Epilogue
GAbrIELLA-ROSE
A YEAR HAD PASSED since the day we had found out that Vincent was gone from our lives. So much in our lives had changed, and so much remained the same. We were all still madly in love with each other. We had our differences now and then, but somehow, we managed to work through them together. We all had our moments when we needed to be alone, and each one of us respected that. Then there were times when we craved each other’s company. I had to say that I was the luckiest woman alive to have such a loving family around me.
The biggest change in our lives was the birth of our son, Hayden. It turned out that Nico was right. I had a healthy baby boy, and it was Hudson’s. Fate had also decided that he would be born on May tenth, a year to the day since Hudson purchased me for the weekend at Club Lust’s Night to Remember auction. I could definitely say that auction had lived up to its name because not only had it been a night to remember, but a whole year and probably a lifetime to remember.
However, today was going to be the biggest day of my life. It was our commitment ceremony. I would never be the blushing bride, but this was as close as I could get with the three men I loved. Although we wouldn’t be pronounced man and wife at the end of it, my thoughts on the day were the same. Today, we would all be committing our lives to each other.
I had chosen a relatively plain ivory mermaid dress that hugged my curves and then went out into a train. Even though this wasn’t a wedding, I still wanted to feel like the blushing bride as I walked down toward my men. I had also asked Viktor if he would walk me down to them. I didn’t know my father, and Viktor was the closest I had. I couldn’t think of anyone better to do it. I was just finishing my makeup when there was a knock at the door.
“Come in.”
The door opened, and Viktor walked in. I thought he was going to burst into tears when he saw me.
“Malyshka, you look beautiful. A true princess. I think it’s time for me to take you to your princes, don’t you?”
I nodded my head, and we made our way down the stairs and out into the back garden to head toward the marquee where we were getting married. I was just about to start my journey toward my men through the marquee entrance when Viktor stopped me.
“Just before we go in there, I have someone who wants to meet you.”
From around the corner, a tall man wearing a hood walked over to us. I didn’t need to be told who it was. I knew instantly that this had to be TD, the Shadow Devil.
He stood in front of me and took my hand, raising it to his lips, and pressed a kiss to it. I couldn’t see his face very clearly, but the hardness seemed to fade when he pressed his lips to my skin. His thick Russian accent, although harsh in sound, was caring as he spoke.
“You look even more beautiful than Viktor described you. I am guessing you know who I am. If not, my friends call me TD, and I would like you to count yourself among them. I won’t take up much of your time, and I will not stay for long. I’m sure you can understand why.”
I wanted to say so much to this man standing in front of me. By finding me, he had saved both my life and Hayden’s. I really couldn’t thank him enough.
“I just wanted to stop by today and wish you all the best for the future. I only arrived back from Russia this morning, so as I said, I cannot stay long. But I am sure that Viktor can arrange for us to meet again, somewhere more private so we can talk. I can see why this gruff bratva boss has fallen for you, though.”
He was about to go when I stopped him. I leaned up and pressed a kiss to his cheek. I was sure I saw a slight blush, but I guessed a man like him didn’t get many signs of affection.
“Thank you, TD. Thank you for everything. I would love to spend some time with you and welcome you to my family. Because you belong as a part of it.”
A slight smile formed on his hard, chiseled face and he slipped away around the side of the building. I didn’t know if he would stay to watch the ceremony or just leave. However, if I never saw him again, at least I had a chance to thank him.
“Come on. They will be worried you have run away. Shall we?”
I walked along the path to where we were holding the ceremony and up between the rows of our friends and family to my knights, standing at the end in all their glory. Once I had arrived, Trent, who we had asked to be the officiant for today, started the ceremony.
“Welcome to all our beloved guests. We’re gathered here today to celebrate Hudson, Domenico, Gino, and Gabriella-Rose as they make their promise of love and commitment to one another.
“What a gift it is to find someone with whom to spend our life! Committing to share our brightest days and weather our darkest nights with someone is no small thing and cannot be done lightly.
“Commitment is about trust. It’s about patience, forgiveness, devotion, and hope. It’s what happens when a relationship becomes a home — a place of safety and love — to which each partner can return again and again.”
