Epilogue
Val
Three years had passed. The time felt like both a lifetime and an instant all at once.
I stood in the doorway of the dining room, taking a moment to breathe it all in. The room was intimate, dressed with soft lighting and flowers, and smelled faintly of expensive cognac and wine.
After the fight against Mark, Kaden decided that wasn’t the life he wanted to live anymore, and he continued spending his days working at Arlo’s gym as a trainer and co-owner.
My days were no longer spent running from fear, but facing it down.
I was now instructing my own self-defense classes twice a week, teaching women not only how to block a punch, but how to recognize the shift in power preceding an attack.
When I wasn’t teaching classes, I was exploring my genuine passion of volunteering at the local domestic violence shelter.
I saw a piece of myself in every woman who walked through those doors.
The fear, the shame, the crushing feeling of unchosen vulnerability.
Now, I could offer them a safe space and provide tangible information and resources while also being living proof of a life built on structure and consent was possible.
Kaden had told me this evening was a special dinner to celebrate the one-year anniversary of the shelter program I had started.
Inside the room, he stood there, smiling, looking impossibly sharp in a charcoal suit.
Across from him was Summer, and he announced we were still waiting for a few people from the shelter and gym to arrive, including Arlo, who was apparently bringing the food, too.
“There’s my girl!” Summer rushed me and gave me the biggest hug. “Gosh Val, you sure do clean up well.”
We laughed and settled in. The evening unfolded perfectly. Kaden was celebrating everything that truly mattered to me, praising my dedication to the women at the shelter.
As Summer recounted a hilarious story from her latest dating debacle, Kaden reached under the table and rested his hand on my thigh.
I glanced over and our eyes locked. I knew that look and the atmosphere shifted.
Summer must have sensed it too, because she quickly wrapped up her story with a large sip of wine and shifted her attention to our direction. The rest of the guests followed suit.
Kaden rose slowly, pulling me up with him.
He reached up and traced the silver collar resting against my neck.
“You came to me from a world where control had been stolen, begging for me to find time to train you. You didn’t even know if I had a spot for you, you trusted your gut and followed your heart.
” He took a deep breath, and for once, seemed nervous.
“Now, you stand here as a pillar of strength, having built a fortress of consent for yourself and other women,” he said, his voice husky with emotion.
He stepped back and looked at me, his eyes full of love and a vulnerability I sometimes forgot he still possessed.
“I have kept my promise to you and honored it since the day we started dating. Now, I want to expand my promise. I want the world to know you are mine and I am irrevocably yours, in every way that matters.” He reached into his inner pocket and produced a simple platinum band with a gorgeous sapphire stone embedded into it.
“Val,” he whispered, his eyes shining. “Will you marry me?”
Tears blurred my vision. The answer was immediate and unwavering. “Yes, Kaden. Always and forever, yes.”
He didn’t hesitate and slipped the ring onto my finger before pulling me close. Our lips met in a long, deep devoted seal on the contract of a lifetime.