Epilogue
Today marks one year since Celine’s return, and I know we’re equipped for the future. Together, the two of us can deal with and overcome everything.
We take life one day at a time, not trying to capture nor hold on to moments but letting them go and making space for others.
Twelve glorious months of love, laughs, and some nightmares sprinkled in between, but we’re together and healing.
As I finish playing for her in the dome, I look at her lying on the velvet sofa. The sun’s rays dance on her cheeks, casting her features in a radiant light.
A smile blossoms on her face, and she opens her eyes where I see my entire future.
In a few days, we’ll return and go back to college.
We have a lot of work ahead of us, from finishing our studies to working on the Family’s legacy.
We’ll have a lifetime together, but I doubt I will ever get enough. She’s everything I adore, everything I crave, and everything I need.
Standing up, I walk to her. I thought I would make a big gesture, but this serene moment feels right.
She loves this place the most, our vacation home.
Here, it’s just the two of us spending quality time together, unbothered by reality and our responsibilities.
Everything could change, and life is a master at throwing the sharpest curveballs, but nothing could change my love or need for her. And knowing she feels the same is the best feeling in the world.
Doing this life with her by my side is not an incentive, it’s my credo, my source of strength.
I am just a guy, but with her, I am more than that: a friend, a partner, and a husband. To the world, I am Kaden Astor, an heir, name, and face they could envy or curse. But for Celine, I am her world. And I will build her a world she can be proud of, bend it to its knee to worship my woman. A vow I intend to keep.
I drop to my knee and pluck the ring out. When she sees it, she covers her mouth, eyes wide with surprise. The sun’s rays hit the ring, and colorful sparkles dance around us.
She drops to her knees next to me. “I do.”
I chuckle. “I haven’t asked yet.”
She lets out a squeal, ending on an even more excited pitch. “Then ask already.”
“Love me until the end of this life. Love me through whatever happens after. Love me forever. Will you marry me? Again.”
And she nods a few times, her gorgeous face a portrait of serenity. “There’s only one answer. Yes, today, tomorrow, always.”
I slide the ring on her finger and we tumble down. Happiness veils us as I crash on my back with her on top of me.
Smiling.
Living.
Loving.
Life will follow its perpetual cycle, undisturbed, but we choose to do it together in every way humanly possible.