Princess

Epilogue

Damon
2 years later

When I proposed as we watched the stars and ate Mario's like some kind of hopeless romantic, looking up at her face, I knew I wouldn't ever see anything more beautiful.

When I saw her walk down the aisle toward me in a wedding dress and the tiara, I knew I wouldn't ever see anything more beautiful.

When she sang to me at the reception of our wedding–directing every word to me–I knew I wouldn't ever see anything more beautiful.

When we danced in the moonlight in Northern Italy on our honeymoon, I knew I wouldn't ever see anything more beautiful.

But now, watching my wife playing with the little girl that wasn't even ours, I was pretty confident I wouldn't ever see anything more beautiful.

"God Bella, she's perfect. Literally perfect." Ariadne smiled up at her sister.

Bella's daughter, Reyna Adelaide Duval, was turning out to be just as smart as her father and beautiful as her mother. She was always in the mood to play and Ariadne and I loved taking her around to give Bella and Francis a day off. We took her to picnics, movies and car shows, which she was surprisingly into. Ariadne grumbled the entire time but Reyna and I loved them. When she slept over with us, Ariadne told her she was going to be the smartest girl ever when she grew up. Reyna's smile could have lit up the entire city.

Robyn took her to the park to paint and fed her cinnamon rolls until she couldn't walk, making her swear not to tell her mother. Christian took her to see the horses every weekend and was slowly teaching her how to ride, all while buying her every single toy before it was even on the market.

Reyna was the most coddled child which made Bella and Francis feign anger at us, but we were very happy. Reyna had an army standing by her, no matter what. Just like all future kids of our family would.

"She's good with you," Bella rolled her eyes and sipped her drink. "She's a nightmare at home. She is just like her father."

"In what way?" I asked.

"The other day, she tried to negotiate bedtime with me. Terms and conditions and all. I swear, she was two seconds away from pulling out a contract."

"That's my girl," Francis beamed, pride in his voice.

We were gathered in our house for yet another dinner–this one a little different because it was my birthday. Marriages and babies aside, we continued the tradition of a family dinner every week and whoever could come, joined.

Today's audience was the six of us, Reyna, and our sets of parents. Even Claudia joined us. She was a talkative and kind woman like Bella, but I understood Ariadne's apprehension towards her. It had gotten better over the years when Ariadne was able to open up more and accept her as part of the family. It took a lot for her to do that, knowing how much she loved her mother, but it made Bella happy, and Ariadne always did things for other people. Especially after things went down with the Giovannis, she knew it was pointless to hold grudges against anyone.

Life was precious. I just hoped she'd gain some peace in the process too.

My sister sat beside Christian on the piano as she played random notes of her favorite song–one by Patrick Watson. When she inevitably got it wrong, Christian chuckled, correcting her with the right ones. As his calloused fingers touched the keys, the melody filled the air. It was... divine.

Wait a minute. Did Christian James Ryder know how to play the piano? Since when?

When did it get to the point that I felt like I didn't know what the hell was going on with the two people in my life I'd known the longest?