Epilogue
SORA
One Year Later
Outside, the wind rustles the trees. Somewhere down the street, a neighbor’s dog barks once and goes quiet as the sun dips below the horizon.
Inside are the contented sounds of a house filled with love as I recline on the couch, mug in hand, watching as Leo rocks baby Aiko in his arms.
He murmurs to her softly, his voice rich with affection as he lulls her to sleep. But she’s not having it tonight as she squeals delightedly, her pudgy fists waving in the air.
God, he’s beautiful like this.
I sip my tea, half-listening to the familiar domestic symphony that’s become the soundtrack of our evenings.
Outside, fireflies blink lazily in the dusky air, the last breath of summer hanging sweet and thick in the breeze that flutters through the open kitchen window.
In the background, some indie playlist hums on low from the speaker tucked into the corner of the room. Our dog, a golden retriever mutt named Vito—Leo’s idea—sprawls under the coffee table, tail thumping lazily every now and then.
We live in the kind of place I never imagined for myself, a sleepy little cul-de-sac in the suburbs outside Chicago.
We have a white two-story home with navy shutters and a wraparound porch, hydrangeas in the front yard, and a picket fence that needs painting.
It doesn’t have a Zen garden or sprawling acreage or a great room and a ballroom to entertain countless high-profile guests, but I don’t need any of that. I have everything I could ever want right here in this room.
A year ago, Leo and I were drowning in blood and betrayal. Our love was born in fire—cloaked in suspicion, tangled in lies neither of us chose.
We were both forced into a marriage we were certain we didn’t want, convinced there was no reality in which we could find happiness together.
But we clawed our way out of a world few ever escape, and now, every time I look at Leo holding our daughter or making silly faces that draw that infectious giggle from her, I know it was all worth it.
He catches me staring and grins, all charming arrogance as his warm brown eyes glint. “Don’t tell me you’re falling in love with me again,” he teases.
I roll my eyes and toss a throw pillow at him, then laugh because he’s right. “I’m constantly falling in love with you,” I confess, my cheeks warming as I think about just how lucky I am to be his wife.
Leo somehow makes domesticity sexy, and it’s wildly unfair. Then again, I suppose I’m the one who benefits most from it—considering I’m the only one he ever seems interested in taking to his bed.
And when he leans in to steal a kiss, I can’t be mad at him. My lips tingle, my stomach fluttering with excitement as his lips linger just long enough to make my heart skip a beat.
“Why don’t you go put on something comfortable?” he suggests. “And I’ll put the baby to bed.”
I know exactly what he means by ‘something comfortable’ and it’s not an oversized T-shirt and sweats.
It makes me giddy with anticipation, and suddenly, despite the exhaustion of new motherhood, I’m wide awake.
But I also know Aiko, and when she’s loving her father’s attention, there’s no chance she’s going to fall asleep for him without a fight.
“If I leave her to you, she’ll have you reading her nursery rhymes all night,” I tease, and he chuckles with a nod. “Here, I’ll take her. You can join us,” I suggest.
Aiko is still soft and squishy, but at three months old, her eyes are starting to darken from a deep-sea blue to a rich coffee, and they shine with happiness as she reaches up for my face as I take her in my arms.
“Hello, happy baby,” I whisper, capturing her tiny fist and kissing it as I bounce her.
Aiko smiles her gummy grin and coos again. My heart melts completely.
“Is it time for bed?” I whisper, slowly rocking her as I make my way to the stairs.
Behind me, I hear Leo whistle to Vito, guiding him into the kitchen, where he has a nice bed and water to kennel for the night.
As I climb the steps, my sweet little daughter stares up at me with such innocent joy, it breaks my heart, and I know that these precious moments are why I’m so blessed to be a mom.
By the time I reach the second floor, Leo’s caught up to me, and he opens the nursery door to let us inside. I sink into the rocking chair so I can feed Aiko one last time before she sleeps.
Leo smiles softly as he watches her suckling, his face so tender it makes me fall for him a little harder.
Gone is the cold, hard crime boss who threatened to kill me if I didn’t back out of our engagement.
