Epilogue #2
At home, there's a car in the driveway I recognize immediately.
Tash.
She's standing on the front steps, designer handbag, and perfectly styled hair.
"There's my favorite family!" She stands as we approach. "Hope you don't mind. I texted Valerie earlier but she never responded."
"Because we were at the cemetery," I explain, pulling her into a hug. "Sorry."
"No worries." She hugs back fiercely. Then pulls back to study me. "You look good. Glowing, actually. Are you—"
"Inside first." I cut her off before she can finish that sentence in front of the kids. "Then we'll talk."
Mila takes Xander inside to play. Lev heads to his office, giving Tash and me space.
In the sitting room, she wastes no time. "You're pregnant again, aren't you?"
"Yes."
She stares. Then bursts into laughter. "Oh my God. Three kids. Valerie, you're insane."
"I'm actually hoping for four."
"I count Mila." She's grinning. "Wow. Little spy who could barely keep her hands steady is now a Bratva wife with four kids. Talk about character development."
"Says the Bratva princess who helped me through all of this."
"True." She pulls me into another hug. "I'm so happy for you, Val. You did it. You actually survived him. Survived this life. And you're thriving."
"We're thriving," I correct. "Lev and I together."
"Together." She echoes. "That's how it should be."
Lev appears with coffee. Sees us hugging and smiling. "Should I be concerned?"
"Only if you're not ready for another baby," Tash says sweetly. "Congratulations, by the way. Valerie told me."
He groans. "Is everyone going to know before we make an official announcement?"
"Probably." I accept the mild tea he offers. "But we're happy. That's what matters."
Tash stays for lunch. Watching our chaos with amusement. Mila and Xander arguing over something trivial. Lev mediating with patience I never thought he possessed.
"You're good at this," she observes quietly. "The family thing. The wife thing. The mom thing."
"I'm learning from experience." I gesture to the chaos. "Though some days I'm just winging it."
"Aren't we all?"
After she leaves, the afternoon unfolds normally. Homework with Mila. Playing with Xander. Dinner preparation. The rhythm of family life that's become second nature.
That night, after the kids are asleep, I find Lev in the nursery.
It's been Xander's room for five years. But standing here, I can see him imagining it differently. Preparing for another baby.
"Planning already?" I ask.
"Maybe." He pulls me close. "We'll need to move Xander to a bigger room. Set this one up for the new baby. Paint. New furniture. All of it."
"We have time."
"I know." He rests his chin on my head. "But I like planning. Like preparing. Makes it feel real."
"It's real." I guide his hand to my stomach. "Very real."
We stand there in the quiet nursery. Preparing for what comes next. Another child. Another chance. Another piece of our future.
Later, in our bedroom, he undresses me slowly.
Not with the desperate need that defined our early relationship. Not with the anger and punishment that came after betrayal.
With love.
Hands reverent on skin he knows better than his own. Kisses that taste like promises. Touch that says I'm cherished.
"You're beautiful," he murmurs. Kneeling before me. Kissing my stomach where our third child grows. "Every single time. You're always beautiful."
"Flattery will get you everywhere."
"Good." He stands. Lifts me. Carries me to bed with care. "Because I plan to get very far tonight."
We make love slowly. Deeply. Connection that goes beyond physical.
He moves inside me with steady rhythm. Watching my face. One hand tangled with mine. The other cradling my head.
"I love you." He says it against my lips. "You gave me back everything, Valerie. Everything that matters."
"I love you too." My free hand slides up his back. Feeling scars from that night. From Patrick's bullets. Badges of survival, not shame. "Always."
The pleasure builds slowly. Intensely. When I come, it's with his name on my lips and silent tears rolling down my face.
He follows immediately. Buries himself deep. Comes with a groan that sounds like relief and gratitude tangled together.
Afterward, we lie tangled in sheets. Both catching our breath. Both smiling in the dark.
"Happy?" I ask for the second time today.
"More than I ever thought possible." He pulls me closer. Tucks me against his chest. "Six years ago, I was drowning. Barely surviving. Going through motions without purpose."
"And now?"
"Now I have everything." His hand finds my stomach. Rests there. Protective. Possessive. Loving. "You. Mila. Xander. This baby. Is a life worth living instead of just enduring."
"No regrets?"
"Not one." He means it. "Every scar was worth it. Every bullet. Every moment of fear. Because we survived. Built something real from the ashes."
I press against him. Safe. Loved. Home.
"We're going to be okay," I whisper. "All of us. We're going to keep building this. Keep growing. Keep loving."
"We are." He kisses my hair. "Because that's what we do. We survive. We fight. We choose each other. Always."
Outside, the world continues. Dangerous. Dark. Full of threats we've learned to navigate.
But inside these walls, we're safe.
Inside this bed, we're whole.
Inside this family, we're everything.
I fall asleep in his arms. Carrying another of his child. Surrounded by love. Protected by the most dangerous man I know.
And I realize something profound.
Six years ago, I walked into Lev Volkov's bathroom with a mop and a mission to destroy him.
Instead, he destroyed me.
Destroyed the scared girl I was. The spy. The victim.
And from those ashes, built the woman I am now.
Strong. Fierce. Free.
A Bratva wife. A mother. A survivor.
We didn't just survive the darkness.
We conquered it.
Made it our own.
Built a family in the heart of it.
Found light where none should exist.
Our children will grow up knowing they're protected. Knowing they're loved fiercely. Knowing that even in the darkest world, light exists.
Because their parents found it.
And refused to let it go.
This is our legacy. Our truth. Our victory.
Not the empire built on blood.
But the family built on love.
The darkness couldn't keep us.
The violence couldn't break us.
The past couldn't hold us.
We survived.
We thrived.
We won.
And our story—this beautiful, broken, impossible story—will continue.
In morning chaos and bedtime stories.
In syrup disasters and scraped knees.
In laughter and tears and all the messy beauty of life.
And we will get through it all together.
Always together.
The End.
Thank you for stepping into Valerie and Lev’s world in Toxic Attraction.
If you found yourself drawn to dangerous men who don’t let go, then turn the page for a sneak peek into Baptized in Blood.
It’s the story of a brilliant doctor who makes one fatal mistake, and the ruthless mafia prince who decides she belongs to him.
He was never supposed to touch her.
Now he refuses to let her go.
Click on the link to start reading:
Or flip the page for a sneak peek…