Epilogue
ANIKA
One Year Later
The villa is quiet, bathed in the soft glow of twilight, and the breeze whispers through the trees outside like a soft lullaby.
I sit curled on the velvet settee in the nursery, one hand resting on the swell of my heart, the other cradling a warm cup of tea.
The baby is fussing softly in Miko’s arms, her cries as delicate as wind chimes.
Miko smiles down at her with such tenderness, it melts my heart. I can’t help but watch him as he gently rocks our daughter, cradling her head in one massive palm.
His silhouette glows in the golden light of the reading lamp, tall and broad and calm.
Alana’s swaddled in pink cotton, her tiny hand gripping his finger as he murmurs a story, his voice low and soothing.
“Once upon a time, there was a little girl who would grow up to rule the stars,” he says. “She had her mother’s fire and her father’s heart, and no one dared cross her—not even stars.”
The baby gurgles, entranced.
I smile. Even now, even after everything, Miko surprises me.
A year ago, I didn’t know if I could trust him. A year ago, I still woke from nightmares gasping for air, certain Pyotr would rise from the dead and drag me back into hell.
A year ago, I didn’t believe I would ever feel safe again. Or that such a thing existed.
Now I know what peace tastes like.
It’s Miko’s arms around me at night. It’s the laughter he coaxes from our daughter as he bounces her on his knee.
It’s the flowers he brings home every Thursday—compliments of our new sister-in-law. It’s the silence in my chest where fear used to live.
Miko carries the Bratva like he was born to it.
I suppose it always was his birthright, but he’s nothing like the tyrants who came before. He’s diplomatic, measured, ruthless when he has to be—but never cruel. Never without reason.
He listens. He cares.
He’s turned our world into one that I feel safe to raise our daughter in. And when the day comes when she’s old enough to marry, I know Miko will be a fierce protector of her heart.
He won’t sell her off to the highest bidder.
If anything, I think our sweet Alana might have a hard time finding a man brave enough to date her.
Because I have no doubt Miko’s talk about respecting his daughter will scare off all but the most genuine and daring.
He kisses the crown of our baby’s head like she’s made of glass.
Then he lays her gently in the cradle and pulls the blankets around her. One last stroke of her downy hair before he turns off the lamp.
“She’s asleep,” he says, offering me a hand to help me out of my chair.
Together, we tiptoe from the room, stealing one last peek at our sleeping angel before softly closing the door. In the hallway, I turn to him, leaning against him as I press my cheek to his chest.
His heart beats strong beneath my ear.
“Miko?” I whisper.
“Hmm?”
“Thank you. For… for giving our daughter such a different life to grow up in.”
He pulls me closer. “She’s ours. That means she gets the best this world has to offer.”
I lift my face to his, tracing the lines of his jaw. “You’re better than anything I could have possibly imagined.”
His smile fades into something softer, more vulnerable. “I’ll spend the rest of my life proving it’s real—for as long as you’ll let me.”
“You already have,” I promise, rising onto my toes to wrap my arms around his neck.
Strong arms wrap around my ribcage as he holds me close, and our lips meet with that familiar jolt of warmth that makes me gasp every time.
We kiss, slow and sweet, the lingering touch lighting a spark deep in my belly.
When we part, his hand comes to rest against the small of my back, and we retreat silently to our bedroom.
The curtains flutter with the breeze, and moonlight dances over the sheets.
Miko closes the door behind us, locking out the world, and when he looks at me—when he touches me—it’s so much more than it used to be.
It’s still careful, reverent, like he knows I’m still learning how to be whole. I am.
But I’m getting there.
And in the safety of his arms, I trust that what we share is something all the more sacred for it.
His hands are warm as he helps me out of my robe.
His mouth finds mine in a kiss that steals the breath from my lungs.
I am not afraid. Not of him. Not anymore.
In truth, I don’t know how I ever was.
What a difference a year can make.
