KEEP DRIVING - H.S

Epilogue

[EPILOGUE]

In the summer of '23, Alliah Mendoza gave her deposition for a case of allegations of sexual assault and battery in a court of the city of Los Angeles.

In spring of '24, Alex Hale was found guilty of all charges, and was assigned 150 hours of community service.

Mendoza was awarded $500.000 Dollars of reimbursements by Hale.

The entirety of the money was donated to a shelter dedicated to protecting women who were victims of sexual assault and domestic abuse.

On 8 January 2024, the Mendoza-Styles' released their collaboration, titled 'Heart of Hearts'. It was their first of a total of 8 collaborations that would be released in the entirety of their careers.

On June 16 of 2024, a baby girl by the name of Emilia Mendoza-Styles was born in a hospital inside the city of London.

Gemma Styles was given the honor of being godmother to Emilia.

On August 9 2026, Alliah and Harry welcomed Alice Anne Mendoza-Styles to the world, born in the city of London.

In May of 2028, the Mendoza-Styles family relocated from Los Angeles to Cheshire.

On July 22, 2033, Alliah and Harry Mendoza-Styles renewed their vows, having the big wedding party their parents had always dreamed of.

Emilia and Alice served as flower girls and bridesmaids.

(Yes, it was the unofficial One Direction reunion that broke the internet)

On September 2033, both Alliah and Harry Mendoza-Styles announced an indefinite hiatus from music in order to prioritize their family.

In July 2034, Alliah broke her hiatus and released a brand new album, without promo or tour. It debuted at #1 on the Billboard Charts and remained there for 13 weeks.

The entirety of the album was written and recorded from home while her daughters were in school.

And on October 2038, we end our story

or...

15 YEARS LATER...

October 28 2038, London

ALLIAH SHIFTED IN HER SEAT, looking around at the filled auditorium, searching for that one person.

"For fuck's sakes, Harry," Alliah muttered under her breath, pulling out her phone and calling him for the tenth time.

And then he finally appeared, forehead lined with sweat, curls a little messy, but a smile on his face nonetheless. He slid past the other people and sat down beside Alliah.

"Harry..." Alliah warned him, giving a sharp glare.

"I'm sorry!" Harry apologized, "Sarah and Mitch needed help with Ava and..." He cut off, seeing that his excuses didn't appease Alliah. "Fine. I'll buy the dinner tonight."

Alliah grinned, kissing him softly. "There ya go."

They had a long-standing agreement that whenever the two drove in separate cars for family events, whoever got there last had to pay for dinner.

Harry whined, "Why do I always pay for dinner?"

"Because you're always late."

"But you have more money!"

"We share a bank account, love," Alliah gently reminded him.

"And most of that is from money you make."

Alliah sighed, pressing a kiss to his cheek. She tucked a loose curl behind his ear. "Yeah, well, I've released ten albums, hon. You've only done five."

"But I'm the Harry Mendoza-Styles!"

"And I'm the Alliah Mendoza-Styles!"

Harry stared blankly at Alliah.

Five seconds passed before he broke his gaze away. And then the lights around them began to dim, and the chatter of people around them slowly came to a silence.

Alliah intertwined her hand in Harry's, leg bouncing up and down in giddy excitement.

And then the curtains opened, and the teenage dancers pranced out onto the stage. There were maybe twenty dancers, but the two were focused on only two of the girls.

Emilia and Alice. Their girls.

Alliah smiled proudly as she watched them move with grace and beauty to their choreography, perfectly synchronized as they did.

"Can't believe our daughters chose ballet of all things," Harry muttered.

Alliah leaned in and whispered, "You're just mad they didn't take your advice and do choir."

Harry huffed in defeat.

Emilia, the oldest, was fourteen and the spitting image of her mother. Long brown hair and honey-colored eyes, with a sparkling smile she got from her father.

Alliah could still remember the day Emilia was born, gloating to Harry how she looked more like her mother than her father.

The joke was on her, because two years later, Alice was born, and she turned out to have her father's green eyes and curly hair. But at least Alice had her mother's nose.

After Alice was born, Alliah had refused having any more kids. Two girls were a handful. Harry only wanted another kid so he could have a son and wouldn't be outnumbered by women.

"We made them, can you believe it?" Harry whispered.

Alliah shook her head, tears forming in her eyes. "No. But we made it happen somehow."

Harry pressed his lips to the top of her head, resting his head against hers as they watched their daughters dance.

Somehow, they'd made it. Mental health, drama, friendships, arguments and fights, but they'd made it here. Successful careers they were willing to leave behind to raise their children.

Two beautiful girls who wouldn't ever know anything but love and adoration from their parents.

And that was a true love story.

Not some fairytale about destiny and perfect love.

It was messy and uncoordinated, based on nothing but dumb luck and pure chance. Just two stars that aligned one night and became a constellation.

A girl with brown hair, hazel eyes, an open heart and a sharp pen fell in love with a boy with curly hair, a perfect smile, kind eyes and an incomparable beauty.

Two hearts in one home, choosing each other each and every day. Choosing to keep driving even with the engine failing and the rain falling. Choosing to love even with the whole world waiting for them to fail.

That was a love story.

THE END

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