean, laughing, and enjoying the time we have away. Because soon enough, we’ll have to go back to New York and be adults, and I want to create memories.
This man is my entire world. He makes everything so much better. His presence alone is enough to make me happy, and waking up next to him every morning for the past week has been pure heaven.
But I know the life we have ahead will be wonderful. Soren Ford went from being the man I hated the most, to the man I love the most. It’s odd how life works, sometimes. However, I’ve come to realize that the two of us were always meant to be together.
From the time we first met, to today.
Everything was written in the stars, and I’m excited to see what the future holds.
I’m certain that with Soren by my side, everything will turn out all right.
He’s always there, even when I’m not aware of it.
That’s one of the things I love about him, knowing that no matter what, or when, he’ll always be there.
He’ll never let me go, and I don’t want to leave.
The perfect cage he put me in is now filled with the security and safety I had been yearning for. No one else would ever have been able to give me what I need the most — the obsession and possessiveness he has over me.
My soulmate.
The man who’d kill for me, and the man who’d live for me.