Fight

Epilogue

[Epilogue]

*Matthew*

"Are you watching?!" I laugh, raising a hand to block the glare of the sun as I watch Ginny sitting upon Hershey's back, walking leisurely around the outdoor arena. Her long blond hair is twisted into a bun that her mother had spent nearly twenty minutes securing. Ginny's legs lightly kick on Hershey's side, causing the horse to quicken her pace into a soft trot. 

I sit on the fence, the heel of my boots caught on the wooden plank below me. I rest my elbows on my thighs, setting my chin into my right palm as I keep a watchful eye on Ginny. 

"Easy, baby." I say when she get's jostled and loses her balance. Ginny giggles, patting Hershey's neck. 

"I'm fine, daddy!" I shake my head, rolling my eyes. She is so much like her mother. 

Ginny continues to trot around the arena before I notice her drop her hands, lean forward and click her tongue. I stiffen, straightening my back as Hershey picks up a canter. 

"Ginny, slow down!" I scold, ready to jump off the railing. She doesn't listen as she continues to canter around and around, Hershey running fluently. Even though I trust that Lyla trained this horse to be steady and the most reliable, I am not comfortable with my eight year old daughter running around without her mother here to instruct her. 

I feel a light hand on my back and I look over to see Lyla standing on the outside of the arena, a baseball cap covering her long, beautiful hair. "Tell your daughter to get off that horse." I growl, swinging my leg over the railing to climb down so I am beside Lyla. She chuckles, wrapping her arms around my waist to hug me tightly. 

"She's fine, Matty." She whispers. I envelop her close, giving her small body a squeeze as I let out a sigh. 

It has been eight years since my proposal. Lyla was officially declared cured last year and it was as if this unbelievably heavy weight was lifted off of our shoulders. Lyla's hair has grown back and is even longer than before. The color is slightly darker, however it is just as thick and soft as it used to be.

Lyla and I got married a year after we got engaged and not even a week later, Lyla was looking at adoption agencies. I had promised her a child and I had every intention of seeing that through. We found Ginny right away. She was left at a fire station one night, with a note that said "I'm sorry". There is no back story to Ginny, she was practically a newborn baby and she was admitted into the Adoption Center of Illinois a day before we went. 

Lyla saw her and immediately broke down crying. I am not sure how, a miracle from God I  gather, but Ginny has my smile and my nose. She has Lyla's beautiful hair and both of our eyes. She looked as if she was forged from the two of us, our very own child created from our love.

Even though that is not the case, I do not love her any less than I would have. We adopted Ginny when she was only 4 months old and we have loved her since the moment our eyes laid upon her small body. Lyla would stay up all night, watching her. 

"I'm scared she's going to disappear." Lyla would tell me when I would search her out in the nursery. 

If Lyla wasn't with Ginny, then I was. We coddled that baby to no end. She was spoiled, never placed upon her feet, always in the arms of someone who loves her.

Donovan and Bianca got married two years ago and Bee is currently 7 months pregnant. She is  whale, and I can't help the morsel of jealousy I feel towards Donovan.

But whenever I do feel jealous, I look back over at my survivor of a wife and blessing of a daughter. We won, in the end. And that is all that matters 

Talia is now engaged to some hot head named Justin. I was hoping she would live a long life with Xavier, however she broke things off when she met Justin at a fighting event. 

Talia is the only one who still fights, for she still has anger she needs to work out. 

Samuel quit the year after I did, after winning champion again. Sam, as Lyla promised, is no more than Bianca's brother in our lives. I can see the hurt behind her eyes, every time she approaches him, but I also know she can never trust him again.

Neither can I.

He almost ruined everything for me. For us. 

I look back out over to Ginny, to see her walking at a leisure pace. Lyla is telling her to cool Hershey off for a few minutes before hopping off. 

Lyla got her job back as an instructor, after our wedding. She loves her job, and even though I could provide for us for the rest of our lives, I am not going to keep Lyla from doing what makes her happy. 

Austin moved out of my house to live closer to his daughter, Tami. Tami is now sixteen years old and Lyla gifted her with her own Buckskin horse for her sixteenth birthday. I thought, perhaps, it was an extravagant gift for a sixteen year old. Lyla then made the argument that she was given Hershey at thirteen years old, to help cope with the loss of her sister. Tami had been riding since she was seven years old and her bond with horses is magical. 

Lyla is already planning on buying Ginny her own horse when she turns thirteen, saying it will be a special bond between the two of them.

Hershey is growing old, nearing twenty years old. Lyla is convinced that Hershey will live until the old age of thirty, and I don't doubt her knowledge with horses and the bond with her own horse. However, she needs to prepare herself of the impending loss.

Lyla wraps her arms around me and I let out a contented sigh, placing a kiss to the top of her head, over her baseball cap. 

We have overcome so much.

As I watch our daughter walk around the arena, atop the back of that loyal horse, I can't stop the stupid smile that stretches across my face. I am perfectly happy. 

I always thought that I would never know the power of love again; that it was unattainable for me. However, I was gifted Lyla, who then brought me Ginny. My life turned upside down because of a scolding hot coffee spill.

And I am forever grateful for finding such a strong woman.

A woman who never stopped fighting for her life.

She never even stopped fighting for my own life.

I always thought I was fighting to be free of my past. But I am now realizing that I was fighting for Lyla. To find her. To keep her. To save her.

She is my life and Ginny is my angel. 

And now I know, that with Lyla by my side, we will be able to take on any illness, any loss. 

We will always keep fighting, together.

Hey guys! 

Thank you all so much for following me through this journey! I hope you enjoyed reading the love story between Matthew and Lyla!

I am sad to see the story finished, but am happy with the ending!

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