Vengeful Matrimony | ✔️

Epilogue

NICHOLAS - 2 Months

I was going to have a heart attack one of these days and leave earth before my time.

The cause of all this stress was a three-year-old with chubby cheeks and short legs that could seldom remain in one place for longer than sixty seconds.

"Catch me, Papa!" Orion shrieked, flailing his arms around him wildly from where he stood on the counter.

I leaned against the doorframe, panting dramatically. "Come here, O. Let's play catch tomorrow. My legs hurt."

They didn't, but it was a card I often had to use to get him to settle down before he broke his neck. He had too much energy in his tiny body for his own good.

He giggled, sticking his tongue out at me. "Old man."

"Hey, I'm not thirty yet! That's not old."

He held up both hands in front of him. "You're two hundred. Old man," he said again, grinning wildly.

The little shit was proud of himself while he brutally hurt my feelings by calling me old. Kids were a different ball game, and I found out the hard way that they didn't have filters.

I once took him to a fair because he wouldn't shut up about it. He'd seen a burn victim on the line waiting to watch a performance, and I kid you the fuck not, he shouted at the top of his lungs, going as far as pointing so everyone knew who he was talking about, "Look, Papa. He looks like the monster in my books."

"Shut up, O," I whispered through gritted teeth.

He wrinkled his nose at the man. By now, everyone on the line had their eyes on him. "He's ugly."

That was the final nail in the coffin. I bolted out of the fair so fast that Evander wouldn't stop laughing at my expense. I had to stop on the way for candies just to distract him from him not getting to enjoy the park.

Back to the present, he jumped off the counter, knocking a glass to the ground simultaneously. It shattered to pieces on the floor around him.

"Fucking hell." I bolted to his side, picking him off the ground before he could hurt himself.

"You said a bad word, Papa!"

I scowled at him. Here I was worried that he would hurt himself, and the little devil was more concerned about me swearing.

"Mama said no swearing."

I placed him on the counter once more. "Well, are you gonna tell her?"

He shook his head, bringing his little index finger to his mouth.

I couldn't help it. I doubled over in laughter. "You are a menace to society, O."

"What does that mean?"

"It means you're an absolute gem!" I explained, earning a toothy grin from him.

"Mama says it all the time." He waved his hands around him to emphasize how much.

I ruffled his hair. "She's right."

Our relationship had grown stronger since the Incident with Giselle. He was more outspoken and wild, creating a storm around the house unless he went to sleep.

I had to hire a nanny and round-the-clock cleaning and cooking staff because of his needs. I didn't want Giselle to stress herself by doing all these things while she was pregnant.

Even with the bond he shared with his nanny in such a short time, he wouldn't go to sleep at night until I bathed him and read him a story myself. I worked less, and spent more time with him and Giselle, but I couldn't find it in me to be worried. I loved spending time with them, especially when they recounted their day to me when we had dinner.