Epilogue

Epilogue
ROMAN
Ten Years Later...
Whenever I stop to think about everything that happened between Nikki and me, I can't believe how far we've come. 
Looking back at it now, I think it's safe to say that our relationship was destined to be doomed. At least, that's what it felt like. I behaved immaturely half of the time. Hell, the whole revenge plot was such a foolish move. I don't know what I was thinking. 
When I saw her at that event, clutching her purse and her pamphlets, something in me lit up. I don't know why I wasted time revisiting a past that no longer served me. I can't believe I used Nikki just to get back at Haley. 
I almost lost the love of my life many times. Now that it's been years since we left the city, I can't believe we managed to survive everything that happened. Our lives are so peaceful now. 
Decisions had to be made for us to get to this point, and I don't regret any of them. For starters, I sold my company. Yes, the one I worked so hard on. The one that made me a rich and influential man, even if I didn't have any true power behind the scenes or where it counted. 
I sold the company and didn't look back. The truth is that I was getting less and less interested in it as the days went by. 
I already got everything I wanted. I don't need to prove myself anymore. 
I just have to sit back and enjoy the wealth I made, with my wife and my son beside me. 
"Dad!" Victor Nicolas yells at me from the other side of the lake. "I got something!"
I stand up and make my way around the bank to reach him. He's struggling with holding his fishing rod. Whatever he got has to be something big. 
"I got it!" he says when I try to help him. "He's close to the surface. I can feel it. There, look!"
Sure enough, he caught one hell of a fish, all by himself. I smile at him proudly and say, "There you go. Come on, reel it in. Not too close to the edge. It'll drag you right in. Easy. Easy."
I can tell by the look on his face that he wants to argue with me about lecturing him. He's only ten, but he thinks he's a grown man. In many ways, he doesn't always feel like a ten-year-old boy. His mouth puts him at around fourteen. 
And of course, he got all this from Nikki. 
His face lights up once he's holding the massive fish in his hands. I snap some pictures. We have enough pictures of him with fish all over the house, but these look really great. 
"Okay. Throw it back in."
We watch the fish swim away in less than a second. Then, I put my arm around his shoulders and ask him, "How do you feel? Your first big fish."
"The first of many."
I ruffle his hair. "Of course. Hungry?"
"Can we have pizza?"
"No."
He makes a face. "Why?"
"Because your mom's coming back from her workshop and she needs a home-cooked meal. None of that processed junk you love so much."
"You love it too, Dad."
"Only once a month. You've had pizza for two days in a row."
"But it's tasty. And why is it junk if there's cheese and ham on it?"
"It is just. I don't make the rules."
"Who does?"
"Victor Nicolas."
"It's Nick," he corrects me. "That's what everyone calls me at school."
"Well, here you're Victor Nicolas. Stop being a brat. Come on. You'll help me make the bread."
"Yes!"
We haven't told him that Nikki isn't his biological mom. I don't see why we have to. This can be a secret we'll keep for as long as possible. Besides, he's closer to her than he is to me, so we didn't want to disappoint him with something like this. 
First, they're too young to know. 
Then, it's too late. 
We still have time until then, though, so I'm not worried about that. I get started on dinner, counting the minutes until she arrives. It'll take her some time because we live in a house by the lake far away from everyone. It's peaceful and quiet here. She hates the bugs, but I'm here to take care of them, so it's fine. 
"What time will she be here?" Victor Nicholas asks for the hundredth time.
"Any minute now."
As soon as the words leave my lips, we both hear her car. We drop everything at the same time and head toward the door. Our son practically flies down the porch steps. "Mom!"
She gets out of the car with a huge smile on her face and wraps her arms around him once he reaches her. "My boy! I missed you so much!"
"Don't ever leave for a week again!"
Nikki laughs. "Okay. I promise."
He offers her his pinky, and she hooks it with hers. She then raises her head and makes eye contact with me. I get closer to them. Victor Nicholas still has an arm around her middle when we share a kiss. 
"How was the trip?"
"Exhausting," she sighs. "You know how it is."
Since she relaunched the charity Wings of Grace, she's been really busy. I like how much happier she looks when she's helping people, and of course, this helps her keep the memory of her Ma alive. 
So, she's always around, trying to help as many women as she can. Things are different now because she's a Calieri and everyone knows it. Many people support the charity, and Nikki has been able to fund the treatment of many women in need. 
I'm proud of her. Really proud. 
"Dinner's coming right up."
"Really? What are we having?"
Victor Nicolas answers her question. "Steak, honeyed carrots, and soda bread. Oh, there's also a dip Dad made. It's new. I don't like it."
"Your palate isn't refined yet," I mention. "Go get your mother's things out of the car."
"Okay." 
We head inside alone, and I slam the door shut and push her against it. My lips find hers hungrily, and she allows me to kiss her for like three seconds before saying, "Roman! He's right outside!"
"Those bags are heavy. He won't be able to bring them up!"
I kiss her again, and she says against my lips, "So, he'll call for help."
"No. He'll try to do it all on his own. He'll never ask for any help."
"Because he's just like you."
My hand settles over her pussy, right through the linen pants she's wearing. "Like me? He's just like you. You've tainted him with your ways."
She moans against my lips. God, how I missed her. "My ways? Which ones? You mean the ones you love?"
"I mean the ones I fucking adore and can't live without." I kiss her roughly while moving her hand up and down between us. "Don't leave me for this long again. I can't take it."
Nikki smiles. "I won't. I promise."
"When we're alone," I whisper, continuing to rub, "I'll have my way with you. You're not going to be able to get out of bed for a week."
"Not so fast," she moans softly, dragging her nails across my skin, "Victor Nicolas is in the house, and Mason's coming next week with Ally and the kids."
I groan in frustration and she comes hard right against my hand. I pull it out of her pants. "What?"
She smiles mischievously and kisses my cheek. "It'll just have to wait."
"At this rate, we're only going to have a proper fuck when we're eighty."
"Let's hope it'll still be working by then."
I chuckle darkly. "Oh, is that a challenge?"
"It sure is." She pats the front of my pants. "Take care of this upstairs. I'll go help him with the bags."
As I watch her walk toward the car to help the little stubborn creature we're raising, I rest my elbow against the doorframe and allow happiness to flood me. 
I wouldn't have had it any other way. I, Roman Hayes, am the happiest man in the world. 
—THE END—