Epilogue
Twelve months later…
Maggie leans in, dabbing the last bit of shimmer on my eyelids with a tiny brush.
"Remember the last time we did this?" Her voice wavers just a bit, like it always does when she mentions Pete. "You were going to that fancy masquerade ball. You looked so nervous. I kept telling you the dress was perfect…"
I tune her out the way I've learned to do over the last few months, gently, without letting her see it. Some things still hurt to remember, even when they no longer cut as deep.
Kelly still doesn't speak to me. Not really. We exchange polite nods when I meet Maggie at her house. But the warmth is gone. I don't blame her. From the outside, it looks like I moved on too fast. The math on the twins' arrival was easy enough for anyone to do.
Maggie, though… Maggie is still like a sister to me. She understands that I had to move on. She doesn't fully agree with the suddenness of it all, but she tries. Our relationship took a hit, but we're both working to rebuild it, one careful conversation at a time.
It's been a rollercoaster these last twelve months.
For a while, it was pretty rough. Nightmares.
Healing wounds. Learning how to be a wife and a mother-to-be while the shadow of the Collector still lingered.
There were weeks when I woke up crying over Pete and weeks when I woke up terrified I'd lose Gabe too.
But Gabe was there for all of it. All the important milestones, from the first ultrasound where we heard two heartbeats, to the day the nursery furniture arrived, to the middle-of-the-night ice-cream runs when the cravings hit hardest. He actually went himself a few times instead of sending someone.
Now, finally, we can have a real wedding without fear hanging over us. Well… there's always somebody waiting in the shadows. There always will be. But for now, it's quiet.
Maggie steps back and smiles at me in the mirror. "There. You look beautiful."
I stare at my reflection. The dress is everything I never let myself dream of: soft ivory lace that flows like water, delicate beading that catches the light, a train that pools behind me like a whisper.
My hair is swept up with a few copper curls framing my face.
The ring on my left hand sparkles, waiting for the matching band to accompany it for the rest of our lives.
I'm not the same woman who stood in front of that justice of the peace, bruised, terrified, and secretly pregnant. I'm stronger now. Wiser. More sure of who I am and who I want to be.
Motherhood has changed me in ways I never expected.
Daryus and Nina are three months old and already tiny whirlwinds, Daryus, with Gabe's dark hair and my stubborn chin, and Nina, with my copper curls and Gabe's intense eyes.
Daryus, we found out while I was pregnant, was Brick's wrestler name; we named our son in honor of him.
Gabe gives me enough adventure to keep the wild in me alive.
Before I got too pregnant, we stole a week in the Maldives—crystal water, overwater villas, private beaches where no one could reach us.
It was beautiful. Peaceful. The kind of trip that reminded me I could still be the girl who danced on tables, just safer now, wrapped in the arms of a man who would kill to protect that freedom.
Mom walks in, looking softer than she has in years. For a second, I almost don't recognize her like this. The sharp edges are still there—they always will be—but they're dulled now. Manageable. Esther's work—and the mental health cocktail she prescribed—has done wonders.
The surgery also helped. It went better than anyone expected. Follow-ups have all come back clean so far, no complications, no setbacks.
And me?
I'm fine.
No genetic markers. No ticking time bomb hiding in my DNA or the twins'. Of course, Gabe doesn't take chances. He still has me checked regularly, like he can outmaneuver fate if he throws enough control at it.
Maybe he can. Or maybe he just needs to believe he can. Either way, I let him.
Mom is better in a lot of ways. But not different.
She's still a narcissistic, self-involved bitch—Esther's words, not mine—and carries those sociopathic tendencies Esther warned me about.
But she's… Better. Manageable. Gabe bought her a cat sanctuary on a separate property with a beautiful house and a full staff of helpers.
It gave her purpose and space. Now I can finally breathe without her constant nagging pulling the air from my lungs.
"Oh, you look so pretty, Audra," she exclaims with misting eyes as she fusses with the veil. "Like a princess. Now if you would just straighten that spine a little…"
And there it is, the familiar dig. But now I can smile about it. Because I don't hear it every day, all day long. The distance has been a gift.
The door opens again, and Enzo steps in, looking sharp in his tux, scars catching the light like badges of honor. He offers me his arm with a small, rare smile.
"Ready?" he asks. "Or did you change your mind, and I'll take you across the border instead?"
I laugh, the sound light and genuine. "No, I haven't changed my mind. And I don't think there's a border in the world Gabe wouldn't cross."
Enzo chuckles. "Yeah, you're right. That one is pretty stubborn."
"Possessive is what I'd call him," I reply, grinning, "but stubborn works too."
We share a quiet smile. He's become something like a father figure to me over the last year, steady and protective, someone who understands the weight of this life without needing explanations. His own daughter lives across the country, so we've filled a little of that space for each other.
Maggie and Mom rush by to take their seats as the music begins.
I chose Can't Help Falling in Love, the soft, timeless Elvis version. It feels right. Slow, inevitable, like the way I fell for Gabe even when I tried so hard not to.
My heart nearly beats out of my chest as Enzo walks me out onto the terrace.
All of our friends are here, the ones who made it and the ones who didn't. For a split second, I see Brick smiling at me from the front row, that scarred, loyal face I'll never forget.
