Epilogue

Aaron and Livia were lying on their bed, sated from the long hours of lovemaking. She rested her head on his chest while his hand was busy spanning her tiny waist. Just then, her eyes fell on the clock which struck midnight.

She lifted her head and planted a small kiss on Aaron's lips. "Happy birthday, love."

He cupped her face in his hands and kissed her back. This kiss was longer than the previous one, and when he finally let go, they both were panting.

"How many times do I need to teach you, Livia, how to kiss properly?" asked Aaron with laughter in his eyes.

She blushed. Aaron wondered how even after three years of marriage, she could still blush so beautifully. After sharing those intimacies. Their relationship and love for each other were like fire and like a need. It just grew day by day.

"So what do you want as your birthday present?" she asked, her hands resting on his chest, her legs tangled with his. She looked into his eyes.

" I don't like my birthday." he grimaced as the memories of his childhood and the way he was left in an orphanage were not the brightest part of his life. But this beautiful and stubborn woman went all the way to that orphanage just to find out his birthdate, which he was not willing to tell her. She not only managed to find his birth date but celebrated it too. A celebration he had never hoped for. At least not in this life.

"But I do. A lot." she placed a kiss on his chin. "So be serious now, Mr. Rodriguez, and tell me what do you want?"

He started making some invisible tattoos on her bareback with his finger.

" I have you, Livia. What else can I ask for? The day you came into my life, you filled it with colors and emotions which I had never felt before. You loved me, accepted my love, gave me a beautiful home and a cute little son. What else can I ask for?" he smiled, looking at her.

The emotions in his eyes and voice made her heart skip a beat.

"I knew that you would not tell me, so I prepared something for you."

She got off the bed and walked towards the cupboard.

Aaron perched on his elbow and looked at his beautiful wife - a blushing bride who at the moment was walking without clothes around the room. So unaware of her beauty. It was something she rarely did.

She came back with a box in her hands and sat on the bed with her legs crossed.

"Open it," she said as she pushed the box towards Aaron.

"What's in this?" he asked.

"Open it, and you will know."

He took the box in his hands and started removing the packing slowly. He noticed the nervous blush on Livia's cheeks and asked, "Is it sexy lingerie that you are going to wear for me?"

The nervous blush now got replaced with a darker stain.

"Aaron! You are shameless!"

"Thanks for the compliment." he laughed.

"I am not sure if you will like it or not because, of course, you have everything you need and want and-"

"Livia," he interrupted her, "whatever you give me will be invaluable for me. You are the most precious thing that I have."

She could feel the warmth and sincerity of his words. " God! Even after three years of marriage, choosing a gift for you is not an easy task!"

"Ah, you don't need to think that hard. Just give yourself to me." he winked.

"I do that every night!" she gasped as the words came out without her even knowing it, and she blushed harder. "What are you making me say, Aaron!"

He laughed and opened the box and took out a muffler.

"Since the weather is changing, Mrs. Goodwill was teaching me how to knit. So this is the first thing I've made," she explained nervously. "It's alright if it didn't turn out to your liking-"

" I like it," he said, wrapping the muffler around his neck. "Now, since your husband is so handsome, the muffler is looking even better."

She laughed. "No doubt about that."

He noticed there was something else too in the box. He took it out. It was a pink sweater.

"Don't you think it's too small for our little Josh? And I don't think he will like the color pink."

"Aaron, he is just two years old, and he is not as choosy as his father."

"But still, it's small." he protested.

She took his hand in hers and placed it on her stomach, and said, "Who would you like, Mr. Rodriguez? A boy or a girl?" she asked with a smile.

His eyes widened.

"Liv...Are... Livia, is it? Are you pregnant?" Finally, he was able to speak.

She nodded her head, and he pulled her into his lap and gave her a long deep kiss. This kiss was not demanding...it felt more like he was offering something..... thanking her.

When they broke apart, she could still feel his hands trembling a little. His face a mix of expressions - pure Aaron arrogance, love, sincerity, and childlike joy. She couldn't help smiling at him.

"Our baby." His voice almost a whisper. He touched her forehead with his and said while cupping her pink cheeks.

"Now, we will be a family of four."

Sitting under the shade of a tree on Aaron's private Island, she looked at the beach where her husband and son were making a sandcastle. The delight on the little boy's face as his father picked him up and made him set on his shoulders made her heart swell with pride. They were look-alike. She smiled while adjusting the little Lucy in her arms.

They walked towards her. Aaron smiled widely, looking at her. His eyes filled with love. He handed the little Josh to Livia, crouched on his knees, and took the tiny baby from her arms while helping Livia stand.

"Let's go home," he said, and they started walking towards the villa - they're home.

'Home' was something Livia had always longed for and a 'family' - something she had always dreamed of, and today she had both.

Dreams do come true.