Epilogue
Two Years Later…
We arrived right on time, despite my wife’s time-consuming indecision about what to wear.
Sometimes, Isabella almost made me wonder who the real baby was, between her and Ivan, our son, who was now a toddler.
Of course, we were both older, but she was still every bit the sexy and adorable woman I fell for.
The woman who fought beside me as we dominated our enemies.
The woman who showed me that I was worthy of love in every single way.
A woman who combined cute and goofy, especially whenever she was pregnant. Which she currently was.
The small hall glistened with golden lights and champagne as I entered the Bratva charity gala at Viktor’s estate. But none shone brighter than the woman on my arm, her scarlet dress making her look like a princess with a baby bump.
The gala was a well-earned celebration for my brothers and me.
We had crushed our enemies and expanded our empire, reaffirming our absolute authority in Manhattan.
In recent years, we’d been betrayed and prodded, but we didn’t break.
Neither did we ever lose. And, amidst it all, Isabella was there to smooth the rough scars each battle brought with her love.
She was no longer a pawn; she was a queen in this world now. And the queen of my life.
“So, I really can’t drink?” she inquired, her playful voice just above a whisper as I inclined my head to hear her.
“No drinking, baby,” I uttered, dropping a kiss to her head. “Until you’ve dropped my princess.”
“Whew,” she breathed dramatically.
“I could give you something to look forward to, hmm?” I whispered into her ear as my hand subtly went to squeeze her ass.
“Mikhail,” she squealed.
“What? I was just showing you how I’d love to reward you for resisting the urge to drink.”
“I have a feeling you’d have done that even if we weren’t talking about drinking.”
“You won’t hear me denying. If time weren’t a factor, I would have had my way with you. You know that,” I confessed.
“Well, there’ll be plenty of time after.”
“Exactly what I can’t wait for,” I disclosed.
“Isabella!” Emilia called, approaching us in a golden dress and a happy smile.
After we exchanged greetings, I left the ladies to chat while I walked up to Viktor, who was wrapping up a conversation.
“Mikhail,” he called, a small smile on his face.
“Brother,” I answered. “How’s it going?”
“Good, as usual. Where’s Isabella?”
“Emilia found us first. You know what that means.”
“Never-ending chatter,” he replied, chuckling. “Have you seen Konstantin?”
“Oh, the rascal is here?”
“Indeed. Leonard has been talking his ear off all evening.”
“And Roman?”
“Oh, there he is,” Viktor revealed, pointing his champagne flute towards the right. “Charming donors, as usual.”
“Finally, you’re here.”
I turned around to the sound of Konstantin’s deep voice.
“I could say the same about you,” I answered, smirking.
He shrugged, a lazy smile on his face. “Been up and about.”
“As usual,” I chipped in.
The three of us soon got to where Roman was, and the three lookalike ladies walked away after greeting.
“Hey, Mikhail,” he greeted, turning his smiling face towards me.
“Busy, huh?” I asked.
“Someone has to socialize,” he answered.
“You know what I think?” Viktor asked, taking a sip of wine.
“Just go get married,” Konstantin replied.
“Damn right. It’s high time you two brought home a wife,” I added.
Roman laughed. “That’s surely not happening, brothers. I wasn't wired for marriage. I’m perfectly fine with being happy for you guys.”
My eyes searched for Isabella. I couldn’t look away for a moment as I spotted her talking and laughing with Emilia. She was so beautiful and vibrant. Never for once had she failed to dazzle me.
When I brought myself back to the present and looked at Viktor, he was also looking at his wife lovingly.
We’re so lucky.
After several minutes of mingling, we were sitting around a rectangular table, with Viktor at the head. Emilia was to his left while I sat to his right, with my wife next to me.
Viktor lifted his glass. “To love and family.”
We all chorused after him, and I turned to Isabella, snaking a possessive arm around her. She leaned into me like it was the most natural thing to do.
“You were my debt, now you’re my empire,” I whispered into her ear.
“And you’re my world.”
*****
THE END.