Epilogue
Nora
Six Months Later
“I love it,” I say to Leo as I look around the beautiful home in upstate New York.
“Then we’ll take it,” he says back, pulling me into an embrace and placing his hands on the swell of my pregnant belly. “A fresh start for our family.”
“The perfect home for our little boy to grow up in,” I reply with a smile.
The views of the lake and hills from our sweeping yard are breathtaking.
There’s so much space it feels free. Like home.
Leo will run the New York operations from here while Nikolai heads up the LA side of things.
Nikolai has proven his loyalty and that he had no idea of Tatiana’s betrayal.
As I knew he would. Leo believed me totally, and Tatiana corroborated my version of events eventually.
She didn’t meet a quick or painless end.
The anger I felt toward her has faded now.
I have no room for negativity in my life.
I will never be able to have my final moment with my father, but he’s dead, so I got my wish.
Though I know Leo is furious he didn’t get to fulfill his promise to me, that it wasn’t by his hand.
What matters is that we survived. That we never have to utter the name Eamonn Quinn again.
I’m free.
Cillian and Fei are living in the city to run the Chinese base here, so our son will have his uncle nearby.
He’s also taken over half of our father’s assets.
At first, I didn’t want anything of the Quinn empire, but Cillian insisted I take the other half.
I’m so grateful to have my brother back.
We’re tentatively building a relationship.
Without our father around, we’re able to be ourselves, and he’s the most kind and compassionate brother a girl could hope for.
He’s so far removed from the person he had to pretend to be for so long.
However, those who cross him find out he has a ruthless side.
I’m happy to be back in New York. Even though I didn’t want to raise a child in the city, it comforts me to know we can visit regularly.
Nadya is thriving. It took a long time for her to heal physically, though I’m sure the emotional scars will take a lot longer, or may never heal at all, but she’s a fighter.
Leo’s given her a job within the company, her first paid job as a free woman.
She manages the strip clubs Dimitri purchased, making sure the women are treated well and there’s not a whiff of trafficking or forced prostitution taking place.
Leo might be the head of a Bratva, but unlike his uncle, he has his morals and his limits.
She’s living back in the city in a new, much nicer apartment thanks to her generous sign-on bonus.
There were no lasting effects from the drugs Tatiana gave me and the doctors have assured me it hasn’t affected our baby. He’s growing big and strong, just like his dad. I can’t wait to meet him.
We sign the deeds right then and there and Leonid pays in full upfront, much to the realtor’s delight. The house is fully furnished and with the keys handed over, it’s officially ours and ready for us to spend our first night here.
I squeal with delight as Leo sweeps me into his arms.
“We’d better christen the bedroom,” he says nibbling my ear as he carries me upstairs.
“And every other room in the house,” I reply.
“I like the way you think,” he says with a sexy grin.
He lays me on the bed, slowly peeling off my clothes and covering me in tender kisses. We make love slowly, gently. Our sex is no less passionate now than it was before, but Leo is wary of harming the baby at this stage of the pregnancy, and I love him even more for it
Soon, this house will be filled with even more love as we welcome our son into the world.
I will make sure he grows up knowing how loved he is. That I will never be anything like my father, that I will not bring the darkness of the past into our future. Leo and I are scarred, but not broken.
We will teach our children that our weaknesses are what make us stronger. We wear our scars as badges of pride that show we’re survivors. We can embrace the dark without losing the light.
I can’t wait to spend the rest of my life with Leo. Loving every part of him, the good and the bad, just as he does me.
My husband. My lover. My partner. My savior. My watcher.
My world.
The End
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