72| LOVE OR VENDETTA?

EPILOGUE

THREE YEARS LATER

"She was such a beautiful young woman, she did not deserve to die." Someone murmured behind Frema, but she couldn't bring herself to turn and feed her curiosity by seeing who it was. Her eyes were red and puffy from crying and at this point, she truly had no tears left to cry. All she could think of them, was the fact that Riley had promised. How could she not keep her promise afterward? She'd obviously not been there for her friend enough, she hadn't even guessed that Riley would lose her life so soon. She died in the most painful way to her—chatted with her all night and then slept, never waking up after. How could she not notice the emptiness in her friend's eyes? How could she have missed the pain?

"I'm sorry, Riles. I'm so sorry." She muttered weakly, staring at Riley's immobile figure. Her beautiful face and body stayed stiff now, . She could not count the amount of times she'd looked around, hoping for a miracle—just like what had happened with Eron, but nothing happened. Riley was gone forever. She'd finally left her alone, to speak for herself from now on, to laugh at her own jokes, she'd left her to replay their memories in her head every night and soak her pillow with tears. Riley had left with a part of her.

"You didn't do anything wrong, I'm the one who should have known something was up." Arsen spoke from behind her, his eyes as red as his sister's. She turned to look at him, then pulled him into a hug. He accepted it, actually held her as tight as he could in a bid to numb the pain he strongly felt inside. When they finally released each other, he continued, "During her last days, she wanted to be with me all the time. I told her she was being clingy unlike how she usually was, but she laughed it off. Riley begged me to stay at home on her last day but I insisted on going on a business trip. I told her..." He stopped and swallowed hard. Frema rubbed his arm to comfort him a bit, then he continued, "I told her she'd get all my time when I returned. I hadn't even began to prepare for my return when I got the news of her death. Halsey barely says anything since the incident and like I said, it's all my fault. Maybe if I'd listened to her more, if I'd asked more questions—"

She cut him off then, "It's not your fault, either. You wouldn't have learned anything even if you'd asked her. Riley only ever does what she thinks is best for everyone. I'm sure she made up her mind to keep us in the dark and spend her last days happy, by our side. She fought a good fight, Arsen. You should be proud of her, instead of feeling so much guilt."

He nodded and they both stared at her lifeless body again, silently thanking her for the days she'd lived and made them feel alive.

_______________

"Hello? Yes, Eron speaking." Frema's husband spoke into the phone. He held her to his side, and they were both naked after having sex for almost half of the day. The kids were all in school, and Eron was down with a fever, so he stayed at home while Frema stayed behind at home as well, to 'take care of him.' Luckily for her, she ran her own company now and could ditch work as much as she liked.

"Sir, your sister, Titi arrived at your children's school before I did." The voice was now familiar—it was of his children's driver. They both sat up and Frema held the duvet to her chest like he'd not seen her naked a million times. Angrily, he pulled the fabric off her and she did not argue with him about it, as her attention was fully on the conversation now.

"What do you mean Titi arrived at my children's school before you did? I pay you to arrive five minutes early." Eron barked.

"I- There was a bit of traffic, Sir. I only arrived three minutes late." The man confessed and Eron's jaw clenched.

"You're fired with immediate effect. Return the car at once and leave." He ended the call before the employee or Frema could beg. Then he got out of the bed and started to get into her clothes. He followed suit.

"We'll finish this later." He promised her when they were both dressed, about to leave the room. Frema could swear her pussy was sore, but the traitor clenched at the promise, still.

They weren't scared that Titi would kidnap them or anything, no. They were scared because the girl was downright reckless and she'd been sent a license by mistake; which meant she was driving them. They were scared because their children might have gotten killed in an accident already.

They both rushed out of the room and had only gotten to the living room when they thankfully saw Titi and the twins, causing Frema to sigh with relief. They all sat on the ground, legs crossed as they painted on different boards with undivided attention. Even their two year old, Ava wobbled about the room, scattering anything her hands could reach. Ava had been with Titi at her apartment, too, which was why she returned with all three of them. They all looked like a big happy family and Frema couldn't help the smile that graced her lips.

Titi lifted her head then, and smiled widely at the couple. "Hey, you two." She greeted and they walked up to her direction. Everyone of them stood and gave them a hug, and Ava just went straight to Eron, who picked her up like a piece of paper onto his arms. Frema glared at her, thinking, 'Traitor.' It was a known fact that Ava cherished her father dearly, even when she looked like a carbon copy of her mother. The irony of it.

"Titi, what were you thinking, driving around with my kids with little to no experience?" Eron started, his expression hard as steel. Frema tugged at his arm, seeing Titi cower slightly from his authoritative stance.

"Come on, babe. They're fine, as you can see. Still, Titi, don't pick them up again, until you've learned how to drive properly." She said and Titi chuckled but nodded. Then, she hugged Frema again and muttered quietly,

"Thank you for loving me."

Frema smiled warmly and responded, "Thank you for loving me too, baby."

Ava struggled in her father's arms now, wanting to go into Frema's arms instead and received another glare from Frema who said, "Jealous? Well, stay mad because you chose your side first."

To this, they all laughed heartily, and even if everything hadn't ended up as rosy as they would've liked... one thing was sure— LOVE WON IN THE END.