I listened to the words; every one of them was true. We had been through so much already, and I knew that there would be more difficult times ahead of us. I also knew there would be more joyous times ahead as we welcomed more lives into our family. For that, I was truly grateful. Trent first turned to Hudson.
“Do you, Hudson, promise to spend your life with Domenico, Gino, and Gabriella-Rose, meeting each new joy and sorrow together, continuing to deepen your understanding of them, treating them with kindness and compassion, and welcoming each new chapter of life together with a spirit of curiosity and patience?”
Hudson looked at us all and smiled. “I do.”
My heart was beating hard in my chest as the Trent turned to Nico next.
“Do you, Domenico, promise to spend your life with Hudson, Gino, and Gabriella-Rose, meeting each new joy and sorrow together, continuing to deepen your understanding of them, treating them with kindness and compassion, and welcoming each new chapter of life together with a spirit of curiosity and patience?”
Nico didn’t hesitate in his reply. “I do.”
Gino was the next to be asked the same question.
“Do you, Gino, promise to spend your life with Hudson, Dominico, and Gabriella-Rose, meeting each new joy and sorrow together, continuing to deepen your understanding of them, treating them with kindness and compassion, and welcoming each new chapter of life together with a spirit of curiosity and patience?”
Again, there was no hesitation in Gino’s reply. “I do.”
Lastly, it was me. The moment I had been waiting for. The moment I told my men that I wanted to be with them, whatever life threw at us.
“Do you, Gabriella-Rose, promise to spend your life with Hudson, Domenico, and Gino, meeting each new joy and sorrow together, continuing to deepen your understanding of them, treating them with kindness and compassion, and welcoming each new chapter of life together with a spirit of curiosity and patience?”
My voice sounded so small and meek as I spoke, even though my heart was screaming at them all. “I do.”
We all stood there, our hearts filled with love that we had all declared for each other, but I had wanted to make it even more meaningful. The guys didn’t know that I had bought rings for us all. I had asked Aleksandr to look after them for me. We had all written our own vows, but only Trent knew about the rings. Therefore, it came as quite a shock when he spoke next.
“Hudson, Domenico, Gino, and Gabriella-Rose will now say their vows to each other and exchange rings as a symbol of their love and commitment.”
I couldn’t help but giggle when all three of them turned and looked at me with shocked expressions. I was grateful when Trent explained the situation to our friends and family.
“I will point out at this moment, that Gabriella-Rose and myself were the only ones to know about the rings. Which is why the other partners look shocked.”
I turned to Aleksandr and took the rings from him. Each one was in a different color box, so I knew exactly whose was whose.I took out Hudson’s ring and held it toward his finger. All of us placed a finger on the ring as Hudson started to say his vows to us.
“I always knew that I would love more than one person. Nico had been in my life for so long that I wondered if it would ever happen to us. But then you came into our lives, Gaby, and I thought my life was complete. However, fate proved that there was still one piece of my puzzle that was missing, and that was you, Gino. As if things couldn’t get any better, Gaby, you then gave me the son and heir that I have always craved. I count myself as one of the luckiest men in the world, to have so much love around me. I accept and will wear this ring to show my commitment to you all.”
I could feel myself starting to tear up at Hudson’s words and was sure when it came to me, the tears would be flowing down my face. I could already hear sniffles from our guests, and only Hudson had spoken. Nico took his ring next and we all placed our fingers on it as he spoke.
“Like Hudson, I feel as though I am the luckiest man alive. For years, Hudson had been my friend, partner, and lover, and I hadn’t really wanted anyone to join us. That was until Rosa walked out that evening. She was everything a man could ever want in a woman, and I was hooked. She gave me the compassion and love that I never realized I needed. There was always someone in the background, though. He had been my confidant for years, the man I always turned to when I needed him. The man who secretly loved me, and I him. When Gino joined us, my heart and soul were complete. I commit my life to you with the acceptance of this ring.”
I didn’t hold back my tears any longer as the love that was being shown filled my heart and captured my soul. I took Gino’s ring and placed it on his finger and we all held onto it.
“I had spent years loving you, Nico, from afar. My heart ached to see you with the man you loved, especially as that wasn’t me. Then Gabriella joined your life, and again, I had to watch you fall in love with her. I admitted to you that I couldn’t stay and watch you so in love when my own heart was breaking. Then you asked me to become part of your family. At first, I was hesitant, but then I realized having you in my life completed me. But a part of me was still missing. You, Hudson, the one person I thought I could never love, were the missing piece. Now I have all three of you in my life, and I can’t imagine not having you with me. I willingly commit my heart and soul to you all and wear this ring as proof.”
