Promise

Epilogue

Althea's POV

I threw a left jab at him which he failed to dodge, without waiting for another moment, I punched him hard in the chest before hitting him in the face.

He fell to the ground with a loud thud and I waited.

There was no satisfaction, no bloodlust.

The referee came to hold up my hand.

"And there you have it folks! The champion of this year's State Boxing Championships is Althea Winstead!" He yelled and the crowd cheered and hollered.

I jumped off the ring only to be engulfed in a bear hug.

"I'm proud of you." It was my Brother, Alex.

"I need to breathe." He laughed at my muffled reply before letting go of me.

"So planning to go for the world championships?" Cam joked as he patted me on the back.

"Nah, boxing's just a hobby." He snorted at that. Ace and Nick were already at the car waiting for us. Ace ruffled my hair once we got close enough to the car.

"I'm proud of you kiddo." He said while Nick slapped his hand away.

"She's not a kid already." I merely raised my brows at that and stuck my tongue out at Ace.

"See?" Ace said pointing at me, "That's what I meant by She's a-"

He stopped before finishing the sentence and I looked at where his eyes were looking at.

A girl that seemed to be just a few years older than me. She had ash blonde hair and was with a group of friends, she was laughing at a joke one of them made.

She spotted me before beaming and running over to me.

"Hi! I'm such a fan! Can you please give me an autograph?!" She exclaimed. I laughed nervously and looked at Ace who was still not making a move.

"Sure why not." I said as I nudge Ace wanting him to give me a pen and waited for him to return to his senses.

When he didn't respond I stepped on his foot which thankfully did work. He narrowed his eyes at me and gave me a pen that was in his pocket.

I took it and signed her notebook. She squealed before walking back to her group that was waiting for her.

"Wait!" I almost yelled before she walked back. Turning around, she looked at me with a look of concern and curiosity, "I'd like to introduce you to my Brother from another Mother, Ace."

Seeming to take the cue, Ace stepped forward with a dazzling smile though I wouldn't miss the beads of sweat now rolling down his head.

"Nice to meet you Miss. I'm Ace, Ace black." He said taking her hand and planting a kiss on it. The girl blushed.

"I'm Giara Anderson, Nice to meet you too." She replied biting her lip not because she was trying to look seductive or anything but because she really was nervous.

Well that's a first

"Are you one of her fans?" He asked pointing at me which I narrowed my eyes at.

"A hundred percent." She started matter of factly as I dragged the guys away from the two.

"Shut up and listen to me." I whispered and was right about to say another word when someone cut me off.

"We weren't even talking." Alex muttered as I looked at him with raised eyebrows.

"Before I say this, where the heck is Ethan?" I asked curious to know where he was.

He never missed one of my fights. Never.

Alex and Cam had a smirk on their lips while Nick as per usual was unreadable. I sighed, knowing that they weren't going to tell me.

"I say we ditch Ace." And before I could mention the plan, Ace came running back.

Screw this

"I got her number." He said as if it was the biggest accomplishment in the world as I snorted at that.

"I'm just surprised she wasn't scared of your stupid tattoos." I mumbled right as I was about to get in the car.

"Stop." All of them said which was creepy. Nick was the one that finished the sentence, "Ethan's there waiting for you."

I turned to where he was pointing and saw Ethan's black Ferrari. I shrugged before walking to it, trying to open one of the doors but to no avail. The windows were tinted black so I couldn't see if anyone was inside.

I turned to look at where Alex and the rest were just now.

They weren't there

Right then someone hugged me from behind.

"Where were you during my match?" I asked already knowing who it was and waited for an answer. He let go and turned me around, planting a quick peck on my cheek.

"Buying this." Ethan answered, taking out a bouquet of roses.

"Are you serious?" I asked incredulously, "I don't even like red roses."

"Look closer." And I did, that was when I spotted a black Rose in all the other Red ones.

I gazed at him with a confused look while he just smiled at me.

"You're a swan among swallows, a black rose in all the red ones." I looked at him with a raised eyebrow.

"And how did you know I hate red roses but love the black ones?"

"I just did." He answered which made me laugh slightly,

He engulfed me in a hug once more

"I love you, you know that?" He asked suddenly.

"I love you too." My answer came out muffled since my head was buried in his chest. We pulled apart and I gazed into his eyes that were as bright as the blue sea, like stars gleaming in a dark night.

We got into the car and he drove off, both of us enjoying the comfortable silence in each other's company.

My reflection in the glass pane caught my attention. Gazing at it, my fingers lightly brushed it, smiling softly as I thought of all my sisters. This time it wasn't only the Seventeen of them, but one more which had died for my happiness, to make sure I lived life the way I wanted.

I forgive you, I thought gazing at the reflection, I forgive myself

Ethan held my hand when he stopped at the red lights and he just held it, like I knew he would every single day.

Just like he promised