Epilogue #3
Laughter ripples through the group. I find myself laughing too. There is no pretending. No one is walking on eggshells. No one seems afraid to speak. This is what family looks like.
Molly slips her arm through mine. “I’m stealing her.”
River raises his hands dramatically. “I object.”
“Ignore him,” she whispers to me.
“I usually do.”
She bursts into laughter. “Oh, I already adore you.”
Something inside me loosens. For years, I’d convinced myself families like this only existed in books. Apparently, they’ve been waiting for me all along. Just as we’re about to head toward the restaurant overlooking the sea, another familiar voice calls out behind us.
“Thought you two might need a few extra chaperones.”
I turn so quickly I nearly trip.
And there’s Raiden with an arm around Elodie. Roman grins beside them, and Royal looks entirely too pleased with himself.
“What are you doing here?” I ask.
Royal shrugs innocently. “We closed the shop for a week.”
“We weren’t going to let you have all the fun,” Roman adds.
River shakes his head as they reach us. “You planned this.”
Royal grins. “Months ago.”
Elodie hugs me tightly. “You really thought we’d miss Santorini?”
“I—” My eyes sting unexpectedly. “I don’t even know what to say.”
Royal spreads his arms dramatically. “You could start by thanking my exceptional planning skills.”
Roman snorts. “Let’s not encourage him.”
Royal ignores him completely. “I think this should become an annual tradition.”
River laughs. “One family vacation a year?”
“Exactly.”
Molly has Raiden by the elbow before anyone can stop her.
Within a minute, the two groups have folded into one, and I can’t tell anymore who came with whom.
I look around at all of them gathered together beneath the golden Greek sunset, and I feel grateful and overwhelmed all at once.
Six months ago, I had no family. Now, I have more than I know what to do with.
Dinner stretches late into the evening, filled with stories from River’s childhood that I absolutely intend to use against him later. Becca delights in exposing every embarrassing moment they can remember, while Lucia produces photographic evidence that leaves River looking thoroughly betrayed.
When the meal finally ends, he gently touches my elbow. “Come with me for a minute.”
Curious, I follow him a short distance away from the patio where everyone else remains talking. He reaches into his pocket.
“I’ve been waiting to give you something.” A small velvet ring box appears in his hand.
I blink. “River...”
He opens it. Inside rests the most beautiful ring I’ve ever seen. It’s delicate but timeless, its center stone a bright amber tone.
“My mom brought it.”
I look up at him.
“It belonged to my grandmother.” He turns the box slightly, so the stone catches the light. “She always wanted it to go to a woman who married into our family one day.”
Emotion catches in my throat.
“I know you already have a wedding ring,” he continues, glancing at the simple gold band already on my finger. “And I know we bought it in a hurry because we were trying to save your life. But...” He smiles gently. “I’d be honored if you’d wear this too.”
Tears blur my vision. “You really don’t have to replace anything.”
“I’m not replacing it.”
Carefully, I take the heirloom from his hand. Then, instead of removing my original ring, I slide the new one onto the same finger in front of it.
River watches silently.
“I can’t take this one off.” I touch the plain gold band. “It might not be expensive, but it reminds me of the day my life changed.” My voice trembles. “It reminds me of the day someone chose to protect me instead of control me.”
I hold his gaze steadily and lace our fingers together. “So, I’d like to wear both.”
He smiles, and I swear I’ve never seen a more beautiful expression.
“You have all of me, angel.”
I lean forward and kiss him softly. “I’m yours, Daddy. I love you.”
We stand there a moment longer, and I let myself think about my father for the first time in weeks.
Nobody ever told me what happened to him.
I never asked. There was a night about five months ago when River came home very late and very quiet and held on to me longer than usual.
In the morning neither of us said anything about it, and that was that.
He’s gone. That’s all I know, and all I want to know.
Thoughts of my mother drift in now. She would have liked it here. She’d have liked the flowers.
When we walk back toward the patio hand in hand, Molly notices the ring immediately.
She catches my eye. Then smiles. I instinctively glance down at my hand before smiling back.
For twenty years, I believed love had to be earned, that it was payment for staying quiet and doing exactly what I was told, and that the price went up every year. But that was for my father.
Now, I hand River my obedience because I want to, because it undoes me.
That’s the whole difference. My father took it. River is given it.
Standing beneath the Santorini sky with my husband and the people who’ve welcomed me as one of their own, laughing beside me, I finally understand what home truly feels like.
~The End
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