I let the image linger just long enough to say a silent thank you, then gently let it go. And…
I catch sight of Gabe. Shit, he looks even more handsome in a tux. I wouldn't have thought it possible, but there it is. Broad shoulders, sharp jaw, the faint scar on the side of his head only making him look more dangerous and devastating. My knees go weak, and I nearly falter.
"Easy," Enzo laughs under his breath, steadying me.
Maggie and Mom are holding the twins in the front row.
Next to them is Jenna with her baby. She winks at me.
Maggie is already sniffling, dabbing at her eyes.
When we reach the end of the aisle, Enzo places my hand in Gabe's.
The moment our fingers touch, the rest of the world fades.
Gabe looks at me like I'm the only thing that has ever mattered.
Massimo steps forward to officiate, a quiet, private choice that feels right for who we are. His voice is low and steady as he begins the ceremony, but when it comes time for the personal vows, he surprises us both by speaking directly to us.
"Love like yours doesn't come often," he announces, his eyes move between us.
"It survives bullets and betrayal and the kind of darkness most people never see.
Gabe, you have always been the storm. Audra, you are the fire that refuses to be put out.
Together, you are something rare, two people who chose each other even when the world tried to tear you apart.
Protect that. Cherish that. Let it be the legacy you leave for your children.
Because in the end, the only thing stronger than the violence we live with…
is the love we choose to build in spite of it. "
Tears slip down my cheeks. Gabe's hand tightens around mine, his thumb brushes away one of the tears with a tenderness that still undoes me every time.
Then it's his turn, everything narrows to him the way it always does. "You should have been afraid of me."
A ripple moves through the crowd, but I don't hear it. I'm too focused on him. That's one of the things I love about him; no matter how hard it is, he will always tell me the truth. My fingers tighten around his without thinking.
"You should have run the moment you felt me watching you. Instead, you met me like you met every challenge thrown at you, with fire in your eyes and your chin held high. You looked straight into the darkness I carry and didn't flinch."
I blink a tear away. I've seen enough. Felt enough. Lost enough to understand exactly what kind of man he is. What kind of man I'm choosing.
"I don't know how to love the way good men do," he continues, and his voice turns a note rougher. "I don't know how to give you soft, or easy, or safe. What I do know is how to be yours. How to protect what belongs to me. How to burn the world down before I let it take you from me again."
My pulse jumps at that. Belongs. I should hate that word. I don't. It settles over me like armor, heavy, unyielding, and strangely safe.
"You gave me something I didn't think I was capable of having. A family."
My throat tightens painfully. That word still feels unreal sometimes. Too big. Too permanent.
"I don't make promises I can't keep. If the world comes for you—for any of you—I'll burn it to the ground before I let it touch what's mine."
There's something terrifying in that. Something absolute. But there's something else too. Something that wraps around my ribs and holds tight.
"You won't lose me." His eyes never leave mine. "I choose you. Every version of you. Even the parts that still don't trust me yet. And I'll spend the rest of my life making sure you never have to question whether you chose wrong."
I look at him. At the man who could ruin me.
At the man who already has, in ways I don't know how to fix.
And I'm not sure if they're really broken or put back together just right.
At the man who held me like I was something worth protecting when I had nothing left.
My heart is racing. There is only one reckless, impossible truth.
I don't want to walk away. Not from him. Not from this.
My fingers tighten around his. And when I finally speak, my voice isn't steady. But it's real. "I don't know what the right choice is anymore. I just know… I'm choosing you anyway."
A tear slips down my cheek. Gabe brushes it away with his thumb, then leans in and kisses me, slow, deep, full of every promise he's made and every battle we've survived. When he pulls back, his forehead rests against mine, and for a moment, the world is only us.
"You are my heart," he whispers against my lips, so quietly only I can hear.
"My soul. My blood. I knew it from the first moment I saw you.
You've given me everything you possibly can: your trust, your love, and our children.
And I will spend the rest of my life doing the same for you.
No matter what comes. No matter how dark it gets.
You are mine, Audra. And I am yours. Forever. "
Massimo's voice fades into the background as Gabe kisses me again, sealing the vow in a way no ceremony ever could. This is us. Broken. Beautiful. Unstoppable. For the first time in years, I'm not afraid of the fire. I'm ready to burn with him.
The rest of the ceremony passes in a beautiful blur. We exchange rings. We say I do again, this time in front of the people who matter.
Later, after the toasts and the cake and the twins demanding cuddles from anyone who will hold them, Gabe pulls me aside on the terrace overlooking the glowing city. He wraps his arms around me from behind, his chin resting on my shoulder.
"Mrs. D'Amato," he murmurs against my ear, voice low and warm. "How does it feel?"
I lean back into him, smiling as the desert wind lifts my veil. "It feels like I'm finally where I've always been supposed to be."
He presses a kiss to the side of my neck, right over the faint scar from that terrible night a year ago.
"Good," he says softly. "Because you are where you belong. You, me, Daryus, Nina… this is it. The rest of the world can burn. We'll build whatever we want on the ashes."
I turn in his arms and kiss him, full of every ounce of love I've found since that ridiculous purse party changed everything. This is my life now. Chaotic. Dangerous. Beautiful.
And I wouldn't trade a single second of it.
The END of Book 2 in the Empire of Sin series.
Book 3 continues with Alessio's story in Vicious Sinner