EPILOGUE

EPILOGUE
Three years Later

I continue to stir the pot on the stove while studying the textbook I have propped up on the counter like a recipe book. Next week is the week I go for my teaching license, and I am a bundle of nerves. I thought when I moved to the US I had to give up my dreams of being a teacher and that all my hard work and education were wasted, but since moving back to the Dominican Republic I’ve spent the last few years diving back into my studies and working hard to get my teaching license and get enough teaching experience to get a job as an educator.

Ideally, I would love to teach children under the age of 9, but just being able to get a job anywhere as a teacher would be a dream come true. I thought Julian was insane when he suggested me moving back home, but when he said he wanted to move with me I was sure he’d lost his mind.

I feared Julian would struggle to adjust to life here, but he’s taken to Dominican life like a fish to water and he is exceptionally good at the language. I guess all those years learning lines for movies made him a natural at learning a second language.

It was sad saying goodbye to all my friends and the life I had built in America, but I don’t regret moving back home. Being here with my family and having Julian with me is everything I could have dreamed of and more. I still speak to my friends back in America and sometimes they even come to visit. In fact, Julian and I are planning a trip after my exams, to go back to the US and see everyone and catch up, which I am over the moon about it.

I take the spoon out of the pot and bring it to my lips, carefully blowing on it before I taste it. I smile, pleased with how the dish is coming along when I hear the apartment door unlock.

“Estoy en casa!” I hear Julian sing out, making me chuckle.

“I’m in the kitchen!” I call back.

I look back just as Julian enters the kitchen, kicking off his shoes. “That smells incredible,” he moans, almost drooling as he walks over and wraps his arms around me, placing kisses on my cheek and neck.

I smile, stroking his hand around my waist. “Dinner is almost ready. How are things at the restaurant?”

“Your father sure knows how to dish out orders, that’s for sure. I felt like a private in the military eager to follow his command,” he says in faux terror, grabbing a spoon off the counter and aiming it towards my pot.

I smack his hand. “Wait till dinner.”

“Ow,” he whines, putting the spoon down as he takes a seat at the counter on the other side of the kitchen. “Your mum did that to me enough today.”

I smirk, “Like mother like daughter.”

“No kidding. Aside from all that, the restaurant is doing amazing. It was super busy today, so I was more than happy to help out.”

“That’s great!” I cheer.

When we moved to the Dominican, Julian sold all his properties. He still has money invested, but he decided he wanted a fresh start and sold everything he didn’t need or couldn’t take with him. It meant we had enough money to buy an apartment and more than enough money to afford our wedding. Oh, I probably should have mentioned that. Julian and I got married two years ago on the beach here in the Dominican and yes, all my friends and family were present for it. I had to have Irina and Áine as my maids of honour, that was a no-brainer.

My parents and brother have welcomed Julian with open arms and have done nothing but treat him as one of the family. Seeing Julian finally get the love and acceptance from a family of his very own I think healed a lot in him and I couldn’t be happier. In the beginning, Julian was overly eager to impress and help out my parents and as much as I tried to get him to tone it down, he refused. He ended up paying for my father’s surgery which was such a success that he is no longer in chronic pain. He still can’t walk, sadly, but being free from pain has turned him into a whole new man. He’s embracing life more and learning to adapt to life in a wheelchair much better.

Julian also helped my parents pursue their dreams of opening a restaurant of their own and so far it’s going great. Julian, my brother and I all pitch in and it’s become a family business that hopefully can be passed down to future generations.

“So, I have some news,” Julian announces.

“Yeah?” I quickly check on the food in the oven.

“I heard back from that publisher about my book…”

I look up at him eagerly. “And?”

He sighs sadly and my heart instantly sinks. “They want to publish it!” he shouts, smiling broadly.

I throw my hand towel at him giving him an annoyed smile. “Don’t mess with me like that!”

“I’m sorry, I couldn’t resist,” he chuckles. “They really liked the draft I sent them and said they would love to publish it. I wasn’t sure because it’s another former celebrity writing a biography,” he grumbles.

