Epilogue
JENNA
One year later…
“Wait, your dress isn’t right,” Mom says, and when I stop walking, she crouches behind me to straighten out the white silk train.
Enzo and I are getting married today, and the beach on the island has been decorated for the celebration.
“I still need to walk down the steps. Wait until I’m at the bottom before you fix it again,” I say, nerves spinning in my stomach.
The sun is busy setting, and we only have a limited amount of time, so I hurry along the path and take the steps down, which have green shrubs and trees on either side.
I’m wearing a shimmering silk gown and have sparkling wings extending from my back. Today I wanted to look like an angel for my soon-to-be husband.
“Oh my God,” Aunt Sherrie sniffles. “You shine like a star, kiddo. I’m going to cry my eyes out tonight.”
“That makes two of us,” Mom agrees, her voice quivering with emotion.
Cassia waits for me at the bottom, where the beach starts, and she gives me a loving smile. “Ready, sweetheart?”
I nod. “As ready as I’ll ever be.”
She gestures to the man in charge of the music, and soon the opening notes of Can’t Help Falling In Love With You by Tatiana Manaois begin to fill the air.
Cassia leans in and gives me a quick hug, then whispers, “You’re the most beautiful bride I’ve ever seen.”
When she pulls away, my chin quivers, and I have to fight the urge to cry.
I wait for the right part of the song before I begin to walk with Mom and Aunt Sherrie on either side of me. I grip my bouquet of white and silver stargazers tightly as I walk down the white, sparkling carpet that runs all the way to where Enzo is standing.
The moment my eyes lock on the man who saved my life in more ways than one, the first tear falls. I knew I was going to cry, so I didn’t bother putting on a lot of makeup.
Reaching the chairs on either side of the aisle, I suck in a shuddering breath when I see tears rolling down Enzo’s face. His eyes are glued to me, the expression on his face one of pure awe.
I stop three steps away from him, and with trembling hands, I pass the flowers to Mom. She gives Enzo and me a loving look before she goes to sit with Aunt Sherrie in the front row.
Because I’m not comfortable talking in front of people, I asked for the ceremony to be short. Luckily for me, Cassia got herself ordained, so I try to focus on Enzo and her as I take the final steps to stand beside him.
When we turn to face each other, he looks at me as if I’m a miracle and murmurs, “I have no idea how I got it right to steal an angel like you from heaven, but I’m so thankful I did.
” He takes hold of my hands and brushes his thumbs over my skin while he clears his throat.
“You are responsible for all the good emotions I feel. You’ve reached into the pits of hell and pulled me out of darkness.
You were the first person to love me, and the day I take my final breath, you will be the last person I love. ”
A sob drifts over my lips, and I don’t even bother wiping away the tears.
I step closer because I don’t want Enzo to struggle to hear me as I whisper, “When I was seventeen, I had such big dreams.” I roll my eyes when I’m overcome with emotions, and breathe through them before I continue, “I thought I lost them all until you walked into that store at the gas station. I saw a handsome man wearing a suit, which was so out of place in Aurora, and thought, ‘Wow, someone like him will never look at a woman like me.’ But you did. You looked so deep and saw the parts I kept hidden from everyone, and you loved them all.” I pull one of my hands free and lift it to place my palm on his jaw, and staring deep into his eyes, I say, “You’ve made every dream that seventeen-year-old me had come true. ”
Enzo’s eyes narrow slightly because he knows what my dreams are, and there’s only one that hasn’t come true. We were going to wait to have children, but accidents happen.
The next instant, shock flashes over his face. “Are you…are we…”
“Yes, we are, and yes, I do,” I answer.
Enzo lifts his hands to frame my face, and as intense happiness ripples over his handsome features, he says, “I do. A million times in a million lifetimes, I take you as my wife and the mother of my children. There will never be another for me.”
“Oh my God,” Cassia exclaims. “You’re pregnant!”
“I pronounce you husband and wife,” Santiago suddenly says. “Now kiss your wife.”
A wide smile spreads over my face, and when Enzo gathers me in his arms, kissing me like I’m the air he breathes, fireworks shoot into the sky above us.
