Chapter 56: Epilogue

Nine months later

(Mountbatten, September 30, 1836)

~Nadia~

"Sorry, I can't help being rough with you today," he said, gripping my hips tighter.

"Me neither!" I bit into the skin near his collarbone and sucked on the side of his neck.

We were dying to be alone and as loud as we wanted for almost a week now. He pushed me up against the wall, capturing my lips in a passionate kiss and moving his hands under my blouse.

A sharp, angry cry resonated throughout the entire home.

"Oh, that little brat!!"

Ian made a sulky face as he went to check on Leo, and I followed him laughing. Leo stopped crying as soon as I rubbed his chin with my finger. Just like Ian, he wanted me to brush his hair with my fingers.

Ian admired his sleeping little daughter. Oh yes, we had twins, Mabel and Leo.

"Look at my angel, sleeping so peacefully, allowing us some quality time. Such a sweet darling."

He moved the tiny ringlets of hair off her forehead and leaned down to kiss her face.

"Caramel skin and hair as black as the obsidian, so perfect like her mother! And look at this twerp! The villain of my story. You little rascal! Why don't you sleep a little longer?" He poked Leo's cheek and Leo retorted with a scowl.

"So cute! You scowl just like your father." I picked Leo up and kissed him, rubbing his cheek with mine. He beamed at me, baring his first few teeth and cupping my face in his tiny palms.

Both my kids got Ian's stormy grey eyes and his temper. And my touch calmed them all down the same way. I could already see how handsome Leo was going to turn out.

"I should also get this reaction from the villain's mother when I scowl," Ian said, pushing Leo's face away and rubbing his cheek against mine.

"Mm... Can't say no to the villain's father when his stubble feels so good to touch." I closed my eyes as he wrapped his arms around my waist. Leo grabbed a fistful of Ian's hair and pulled him away from my face.

"We should exchange him with Giselle. I'm sure Andy will have the time of his life with this little prick."

"But I want both my boys!" I kissed him and put Leo back to sleep.

"I do miss Giselle." She was here at our place with Andreas and Caty till yesterday. They had adopted her soon after Ian found Noah and allowed him to escape back to Prussia. He had grown fond of Giselle in the four months I was in Kremsburg, and he couldn't bring himself to hurt Noah.

We were going to talk to his grandparents about adopting her, but Andreas and Caty beat us to it, and Giselle was delighted to be with her new family.

Ian had proposed to me two hours after Leo and Mabel were born.

"Let's make a list of pros and cons," I said, to his surprise.

"I don't mean to sound like Andy, but I have zero cons. You will find no one like me."

"Hmm... Let me think. You can't cut vegetables properly."

"Seriously? I learned to cook a little okay! Check with Marley about what she had to put up with... didn't want Noah to know anything better than me."

"Stop with your Noah theories. The biggest con is that you're always surrounded by damsels, exes, and smitten women."

"You did a good job shooing them away. And Caty is more fond of you than me now, which is okay as long as I'm still the number one on your list."

"You take too much space on the bed, and your arms are too heavy. I can't breathe when you--"

"Shut up!" He covered my mouth with his lips. "I missed this nonsensical talk so much. I also missed caging you and crushing you in my arms like this." And that's when Leo complained for the first time.

"Let's move on to the pros since you found no valid cons as expected. I am drop dead gorgeous and a great kisser, a beast in the bed who can give you a taste of heaven."

"Hold up! I should be the one praising your looks and these skills you brag about."

"You are very shy about praising me, Nadia. So I am making it easy for you."

"By putting words into my mouth."

"Ah, that greedy mouth..." He kissed me until I was out of breath. When we heard footsteps, he locked the door to avoid interruptions. I really appreciated this private proposal instead of doing it in front of the entire building.

"Moving on, I don't snore in bed and--"

"Your exes told you?"

"Yes, all of them confirmed. Hear me out, will you?"

I faked anger, but he ignored me and said, "I will indulge you in anything and everything you want. You can turn the entire home into a garden, and I won't complain."

"I think I'm sold."

He got on his knees and placed his hands on my lap.

"Last and the most important, I love you."

"Two hundred percent sold! Marry me!!" A smile spread across his devilishly handsome face. I leaned in and pulled him into another long kiss.

"You asked for it, remember!" I chuckled.

"Yes, and I'll deal with it." He slid his hands down my back and picked me up from the bed. "Let's get out of here first. I need you all for myself."

We got married in February and had quite a lot of things to celebrate that month; my birthday, Valentine's day, and Giselle's birthday. Ian even threw in '365-days from the day we met anniversary', which was totally rubbish because I knew him way before that.

We came to visit Mountbatten again in March, exactly one year after our first visit, to spend our honeymoon. I was resting on his shoulder in our favorite hot spring when he suddenly asked, "What do you think about moving here for good?"

I was ecstatic when I heard it. That's exactly what I wished for but never asked him because Arcadia was quite far from here and I didn't want to meddle with his aspirations and the King's expectations. He should not renounce anything to be by my side, and I already feel like he gave up on a lot of things.

"Are you sure?" I asked him.

Everything else be damned, he once said.

"I was quite sure since last year. What about your growing seasons and gardening? I don't want you to hate me because you can't grow some weird pineapple or watermelon variety up here."

"You should see what all I grew in Kremsburg. And that's what the book I'm writing is about, gardening in the cold mountain towns."

"Well then, we will move here in May. You will love the summer and fall here."

It wasn't just us who loved the summer and fall here. We had too many guests ever since we moved. Lydia found someone she liked while working at the printing press job last year and got married to him this summer.

The newly married couple followed us for their honeymoon. And soon after, it was Caty and Andreas with Giselle and their newborn girl, Stephen and his wife, a few friends from Kremsburg, my grandparents, Noah's grandparents, and my mother who doted on Ian and her grandchildren a little too much and overstayed her welcome.

Unlike me, Ian wasn't annoyed with my mother.

Andreas loved the place so much that they visited again last week to see the fall colors. It was quite an adventure with three little kids and a seven year old. We finally got some alone time once everyone left. I hoped no one would bother us until next spring.

Everything feels surreal up until now. I wake up every morning in his arms, wondering if it's all a dream. And I wake up before he does, not just because of the babies but also because I don't want to lose so many precious morning hours with him. He's usually quite busy the rest of the day.

Besides gardening and teaching the town residents on managing garden space and increasing harvests, I work on my finishing my second book and still do most of the accounts for the rescue project in Kremsburg.

Life was perfect and just as I had hoped for, except that I never imagined a prince in it. I live for the smile he flashes every day when he wakes up and looks at me, or when he returns from work and takes me into his arms.

We had our fair share of petty arguments and a few serious fights. But the pros always far outweighed the cons.

Life was good; a taste of heaven, as Ian put it.

THE END

This marks the end of Ian and Nadia's story.

Although it is not based on true incidents, the misunderstandings and the lack of communication between people are very real. We tend to assume the worst when going through rough patches. Many wonderful relationships fall apart despite the abundance of love because love withers away when there is self-doubt or a lack of trust and communication.

I have had a wonderful time sharing this story with you. I will miss Ian and Nadia dearly, but it's time to say goodbye and tell new tales.