Epilogue
JO
Two Years Later
Paris feels impossibly bright today, as if the city itself is celebrating with us.
The soft hum of traffic and distant laughter drifts over the Seine, mingling with the sweet tang of fresh pastries and warm coffee from the cafés lining the streets.
Axel wants us to walk with Jackson in the stroller, and I can’t argue.
Every step feels lighter when I’m with both of them, when we’re together like this, free from the needs of the rest of the world.
The breeze is gentle but persistent, tugging at my hair, and Axel’s arm is solid around me, grounding me as we stroll towards the Pont des Arts.
It’s a bridge we visited once before, long before life got complicated and our hearts nearly tore us apart.
He promised me that one day we’d come back and we’d leave something behind, a symbol of us. Something we could lock to this city.
Now, the promise carries even more weight. We’re not just us anymore. There’s Jackson, sitting up in his stroller, a perfect little bundle wrapped in a soft blanket. The locket we brought along has three names etched on it now; mine, Axel’s and Jackson’s.
Axel stops mid-step, and we stand side by side at the edge of the bridge with the stroller next to us. Axel gets Jackson out of it and props him on his hip and then he turns towards me. His eyes meet mine, dark and steady, the smile there impossible to resist.
“Ready?” he asks softly.
I nod.
“Ready.”
He slips the locket from his pocket. The gold catches the sunlight, warm and familiar. I reach out to touch it, feeling the slight weight, the engraved letters, the life it represents.
“Jackson’s name being here with ours is already making this more memorable,” I murmur, smiling down at our son. Axel’s hand brushes a stray curl from my forehead, gentle and protective.
We walk onto the bridge together, leaving the stroller tucked out of the way. We find a quiet spot, leaving only the sound of the gentle splashes of the river beneath us. Axel holds the locket over the railing. Jackson shifts slightly in his arms, letting out a tiny sigh, but remaining peaceful.
“Three names,” I whisper, feeling a lump in my throat. “Three hearts.”
Axel nods, his lips brushing the top of my head.
“Always,” he says. “Always us.”
He attaches the locket to the railing. Gold against iron, glinting in the sunlight. Then we both hold the small key, and together, we let it fall into the river. The splash echoes softly, a tiny, satisfying finality.
For a long time, we don’t speak. We just stand there, looking out over the water, feeling the gentle sway of the bridge underfoot.
Jackson stirs slightly but remains content on Axel’s hip.
Axel puts his free arm around me, and I rest my head against his shoulder, his warmth surrounding me, his hand pressed gently to my shoulder.
I slide my hands over my stomach, feeling the curve of our unborn child.
A slow, breathless smile spreads across my face.
My life, this life, has exceeded every dream I ever allowed myself.
“Could it get any better than this?” I murmur, more to myself than to him.
Axel presses a kiss to my temple. “No,” he says. “It’s perfect because we’re together. All three of us. And soon, we will be four.”
I close my eyes, letting the sounds of the city, the river, and our baby’s soft breathing fill me. Axel shifts slightly, balancing Jackson so he can rest closer to me, our arms and hearts tangled together. I feel an overwhelming sense of calm, of completion.
For a moment, nothing else exists. Not the past, not the chaos we survived, not the world beyond this bridge. There’s only us, and Jackson, and the tiny heartbeat of the new life inside of me.
“I never thought my life could be this perfect,” I whisper, my voice trembling slightly.
Axel smiles against my hair.
“Me neither, Mrs. Rhodes. Me neither. But here we are.”
And in that quiet, suspended moment, I believe it. I believe that life, in all of its unpredictability, has somehow led us to exactly where we’re meant to be. Together. For always.
And of course, they lived happily ever after…