Epilogue
Dominic
Five months later
A sharp cry pierces the hospital room as our child comes into the world. Sophaya’s hand is clamped down on mine, hair plastered to her forehead as she releases a shuddering breath.
“Is it a son?” she asks between deep, wrenching breaths. “A daughter?”
The doctor holds up the squalling baby.
A smile splits my face. “We have a daughter, darling.”
Sophaya smiles. “Amarisse.”
The doctor brings the baby over and gently lays her down on Sophaya’s chest before draping a blanket over her. Amarisse’s wailing quiets, a shuddering sigh escaping her tiny body as she relaxes into the warmth of her mother’s body.
Sophaya releases my hand as she cradles our daughter against her chest. I slowly reach out and lay a hand on Amarisse’s back.
“She’s here,” I murmur.
Sophaya looks up at me and gifts me with the most beautiful smile I’ve ever seen. “We did it.”
I swallow past the sudden lump in my throat as I lean down and kiss my wife.
The last few months have flown by. Sophaya accompanied me to the autumn gala in New York. After that, we stayed in Siravelle for the rest of her pregnancy. She wanted to be prepared for assuming the crown, wanted the people and the government to see her dedication to her upcoming role.
Pride surges through me. They took notice.
Her approval ratings soared before she was officially crowned in early February.
She was very visibly pregnant by then, but polls showed most people didn’t care about the timing.
They loved their crown princess, and oddly enough, they liked me, too.
Even the members of Parliament have overwhelmingly supported her involvement.
But as I rub small circles on my daughter’s back, I’m immensely grateful that we’ll get a few weeks off.
Sophaya’s mother continued to step up, not just for Sophaya and me but for herself, too.
Her divorce from Sophaya’s father will be finalized in the summer.
Too late, the former king realized what he was losing and asked for another chance.
But Sophaya’s mother stood her ground. After Sophaya’s coronation, her father took an extended sabbatical to Japan.
Good riddance.
Now, as Sophaya and I tackle our new role as parents, my mother-in-law is overseeing the palace to give us time as a family.
Family. I once thought my world to be so small, limited to Aiden and Cassian.
But now, as my hand drifts up to Amarisse’s head and I stroke the soft, downy hair, I revel in how much that world has expanded.
Sophaya, of course, but also her mother, and even Charles, who came back to Siravelle for Sophaya’s coronation.
I don’t agree with a lot of the choices he made.
But without his abdication, I may never have met Sophaya.
I lean down and brush a kiss over my wife’s forehead.
“You did great, chérie.”
She smiles even as her eyes flutter with fatigue. “I love when you speak French.”
“If we’re going to have a trilingual daughter, I need to do it more.”
Sophaya’s eyes open, filled with warmth and love. “Do you want to hold her?”
Fear bolts through me. Fear and a deep, primal need to hold my child. I reach down. She’s so tiny, so fragile. Yet as I gently scoop my daughter up and cradle her against my chest, love sinks into my bones.
Amarisse’s little face scrunches up, and she lets out a long, lengthy wail.
“Ssshh.” I lift her up, press my lips to her forehead. “I’m here, sweetheart.”
Amarisse quiets. Slowly, she turns her head and blinks up at me with large, dark eyes.
“She knows your voice,” Sophaya murmurs.
Emotion grips me. “Hi, baby girl.”
Amarisse lets out another shuddering sigh, then slowly relaxes in my arms.
John would have loved this. He would have been a wonderful grandfather. The thought is bittersweet, but instead of shoving memories of John away, I embrace them. I make a vow right then and there to make sure Amarisse knows about her grandfather one day.
Maybe one day when she’s older, I’ll tell her about my parents, my childhood.
My mother kept reaching out after the article was published.
It took her five calls before I finally picked up the phone, only for her to ask for money in the first ten minutes.
I mentally closed the door on that possibility, focused instead on the future and the areas I could make a difference in.
And now I’m standing in the hospital with my daughter in my arms and another daughter waiting in the hall.
In just a few weeks, we’ll also be parents to Rosalina. When Sophaya brought the subject of adoption up just after the autumn gala, I knew the answer before she had even finished asking the question. Rosalina had happily agreed.
Warmth fills me. Sometimes it’s still hard to accept all we have to celebrate. Our marriage. The successful end of Rosalina’s treatment. Sophaya and her mother’s reconciliation.
And now our baby. The first, I hope, of several.
I glance back at my wife.
“We made a beautiful girl.” I say softly. “And she’s going to have the best big sister a little one can ask for.”
“She is, isn’t she?” Sophaya yawns. “Can I hold her one more time before I accidentally fall asleep?”
I lay Amarisse on Sophaya’s chest, already missing the warmth emanating from that tiny body. “I get to hold her when you nap.”
“Deal.” She looks up at me with shining eyes. “I’m really glad you demanded I marry you.”
I chuckle as I reach out and tuck a strand of hair out of her face. Her sweet smile fills me with happiness.
“I love you, Dominic.”
“And I you, Sophaya.” I lean down, savor her quiet exhale as I brush my lips across her forehead. “Always and forever.”
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