Epilogue
Six months later…
This garden hadn’t existed just a few months ago, but now Ellie stood at the edge of it, her gaze sweeping over the space as the early summer sun stretched across the newly laid paths.
The grass was still fresh, the flowers only just beginning to settle into the soil they’d been planted in, but it was already beautiful.
It was peaceful, and it was a place that had been built with care.
There was a bench at the centre, simple in its design, positioned just beneath a young tree that would, in time, grow wide enough to offer shade. Then she landed on the small plaque fixed to the bench, catching the light.
Eloise Hamilton.
Ellie swallowed down the emotion lodged in her throat.
It didn’t rise as often as it once had, it didn’t suffocate her in the night anymore, but it would always be present.
She cleared her throat and blinked a few times, fighting through what this day meant to her.
And then Alba’s hand tightened around hers, grounding her without drawing attention to it.
That, Ellie had come to realise, was what Alba did best. She didn’t pull her away from anything or try to fix something that Ellie simply needed to feel. She stood beside her, as certain as the day they’d met, no matter what was in front of them.
Ellie side-glanced at her. They’d been together for a little over eight months now, but it didn’t feel like enough time to explain what had shifted between them.
When Ellie had moments of wondering if things were progressing too quickly, she often reminded herself of how settled they were together.
Deep down, nothing felt rushed or overwhelming.
They were rarely apart these days. Ellie still had her house, and Alba still had hers, but somewhere along the way, that line had blurred so completely that Ellie often forgot which place she’d started the week in.
Clothes had been left in drawers that weren’t originally hers, and toothbrushes had multiplied, and the boys, more often than not, greeted Ellie as though she belonged there permanently.
And in Ellie’s head, she did.
Just ask her to move in.
It wasn’t a new idea. It had been sitting quietly at the back of her mind for weeks now, growing louder each time she found herself reaching for Alba in the middle of the night and finding her there.
Whether that was in her own bed or Alba’s didn’t matter.
She just always wanted to wake up with her, share breakfast with her, and travel into work together. She wanted keys for just one home.
She hadn’t verbalised it yet, nor had she even hinted at the idea in front of Alba, but she would…one day soon.
“Ellie?” Vanessa’s voice pulled her back to the present.
Ellie turned, offering a small smile as she nodded. “I’m ready.”
Vanessa moved aside, and the small gathering of staff and students shifted their attention towards Ellie. It wasn’t a large crowd, but it was never meant to be. Ellie stepped forward, her fingers still laced with Alba’s until the very last second, when she reluctantly let go.
She walked to the front, took a breath, and then she began.
“Thank you for being here today.” Her voice was far steadier than she’d expected it to be, but there was no mistaking the emotion threaded through it.
“This space…it means more to me than I think I can fully put into words.” Ellie’s gaze drifted to the bench, to the name, and she swallowed. “But I’m going to try.”
She looked back at the crowd of people watching her intently and took a deep breath.
“Eloise was the kind of child who found joy in the simplest things. The park, a sickly-sweet cupcake, or even just five more minutes in bed, no matter how early I woke her up.” There was a warmth in her words now.
Not untouched by grief but no longer consumed by it.
“She didn’t need much to be happy. Just space, a little time, and someone to sit beside her while she figured things out.
” Ellie glanced around the garden again, taking in the quiet and the openness of it.
“That’s what I hope this place becomes. A space for anyone who needs a moment.
Somewhere to breathe. Somewhere to sit with whatever you’re feeling without being rushed or overlooked.
” She paused. “And if it helps even one person the way she continues to help me through…then it’s done exactly what it was meant to do. ”
Ellie let everything settle before she smiled and stepped back. Her chest rose and fell slowly as she exhaled, but she went straight to Alba, their hands finding one another again. All she would ever need was her steady presence to keep her together.
Alba’s thumb brushed across her knuckles. “You were incredible, babe. I’m so proud of you.”
“I got through it, which is more than I thought I was capable of this morning.”
“You did more than that.” Alba squeezed her hand, but Ellie felt her leaning in. She wouldn’t do anything in front of the people still watching them, but Ellie knew what she would do had it been possible, and that was enough. “And it looks amazing.”
“Thank you for being here with me today.”
Alba’s lips curved as she nudged Ellie’s shoulder. “Always. That’s what I’m here for.”
Ellie’s gaze drifted back to the garden…to the bench, to the space that now existed in Eloise’s name. It still hurt, but it didn’t feel like the end of something anymore. It felt like a continuation…simply in a different direction.
Her thumb brushed against Alba’s hand as that same thought returned, only this time, it was stronger than it had ever been.
Ask her to move in.
It wasn’t a question of if, but when.
“Come on. Let’s go and mingle before we head home.”
Home. Ellie forced down the words desperate to break free. She wouldn’t ask Alba here; she would rather be away from work and hopefully somewhere that had a bottle of champagne close by. “Yes, home.”
“After we’ve mingled.” Alba side-eyed her and grinned. “We’ll be home before we know it.”
The second Alba stepped through Ellie’s front door, Colin and Ralph were gone…
bounding across the hallway with purpose, their nails clicking against the floor as they made a beeline for the corner of the living room where the toy box lived.
Alba paused inside the doorway, her hand resting against her chest as she watched them, a small, almost disbelieving smile settling on her face.