After spending two consecutive years married to two such different men, I couldn’t have a better comparison.
With Pyotr, every day felt like an eternity, a constant battle between fear and revulsion, where survival was the only prize.
With Miko, this year has flown by in the blink of an eye.
He’s shown me that patience and kindness can heal even the deepest wounds with time.
He’s blessed me with the most beautiful treasure this world has ever known.
And if I thought he was a loving husband, I’m constantly in awe of what an incredible father he’s become.
Pyotr feels like little more than a distant memory to me now, a villain from a past life, or even a childhood storybook.
And even on the rare occasion when the nightmares still come—when I bolt upright in bed with tears in my eyes and Pyotr’s voice in my ears—Miko is always there to hold me close and whisper truths over the lies.
He tells me I’m safe. That I’m loved.
And I believe him.
Because I am. With him. Forever.
“Tell me, topolina,” he says, his lips soft against my throat. “What’s on your mind tonight?”
“I was just thinking about my perfect husband,” I tease lightly, leaning back to meet his eyes as I comb my fingers into his thick, dark curls.
Miko snarls, his eyes sparkling with playful warning. “You better be referring to me,” he says. “Unless there’s some man out there I need to pay a visit.”
Laughter bubbles up from me at his threat, because even if he were capable of killing a man just for stealing my attention, I know it would never happen. “Fortunately for all the other husbands in the world, I was referring to you.”
Letting my hands trail down the curve of his neck and across his broad chest, I slowly make my way down to the hem of his shirt.
He lifts his arms as I drag the soft fabric up the rippling muscles of his abdomen then shoulders before tugging it over his head.
His skin is soft and warm against my breasts, his lips scintillating as they find my throat once again, and a sultry purr rumbles from his chest as I reach down to unbutton his pants.
He watches with smoldering desire as I drag them down his hips and thighs, crouching so I’m at the perfect height as his thick length springs free, its silky tip brushing against my lips.
Grasping the base of it, I look up at him through my lashes, giving him a wicked smile. Then I run my tongue along its length before swirling the tip.
“You have the sexiest lips,” he growls, brushing the pad of his thumb across the bottom one and parting them softly.
“Where do you want them?” I ask playfully.
“At this moment?” he asks, his eyebrow quirking in a wolfish smirk. Then his fingers trap my chin, and he slowly guides me back to my feet. “Right here.”
His lips seal against mine, his tongue delving past their seam as he claims my lips with a hunger that steals my breath away.
His hands roam from my waist down to my hips, and he palms my ass as he pulls me against him.
“Take me to bed,” I breathe.
Miko hums with approval, walking me backward without needing to be asked twice.
And when I feel the backs of my knees hit the foot of the bed, he presses me down onto it.
He follows my movements, his muscular arms caging me as he settles between my thighs.
I don’t know what it is about this man, but everything about him draws me in and lights my soul on fire.
I don’t need foreplay with him.
I want him every hour of every day, and as I reach between us, guiding his swollen tip between my folds, Miko groans at just how wet I am for him.
His hips rock forward, bringing us together and releasing stars behind my eyelids.
This is the place where heaven meets earth. And I know that, whatever life might throw at us, Miko and I will always find each other in this space.
We rock together, the swells of passion rising and cresting as my body tingles.
I know I’m close to reaching climax and I can feel Miko swelling to meet me as the first waves of my orgasm ripple along his length.
“Miko!” I gasp, clinging to his broad shoulders as he bursts inside me, flooding my channel with hot cum.
I throb around him, panting as we share the air between us, our lips brushing softly together.
“I love you, il mio sole e le mie stelle,” he murmurs. My sun and stars.
“I love you too,” I say, leaning up to kiss him.
And as he holds me close, his heart beating steadily beneath my ear, I’m lulled into the sweet, blissful space between dreams and waking.
With our daughter sleeping soundly in the room next door and Miko’s arms holding me close, I’m sure I couldn’t be happier.