I wasn’t sure if I could say the words I had written as the tears continued to fall down my face. I hadn’t thought this would affect me as much as it had. Hudson placed the ring on my finger, and Nico and Gino both held it and my hand.
I took a deep breath and started to speak. “Hudson, I waited five years to have you in my life. Fate brought us back together, but also apart. You saved me from the life I was living, along with Nico. You are my rock, and I know I can always count on you. Then you gave me the gift of becoming a mother with the birth of our son, Hayden. Nico, my principe and sweet protector. You may not have been with me from the beginning, but from the moment I met you, I knew you would play an important part in my life. You showed me the love and care I needed. Gino, you almost gave your own life for me. You were willing to walk away from everything to give us the life you thought we needed. However, without you, each one of us would have a missing piece and would never feel complete. Each one of us fills a role with the other. We were meant to be together, and as you have committed to me and each other, I accept this ring as a symbol of my commitment to you all.”
As they pushed the ring onto my finger, all three of them had tears in their eyes. We had all committed our lives to each other, now and forever. There was just one thing left for me to do today, and they would soon be finding out exactly what that would be. We turned back to face Trent as he said his final words.
“With the trust of you all here today, I now declare you joined in love. You may now kiss!”
A huge roar and round of applause erupted as we kissed each other. I looked toward the back of the marquee and saw TD standing there in the shadows. He blew me a kiss and then slipped away out of sight. I jumped when Hudson spoke next to me.
“Who was that?”
I smiled at him. “The man who found me and saved my life. TD, the Shadow Devil. I’ll explain everything later.”
We headed through to the dining area, where we were going to celebrate our commitment to each other. I had one final surprise for them all, which I had asked the organizers to leave at our table. We stood in the doorway, greeting all of our guests and thanking them for coming. Once everyone was inside, we went and took our seats at our table.
We had decided to have round tables for everyone, including us. It seemed right to have us all around together and not in one line where we wouldn’t be able to talk. As we walked over, I could see the black and gold presents sitting in front of each of my guys’ seats.
As we got closer, Gino stopped and turned to me. “You got us presents?”
I smiled and nodded my head. I could tell they were all annoyed at this. First, the rings that they knew nothing about, and now this. However, they would realize what I had gotten them very soon.
“What have you done, Gaby?” Hudson asked. “We didn’t get you anything, and you already got us rings.”
“You have given me everything I have ever wanted, Hudson, just by your words today. I just wanted to give you something in return. Now, sit down and open your presents. But you all have to open them at the same time or it will ruin the surprise.”
They helped me into my seat before sitting themselves and picking up the boxes. Hudson, of course, had to shake his to try to guess what was inside, but I knew no matter how many guesses they had, they would never get it right.
“I’ll count you down from three, and then you can open them. Okay?”
They all nodded their heads in agreement, their hands ready on the bows.
“Three. Two. One.”
They all quickly ripped open their boxes and pulled out the envelopes inside. They looked at me confused before continuing to open them and pull out the cards. On the front were the words Would You Please, then inside it said, Be Our Daddies , complete with the scan of the twins that I was carrying inside me.
I watched as they looked at the pictures in silence until the realization clicked into place. Gino got it first, flinging his chair back pulling me up from mine, and then lifting me and twirling me around until I was dizzy.
“You’re pregnant?”
I nodded.
“And you’re having twins?”
Again, I nodded as the tears of joy started to fall down my face. The men I loved immediately surrounded me and engulfed me in their arms and kisses. A voice from behind me sounded, and we looked around to see Monica standing there with Hayden in her arms.
“I couldn’t have thought of a better way to do that, Gaby. It was the perfect reaction, and we have it all recorded.”
She passed me Hayden and congratulated the men in my life as I sat down with my precious child in my arms. Today couldn’t have been any better. We had committed our lives to each other, and I had given them the news that they were going to become dads again. All I hoped for now was that Gino and Nico were the biological fathers and that we lived the rest of our lives together in love. And all thanks to an auction and a night to remember .