Chapter 270 EPILOGUE.

Chapter 270 EPILOGUE.
\~~~LUCIANO.

There were many things nobody warned me about regarding fatherhood. One of them was that children traveled in packs. 

Another was that they had absolutely no respect for authority.

"Get down."

"No."

I stared at my son and he stared back. The resemblance was unfortunate. For me. Because the stubbornness had clearly come from his mother.

"Ethan."

"No."

I pinched the bridge of my nose.

Across the room, my daughter sat comfortably on the couch eating strawberries and watching the entire argument unfold like it was entertainment, which it apparently was.

"Evelyn."

"Yes, Daddy?"

"Tell your brother to get down."

She turned toward Ethan, then smiled sweetly. "No."

Traitors. Both of them.

I had spent years building a ruthless world, yet somehow the two smallest people in my house were the only ones who openly defied me. Daily. Repeatedly. Without fear.

"Daddy is losing again," Evelyn announced happily.

"I am not losing."

"You are."

"I am not."

"You are."

Ethan nodded. "He is."

I closed my eyes briefly. God, they were only three. Three years old. How was I already outnumbered?

A laugh echoed from across the room, and my gaze shifted immediately. 

Raina. Of course, the cause of all my suffering.

She sat behind her desk in the home office section we'd built into the living room. Her laptop was open, documents were spread around her, and her phone was pressed to one ear, still working, running her company, terrifying her executives, and somehow looking beautiful while doing it.

"Reject the proposal," she said calmly into the phone. A pause followed. "No, I read it." Another pause. "Because it is stupid!”

I nearly laughed. The executive on the other end of that call probably needed therapy. Raina scribbled something down, then continued. "No, I don't want a revised version. I want a better version."

Ethan finally climbed down from the table. It wasn't because I'd asked, but because his mother had looked in his direction. 

The betrayal stung a lot.

I pointed at him. "See?"

Raina covered the phone. "What?"

"He listened to you."

She blinked. "Obviously."

"Why obviously?"

"Because I'm his favorite."

I looked offended while she looked entirely pleased. Then she uncovered the phone and continued her meeting. 

Oh, my wife is absolutely heartless.

A tiny hand suddenly grabbed mine. I looked down to find Evelyn staring up at me.

"Daddy."

"Yes?"

She leaned closer. "I still love you."

My heart melted instantly. I picked her up immediately and looked directly at Raina. "See? Someone appreciates me."

Without missing a beat, Raina said into the phone, "Hold on." 

Then she looked at me. "That's because you buy her ice cream all the time."

Evelyn gasped. "You promised not to tell!"

I sighed, shaking my head. "You're surrounded by snitches, sweetheart."

She nodded solemnly. "And that is very dangerous."

Exactly. At least someone understood.

The doorbell rang before I could continue defending myself. A second later, both children jumped off the couch, shouting, "THEY ARE HERE!" and immediately sprinted toward the entrance.

I followed behind, mostly because children running at full speed usually ended in property damage. The door flew open, and chaos multiplied instantly.

"UNCLE VIKTOR!" The twins hollered.

"Uncle!” A tiny voice came from behind Victor and it was Victoria, Alessia and Viktor's daughter. She was the same little girl who somehow managed to have her mother's face and her father's attitude. A terrifying combination.

"There's my favorite niece," I said.

Viktor raised an eyebrow. "You have one niece."

"Exactly."

He looked offended anyway, as expected. Alessia walked in behind him, still elegant, still smiling, and still carrying snacks. Some things never changed.

The children immediately turned around and ran to a corner all three together, which was never a good sign.

"Should we stop them?" Viktor asked.

"No."

"Why?"

I shrugged. "We'll find out eventually."

Alessia laughed as Raina finally emerged from her office area. The moment she appeared, Ethan abandoned whatever he was doing and ran directly into her arms.

My eyes twitched. "There he goes again."

Raina laughed. "He's a child."

"He has a pattern."

"He loves his mother.”

"He loves my wife."

"Same person."

"Not the point."

Viktor nearly choked laughing. "You are still jealous?"

"He is getting worse," Alessia informed him.

"I can see that."

I ignored both of them because they lacked vision.

The afternoon passed easily after that. The children played, the adults talked, and food appeared, then disappeared. At some point, Ethan climbed into Raina's lap, Evelyn climbed into mine, and Victoria somehow managed to sit right between both of us like she owned the place.

The sun slowly began setting outside, and the children had finally exhausted themselves enough to sit still. That was a miracle, a genuine miracle.

Raina settled beside me on the outdoor couch, close enough for our shoulders to touch, and close enough for her hand to find mine automatically. 

Three years later, and she still did that without thinking, without realizing. 

It was the same way my hand found hers, the same way it always would.

For a while, we simply watched the children play. Ethan was trying to explain something important, but nobody understood him. . Yet, he remained fully committed to the speech. Future politician, definitely.

Then suddenly, Evelyn looked up at me. "Daddy."

"Yes?"

"Who loves Mommy more?"

I froze. Viktor immediately started laughing while Raina already looked concerned, like she knew exactly where this was going.

"Me," I answered.

Ethan gasped dramatically. "No."

"Yes."

"No."

Evelyn immediately joined in. "It’s daddy."

"Thank you."

"You are welcome."

"Traitors," Ethan declared.

The argument continued for several minutes, long enough for everyone to get involved and long enough for me to apparently lose. Again. 

Eventually, the children became distracted and ran off, leaving the adults alone.

The backyard grew quieter as the evening turned softer and peaceful. Raina leaned her head lightly against my shoulder.

"What are you smiling about?"

I hadn't even realized I was smiling. I looked around slowly at Viktor, at Alessia, at the children, and at the home we'd built. 

Then finally, I looked at my wife, the woman who had somehow changed everything. The woman who had survived me, loved me, and chosen me, every single day.

"Nothing," I said.

She raised an eyebrow immediately. "Liar."

I laughed softly, looking around one more time at everything, at everyone, and at the life neither of us had believed was possible. "Just thinking we did alright."

Raina smiled brightly and it was the kind that still affected me after all these years, and the kind that always would.

Once upon a time, I thought I had taken her life from her. Looking at everything we had built together, I realized she had given me one instead.

“THE END.”