And while the man who replaced him is still dangerously attractive and rippling with powerful muscle, I never dreamed a man so intimidating could be such a gentle, loving, wonderful father, so different from my own father—and his.
I don’t know where he got such a paternal instinct, but Leo’s a natural, and watching him be a dad is my favorite thing to do.
I know Aiko’s tired when her drinking starts to slow, her eyes sinking closed as she falls asleep in my arms.
My heart swells as I share a silent glance with Leo, and he rises from his seat on her blanket chest to help me up from my chair.
Together, we lower our daughter gently into her crib, tucking her favorite stuffed bunny in beside her.
Then we tiptoe out of her nursery like two overgrown children sneaking out of class. Leo closes the door softly, wrapping an arm around me as he presses a kiss to my temple.
I lean into him, loving the way his arms automatically curl around my waist.
“You’re really good at this whole fatherhood thing, you know,” I whisper.
He chuckles softly. “Not nearly as good as you are at being a mother,” he promises. Then his voice grows quieter and rough with emotion as he admits, “I never thought I’d want this. Never thought I’d get a chance to have a family I love.”
I lift my chin to look up at him. His expression is serious now, eyes dark and unreadable, the weight of his past still flickering in their depths.
But then he brushes my hair back and kisses my forehead, and just like that, the heaviness lifts.
“Sometimes, it still feels like a dream,” I murmur after a while.
He hums in agreement, his fingers trailing lazy circles along my spine. “You ever think about it? Our old life? What happened?”
“All the time,” I admit. “I think about that warehouse. The look on your face when you came for me. The way you held me like I was something precious.”
“You are,” he says simply. “You always were. I just didn’t see it right away.”
I rest my cheek on his chest, my heart aching in the best way. “You’re different now,” I say softly.
He chuckles. “You mean boring and suburban?”
I shake my head. “No. You’re lighter, happier.”
He nods slowly, his chin brushing the top of my head as he lets out a breath like he’s been holding it for years. “Walking away from the family wasn’t easy. But it was right. I never wanted to be like him. I just always thought I had to be. And then you came along…”
He trails off, and when I glance up to meet his eyes again, I find him looking at me like I hung the damn stars.
“You gave me a way out,” he finishes. “A reason to be something more.”
Rising onto my tippy-toes, I press a soft kiss to his lips. “You did that for yourself.”
“No,” he murmurs against my mouth. “I did it for us.”
His lips claim mine again, deeper this time, and the warmth that’s been simmering between us all evening finally starts to boil over.
His hand combs into my hair, his other finding my hip as he pulls me firmly against him, and it steals my breath away.
“I think it’s high time I take you to bed,” he growls, steering me backward, and my core clenches with anticipation, my pulse quickening.
As we stumble down the hall toward the bedroom, it’s like gravity itself pulls us there.
Clothes trail behind us like breadcrumbs as our hushed laughter mingles with soft moans.
And by the time Leo spills me back onto the bed, covering my body with his, I feel like I’m burning from the inside out.
We don’t rush. We never do anymore—not because we don’t want to, but because we can take our time now. There are no looming threats, no betrayals waiting to detonate between us, no ghosts clawing at our heels. Just us.
Leo’s mouth is everywhere, hot and passionate and sinfully pleasurable as he worships me like I’m something holy. And as his swollen tip finds my throbbing entrance, I’m already on the brink of release.
“Tell me you want me, Princess,” he breathes.
“Please, Leo,” I whimper, arching into him as I roll my hips. “I want you so bad.”
And when he presses inside me, burying himself to the hilt in my depths, a deep, achingly satisfied moan rushes past my lips. We move together—slow, hot, intoxicating—and it feels like a promise.
He kisses my collarbone, my jaw, my lips. “I love you, Cattiva,” he whispers, the words like silk on my skin. “I’ll love you until my dying breath.”
My heart clenches with happiness so fierce it’s almost painful. “I love you too,” I whisper, pleasure surging through me as my emotions tangle with my senses, setting my soul on fire.
This is the perfect ending I never saw coming. I never knew I could fall in love with a husband I never wanted, but now, I’m certain I couldn’t live without Leo.
He’s the anchor to my ship, my reason for existence, and I know without a shadow of a doubt that I’m exactly where I belong.