It had been Ellie’s idea a few months ago now. She’d simply told Alba that they may as well have some things here too, but Alba knew exactly what it meant. It was a space made for them and a place carved out for Alba without either of them needing to say it outright.
They nosed through the toys and selected something with great importance, before flopping down onto the rug together.
Alba pulled the bolt across the door and listened for any sign of Ellie.
They’d driven home together, but Alba had needed to pick up some things from her place—Colin was out of his specific dog food here—before she could settle down for the night and not have to worry about anything else. “Babe, you here?”
She slipped her shoes off and set them neatly by the door, her gaze lingering on the now familiar surroundings. As the last few months had passed, Alba found herself feeling more and more at home here.
“Hey.”
Alba turned at the sound of Ellie’s voice.
She was standing in the doorway to the kitchen, one hand resting against the frame.
There was something about her that felt…
off-balance, but Alba understood. The afternoon was still sitting with her.
The garden and the speech…and everything that had come with it.
Alba crossed the space between them, her hands settling at Ellie’s waist as she leaned in to kiss her, and Ellie melted into her instantly. She felt it in the way Ellie’s body softened against her and in the way her hands came up to rest against Alba’s arms, squeezing gently.
When they pulled apart, Ellie touched her forehead to Alba’s and smiled. “Move in with me.”
Alba blinked repeatedly. She was fairly certain she’d just misheard whatever Ellie had said. “What?”
“Move in with me.”
Just like that. No build-up and no careful lead-in. No discussion about the pros and cons.
Alba searched her face, trying to find something, anything, that would suggest this was nothing more than a passing thought. “You’ve had an emotional day. You’re probably just—”
“I’m not.”
Alba pressed her lips together as she lowered her gaze between them. “You might think that now, but give it a day or two, and you’ll realise having me in your space all the time will drive you mad.”
Her words may have come across as light, maybe even teasing, but there was something beneath them. An old reflex.
“Alba.”
Alba shook her head and pulled back a little, though her hand didn’t quite leave Ellie’s side. “I’m serious, Ellie. You like your routines and your space. I come with two dogs who sheds everywhere, and a tendency to leave mugs in places they shouldn’t be.”
Ellie’s lips twitched. “Maybe I like finding mugs lying around the place.”
Alba held her gaze as that flicker of doubt presented itself.
Not about Ellie, never about Ellie, but about herself.
About what it meant to take up space in someone else’s life and what happened when that space stopped being temporary.
“I’ve done this before, and I know how it goes when someone starts to feel like you’re too much. ”
Ellie stepped closer again, closing the slight space Alba had created only moments ago. She lifted her hand to Alba’s cheek and stroked her thumb against her skin. “That’s not going to happen.”
Alba didn’t look away, but she didn’t quite lean in either. “You don’t know that.”
“I do,” Ellie said, leaving no room for doubt. “Because I’m not her.”
Alba touched her hand to Ellie’s where it still rested against her cheek and smiled. God, she knew Ellie wasn’t Audrey, the two could never compare, but Alba still had that residual fear of not being good enough down the line.
“I know where that reaction comes from,” Ellie continued. “And I know what she made you believe while you were together.”
Alba swallowed as she fought back tears. In all the years she’d dated, nobody had ever treated her the way Ellie Hamilton did. Nobody had ever looked at her as though she was their entire world, but Ellie did. And Alba had never loved anyone quite as much as she loved Ellie.
“I don’t know the full extent of your marriage with Audrey, but I don’t get a good feeling about it.
Whatever happened with her…is not going to happen with us.
” Ellie smiled, tears sitting in her own eyes.
“I’m so in love with you, Alba. I look for you when we’re apart, and I ache to slip into bed with you every night…
knowing you’ll never go back to another house again.
” She dipped her head and brushed her bottom lip against Alba’s.
“You already live here. You just haven’t made it official yet. ”
Alba turned her head and looked through the living room door, to where the boys lay happily chewing on their toys, entirely at ease. At home. Then she looked back at Ellie. “You’re sure?”
“I’ve never been more sure about anything, baby.”
The last bit of doubt that had been clinging on vanished as she looked into Ellie’s eyes. Nothing had ever felt more right than when she was with Ellie. The laughter, the lazy mornings in bed…it all mattered more than Alba could ever explain. “Okay.”
Ellie’s face lit up instantly. “Okay?”
“I think you’re out of your mind to even ask me to move in with you, but if you’re sure you can cope with me, then yes.”
Ellie laughed as she pulled Alba in, her arms wrapping around her and almost lifting her off the floor. “God, I’ve been dying to ask you.”
“You…have?”
“It’s all I’ve thought about for weeks. I think I’ve almost blurted it out on several occasions now.
I just didn’t know when the right time was.
Something always got in the way, or we weren’t spending the evening together.
I just…” Ellie held Alba’s face in both hands and looked her dead in the eye. “You’re all I want, Alba.”
“And I’ll always be yours.” Alba closed her eyes and leaned into everything she was feeling.
Yes, she may have had a moment, and yes, she may have believed Ellie was going to kick her out within days…
but deep down, she knew the truth. They were madly in love with one another, and nothing else mattered. “Forever.”
This…it was meant to be.