ENZO
Ten years later…
“Daddy, Tristao won’t give me back my teddy,” Milena, our youngest, complains.
“Tristao,” I snap.
My eldest son comes out of his bedroom, giving me a look that all pre-teens seem to master for the sole purpose of testing a parent's patience, then he asks, “What?”
My eyes narrow on him, and he instantly schools his expression, then innocently says, “Yes, Dad?”
“Stop messing with Milena,” I warn him.
“I didn’t do anything. She threw her teddy on my bed and won’t stay out of my room.”
My eyes flick to my little girl, who’s the spitting image of her mother, and when I see the sneaky smile on her face, I shake my head before looking at Tristao. “Sorry, son. Will you get Eduardo? It’s almost time.”
“Okay.” Right where he’s standing, he shouts, “Eduardo! Dad says you have to come to the living room. It’s almost time.”
“I could’ve done that myself,” I mutter as I pick up Milena. Giving her a stern look, I say, “Stop getting your brother in trouble.”
She wraps her arms around my neck and presses a kiss to my cheeks, then asks, “Are you angry with me, Daddy?”
“Of course not.” My four-year-old can do no wrong in my eyes.
Just as Eduardo and Jenna come out of the bedrooms, Santiago’s voice sounds over a loudspeaker. “Time for family wars.” He lets out a dark chuckle. “May the best family win, which is mine, of course. But we’ll give everyone a head start. You all have ten minutes to get out of your houses.”
Jenna lets out a snort. “He’s always the first person to get shot.”
She picks up the water guns and hands them out, then says, “Go for the Varga’s first and watch out for Aunt Evinka.”
When we started playing these games eight years ago, Jenna always hid behind me, but since Milena was born, she takes the lead with our sons, while I bring up the rear with our daughter.
“Stay close to me,” she orders before she opens the front door, and we all file out of the house.
Every year during the festive season, we come to the island for our family vacation. The kids spend most of their time on the beach, and we get to relax while catching up with the other four couples.
As we sprint past the main building where the restaurant is, so we can get to the other side that has more shrubs and trees to hide behind, you just see adults and children running as if an evacuation order has been given.
Laughter fills the air as we run past all the barrels of water that have been placed out so we can easily refill our guns during the game.
Milena starts bouncing in my arms while patting my chest and shouting, “Faster, Daddy. Faster! Look there’s Olympia.”
Milena worships the ground Olympia, Cassia’s ten-year-old daughter, walks on.
“Right now, Olympia is not on our team, baby. You can play with her later.”
The alarm sounds over the island, and then it’s pure chaos as we all shoot the hell out of each other.
For the next hour, our clothes get soaked right through, and by the time the alarm goes off again, signaling the end, we’re all out of breath and dripping wet.
Well, everyone except for Milena. I kept using myself as a shield to keep the others from getting a shot at her.
“So, who won?” Kristan, Dominik’s eldest, asks.
“Us,” Tistao answers. “My sister is the only dry person left.”
“That’s cheating,” Santiago complains. “No one can get past your overprotective ass.”
Ciara slaps him on the shoulder. “Don’t curse in front of the kids.”
As we all make our way down to the beach, where marquees have been put up with tables and chairs. I set Milena down on the warm sand so she can play with the other kids.
I take a seat, and as Jenna passes me to get to the chair beside mine, I grab hold of her hips and haul her onto my lap.
“Your arms are never empty,” Santiago chuckles. “You never let Jenna sit on her own chair.”
“My lap is her chair,” I grumble, then turn my attention to my wife. I grip her chin between my fingers and press a kiss to her mouth. “Are you enjoying the vacation, meu corac?o?”
She nods, and letting out a happy sigh, she rests her head on my shoulder and watches as all the kids play various games on the beach.
“I love coming here,” she whispers.
I raise an eyebrow at her. “And?”
Letting out a chuckle, she snuggles into me. “I love you, my heart.”
“Hmm…” the sound rumbles from me. “Not half as much as I love you.”
“Ohhhh, I’m dead sure I love you a million times more,” she argues.
“Let’s agree to disagree.”
The End.
Thank you for reading The Devil.