47. Epilogue
Epilogue
Isabella
I finish my song to an eruption of applause bouncing through The Blue Moon 2.0. Nikolai leads the cheers from the back, eyeing anyone who doesn’t clap loud enough for his liking. Adrienne and Greyson sit at a table in front of me, whistling and clapping, while Camilla chases Viktor away from Percy.
I step down from the stage, over to Adrienne and Greyson.
“You guys really didn’t have to come.”
“I wouldn’t miss it for the world.” Exclaims Adrienne.
“I’ve been listening to you practise all week. I had to see the performance live.” Adds Greyson. His voice stays monotone even when he’s excited.
“Piano skills up to scratch?” I ask, arching an eyebrow.
“Better than ever.” He confirms. It still shocks me to think how intimidating I found Greyson when I first met him. The huge, ghoul like man stalking the grounds of the mansion. Now, his presence instantly makes me feel safer.
“Hello? Is this on? Is this thing on?” Percy’s drunk voice, followed by a groan from Camilla, sends a grin to my lips. I turn to see a swaying Percy on stage. It seems he got his drinking game rematch with Viktor (who is now probably hiding from Camilla). “I just want to say… to say, I love you guys. Even all you scary mafia people.”
The rest of the civilian crowd looks around, confused.
“You know, you see a few movies and you think they’re psychopaths… and they are! But they’re not so bad.”
“Percy!” Hisses Camilla from the back.
A smile lights up his face, and he waves at Camilla. “I love you! Oh yeah, that’s what I wanted to say.” He straightens up, a serious look of determination overtaking his face. “So, as some of you may know, my lovely wife is an amazing singer.” He points to the photo he moved next to the stage as he speaks. “And, as you’ve just heard, so is the wonderful Isabella. I think I speak for both Camilla and me when I say,” Percy finds me in the crowd and looks at me, “you’re like the daughter we never had. We both love you, and we love watching you flourish.” My heart swells in my chest, and suddenly I don’t know where to look. We weren’t taught how to handle positive emotions in my family growing up, so I force an awkward smile and scream inside. It might not show to everybody else, but Percy’s words mean the world to me. He starts to tear up, but then stops himself, aware he only has thirty more seconds before Camilla sends Nikolai on stage to drag him back down. “Anyway! What I wanted to say was, you two are amazing singers, and I think it would make this night even more special to hear you both sing together.”
The crowd cheers, joining in on his idea. I smile and find Camilla’s eyes in the crowd. She laughs, and does a shrug that says fine, just for tonight . Percy’s eyes light up as Camilla comes over to me and we both go on stage together to deafening cheers.
“Are you ready for this?” I whisper.
“I’m going to kill him after this.” She whispers back.
After the crowd settles, the backing track to one of Camilla’s biggest songs plays. Her voice is shaky at first, years of rust shivering through the tones, but as the song picks up, she reminds everyone just how good she is. We finish the song together and hug at the end.
“Are you still killing him?” I ask with a smile.
“Of course… I just might say thank you first.”
Camilla shoots off stage to kill Percy, bring him back to life, and then kill Viktor, while I walk straight into Nikolai’s arms. He surprises me with a kiss, pulling my body into his and gripping on tight.
“You were fucking perfect.” He purrs, desire stalking through his eyes.
“You gave me lots of time to practise.” I wrap my arms around his broad shoulders and tip-toe to plant another soft kiss on his full lips.
His hands trail down to my ass and he squeezes hard.
“Nikolai, not here.” I whisper.e
“Everyone needs to know you’re mine.”
He makes a fair point.
He kisses me again before taking my hand and leading me away from the eyes of the crowd. Then, just as we reach the door, a familiar face comes bursting in.
“Bianca!” I jump into my cousin’s arms the moment I see her. “Are you okay? I missed you so much!”
“I missed you too!” she squeals. “Did I miss your performance? I rushed here as soon as I found out you were singing.”
“I just came offstage, but it’s okay. I’m so happy to see you.”
Bianca pushes away any negative feelings and smiles. “Me too. I’m sorry I didn’t help more than I did! I wanted to, but your dad…”
“It’s okay, I understand. You don’t have to explain. I know what our family is like.”
Nikolai places a big hand on my shoulder.
“I’ll leave you two to catch up, and then, after that, you’re all mine. Understood?”
“Understood.”
Bianca and I spend ages talking over everything. She’s been my best friend for years and I’ve really missed having her to rely on during all the craziness of the last few months. She walks me through all the tension between her dad and mine, how they’d tried to control her, and how they sent her away to “learn the values of her virtue.” I told her my story back, and we laughed about how insane our lives have been.
Our wine glasses clink together. Nikolai’s deep green eyes pin me in place, just as they did the first time they locked onto me. I brush my leg against his under the table, pulling a devilish smirk across his lips.
The waiter comes over to us and whispers something into Nikolai’s ear. Then, he offers us a top up on the wine. I shake my head and Nikolai waves him away. I lean in, studying his chiselled features in the candlelight.
“Your eyes are full of mischief.” He chuckles, watching the reflection of the candle dance in my dilated eyes.
“That’s why you can’t stop looking at them.”
“Someone has to keep you in check.” He growls, arching an eyebrow.
“Ditto.” I say with a smirk.
Nikolai watches me for an eternity, studying me like I’m a piece of art. He stands slowly, then holds his hand out for me to take.
“Where are we going?”
“Just trust me, princess.”
I narrow my eyes at princess but take his hand, anyway. His huge hands always make mine look so delicate. He leads me to the balcony of the restaurant. It has a beautiful view of the Righteous Cove skyline. The moon peeks out through the skyscrapers, hiding with the stars in the darkness of the night.
“So, are we stargazing?”
Nikolai steps behind me and wraps his arms around me, pulling my body into his. “Be patient.” He whispers. My heart pounds against my ribs as his scent locks me in. I imagine him kissing my cheek, then my neck…
The whistling sound of a firework sprinting into the sky steals away my fantasy. Suddenly, the night sky is lit up with a spray of colours, snatching away any chance the moon has at hiding away behind the silhouettes of skyscrapers.
I watch in awe as the spiralling colours explode from all over the city, like an invisible painter throwing paint across her chaotic canvas.
“Nikolai, did you…” I turn to him with awe in my eyes, and then my heart leaps into my throat and the butterflies in my stomach went into a frenzy.
“Isabella De Rossi, I want you to be mine forever,” my trembling hand jumps to cover my mouth as I look at Nikolai, down on one knee in front of me, a diamond ring in his hands, “will you marry me? For real this time?”
“Of course! Yes! Yes!”
I jump into his arms as the fireworks reach their crescendo. He spins us around as our lips lock into a kiss that could last forever. Nikolai pulls me into his chest, holding me as if we're about to step over the threshold of our new home. He slips the ring onto my finger, and I notice the band is made of a strange material.
“The band is made with the bullet you sent into my heart. So you’ll never forget that I love every part of you and that I’ll never give up on you.”
It makes my heart flutter and the smile on my lips broaden.
“So, are there any conditions this time?” I ask with a smile so wide my cheeks hurt.
“That you’re mine forever.”
“Deal.”