“Maybe, but you have a story to tell that could help a lot of people and I think getting everything out and off your chest like this might be really good for you.” I walk over, reach across the counter and hold his hands in mine. “You’re doing the right thing and I’m so proud of you. This is definitely cause for celebration.”

Julian leans over the counter and presses his lips against mine in a deep and passionate kiss that I feel right down to my toes and eagerly return, letting out a soft moan against his lip.

“Any chance of putting dinner on hold for a few minutes so I can ravage my wife?” he smirks, pecking my lips.

I smile, pecking his lips in return. “Not a chance, especially because I have a gift for you,” I announce.

Julian sits back and looks at me curiously. “Did you already read my emails?” he asks suspiciously.

I roll my eyes, pull a rectangle box out of the drawer and place it down in front of him. “Just open it.”

Julian lifts the box, putting it to his ear and shaking it, hearing some clatter inside. He looks at me with a quirked brow and then proceeds to open the box. He stares inside, his body completely frozen like he’s trying to process what he’s seeing and all I can do is watch with bated breath.

Slowly, Julian pulls the pregnancy tester out of the box examining it as he looks at me, tears starting to fill his sapphire eyes.

“Are you…” he starts to ask.

I smile nodding. “I thought it was just the weather making me feel a bit off, but my mother urged me to take a test and so I did this morning, and it was positive. I mean, I still need to go and confirm it with a doctor but–”

My words are cut off as Julian races around the counter and scoops me up into his arms hugging me with all his strength. I smile and hug him tight, basking in the obvious joy radiating off him. He sets me back down, cups my face in his hands and kisses me so fiercely it knocks the air out of my lungs. I grip onto his elbows tightly, managing to return his kiss, my mind spinning as he begins to smother my face in kisses.

He gets down on his knees, places his hands on my hips and plants tender kisses on my still very flat belly. I smile down at him, my heart feeling like it has grown several sizes as I caress his hair. I watch the tears slowly fall down Julian’s cheeks as he lifts my shirt and places his lips against my bare belly.

“This is your daddy. I don’t know if you can hear me or not but starting now I’m going to make sure you know every single day how much I love you and how much I’m going to take care of you and your mummy,” he vows, making tears fill my eyes.

He looks up at me with unfathomable eyes as I tenderly wipe the tears from his cheeks. “You’re going to be the best father any baby could ever hope for.”

“You have changed my life, Lani. I never thought I could be this happy and you give me that every day. I never thought I could have a real family but then we moved here and I finally learned what having a family meant. The day you married me I thought life couldn’t get any better but now…you’re giving me a child. You’re carrying our baby and I…I don’t know if I can ever thank you enough,” he utters, choking back his emotions.

I cup his face in my hands and look down into his eyes. “You gave me everything I needed and more and kept your promise to me every day. I couldn’t be happier to be having this baby with you.”

Julian rises to his feet and wraps me up in his arms as I hold him tight, breathing in the soothing smell of his cologne. There was a time when I thought I would never make it through all the pain and heartache. For a while, I didn’t think I could get past the horrors I had survived, but I did, and this is my reward. This is our reward. Julian has the family he always wanted and as cliché as it sounds, I feel like I’ve gotten my happily ever after. I don’t regret anything I went through in the past few years because they got me to where I am now. If I’ve learned anything, it’s to hold on and never give up because if you hold on long enough, you just might get the life you always wanted.

THE END

Nalani and Julian’s story may be over, but Irina’s story has just begun in book 2, Coveted But Unseen, which will begin serialising under this book starting in late 2025.

COVETED BUT UNSEEN
Irina Obraztsov has dreamed her entire life of becoming a famous singer. Working at the Starlight Lounge was meant to help open those doors, and after years of patience and schmoozing, she finally got her big break!
While working on her first recording album, Irina finds herself swept up in the glitz and glamour of the business and succumbing to the advances of her record producer, Michael Ellis.
The only person to keep her grounded is her new friend and sound mixer, Lucian Duke, who tries to keep her on the straight and narrow, but his warnings fall on deaf ears.
Will Irina listen to reason and see what she‘s missing before it‘s too late, or will she be swallowed by the Hollywood machine with all left Coveted But Unseen?