𝐃𝐚𝐦𝐚𝐠𝐞𝐝

Epilogue

Three years later

"Mommy?" Gray clutched my shirt in his tiny hands as I tried to hand him over to my brother, and I sighed.

"Baby, it's just a few days," I said. Isaac gave me a smile as he took my son, placing him on his hip.

"You don't want to stay with me?" Isaac pouted, looking at Gray with puppy dog eyes.

I chuckled when Gray yelled a yes and wiggled in Isaac's arms, momentarily forgetting that he was saying goodbye to his parents.

"See you in a couple of days, bud," Noah said, brushing a hand through his son's dark locks. Gray really was a spitting image of his father, and I smiled at the two as I hiked the strap of my bag higher up my shoulder.

"Everything sorted with the restaurant?" I asked Noah, who snapped his head in my direction.

"Restaurant?"

I chuckled, looking from Gray—who chuckled at my expression—back to Noah. "Yeah. You know, the business we started two years ago? Where you are the head chef?"

"Oh," Noah breathed out, quickly straightening out his face. "Yes, we're good to go."

"Hey babe, oh!" Kelly gasped when she walked in the room, the giant rock on her finger getting stuck in her hair as she tried to brush through it with her fingers. "Gray! Hello, cutie."

"Aunty Kelly!" he squealed, equally as happy to see her. She took Gray from Isaac, hugging him against her chest and walking away.

I raised my brows at my brother, giving him a hug. "Doesn't your wife want a kid of her own?"

Isaac coughed, rubbing the back of his neck. "She's expensive enough, I'm not sure I could afford one," he said with a chuckle, shooting Kelly a look. He looked enthralled by her, and I sighed.

I remember the moment he was going to ask her like it was yesterday. The way Isaac had pretended to have lost his job and go bankrupt, and how she had offered to find a 'boring 9-to-5-job' with clenched teeth, only for him to burst into laughter and completely forget about the fact that he was about to propose.

At first, I judged their relationship and the way Isaac spend all his money on Kelly, but if that was something they were comfortable with...

"We need to go," Noah said, interrupting my train of thought and grabbing our suitcase.

"Bye, baby," I tried, waving at Kelly and Gray, but he was too busy giggling about something she had said.

"Come on." Noah huffed, grabbing my arm and pulling me out of the house.

—

Twenty-four hours later, we were walking down the street in New Orleans, looking for a cute restaurant to eat at. It was our first trip together, and even though we couldn't stay long, we were determined to make the best of it.

I missed my little boy, but being alone with Noah was something I missed too, so this was perfect.

"What's wrong?" I asked, giving Noah's hand a little squeeze and looking up at him. He seemed somewhere else with his mind, chewing on his bottom lip and looking around.

"Yeah, I...shall we eat here?" he said, avoiding my question and pointing at a cute little restaurant near the river.

"Uhm...sure," I replied hesitantly, following him to one of the round tables.

He pulled out my chair, waiting for me to sit down, and I smiled up at him. What was up with him? Was this the moment he was going to tell me he was dying or something?