Ours To Be (All Ours, #1)

Epilogue

Kayden

1.5 years later

There were so many things that steered me to the love of my life, sometimes I feel like my entire life just consisted of little moments, moments leading me up to meeting her.

People grow up knowing what they want from life, and if they don't, they kind of have a vision of what they at least want their future to look like.

I never had that. I just lived through the days, wondering what the next one would bring. Not caring or even interested. I never had it all figured out. Didn't have a dream I wanted to make a reality as my father had before building his empire. Like Joshua had before building his.

I never let my mind wander to everything else I could have. I was just grateful for even making it out of such a poor situation, moving on to a lifestyle I never thought I'd be privileged enough to live. I felt like an unappreciative little prick for all those nights I laid in bed and asked God if this really was everything life had to offer me. If there really wasn't more out there for me.

It felt like there had to be more. There was something missing. Something that'd always been missing, like the middle piece of a puzzle you can't seem to find anywhere.

I couldn't pinpoint it, but I knew in my heart that once I saw it with my own eyes, I'd recognize it. I'd know that that would be the thing I'd subconsciously been looking for all my life.

I just never expected it to come in the form of a five feet tall, smart, gorgeous, curly-headed, strong, and extremely opinionated woman that waltzed up to me at some crappy Italian place on a random summer day, who would end up flipping my entire world upside down.

I get how people view love at first sight as a myth. A part of me agrees because I wouldn't say I fell in love with Isabella the second my eyes met hers. I fell in love with her in the weeks following that moment. I fell in love with her while getting to know her as a person. As a friend, even.

But I also can't deny that the second my gaze found hers, something pulled me in. It was magnetic. A force that practically knocked me off my feet. It was exactly what I imagined that moment of realizing you found your missing puzzle piece would be like. A punch to the gut.

I tried to deny it at first. I tried to downplay my feelings for her, but the more time I spent with her, the more she just crawled under my skin and became a part of me.

Life without her in it became pretty much out of the question very quickly. My days were empty without her. Simple as that. It's not a matter of being able to live without her- nobody needs someone to live- I just don't ever want a day to go by where she's not by my side.

The forty-five days without her after the crash were hell. I thought I was depressed as a teenager, back when I was going through my stupid rebelling phase, but those weeks were like a fist right in the nut. The hardest thing I ever had to do was stay away from her. I understood how she needed space, and I gave it to her. I was going out of my goddamn mind, calling Joshua all day for updates, but I managed. I even fucking harassed her doctors for apprises on her wellbeing, but even with my last name, they wouldn't just disclose that type of information about their patient.

It was torture, waiting for her to come around. Every time my phone rang or beeped with a text, I jolted as if I just got electrocuted, expecting it to be her. If I knew it'd take for me to pay off some bills to get her to come to me, I'd have paid off all her fucking bills. Or punched her dad ages ago. It felt like I was being tormented, knowing she was hurt and in pain, and I wasn't by her side.