Pull the Trigger | ✓

e p i l o g u e

f i v e y e a r s l a t e r

Blinking in confusion as I watched Fran study the little girl -around the age of four- with her dirty blonde hair curled perfectly around her shoulders and her beautiful brown eyes that seemed to glow every living second. Fran picked her up and twirled her around before attacking her with multiple kisses to her chubby cheeks, a smile resting on his lips as if he didn't know whether he was dreaming or actually living in reality.

"Where's your aunt?" Fran asked the little girl before placing her down gently on her feet as I watched her shrug her shoulders dramatically.

"What are you doing?" I questioned my brother who seemed to look older than his actual age due to his stress with trying to adopt a child with his fiance, Javier.

Fran cast me a sneaky smile. "Juliette said she was coming home with a boy today and said he was 'just a friend'."

My eyes widened in disbelief as I placed my mug down on the kitchen counter before biting my lips. "Does Noah know?"

Fran chuckled and shook his head. "That's the best part; he doesn't know."

Fran and I squealed in delight like little children before I picked up my daughter and spun her around, kissing her cheek. Fran and I exited the house with my daughter in my arms before we walked towards the Bellucci main house where a bunch of Bellucci and Moretti men -dressed in suit and ties- hung around the house.

"Hey, has Juliette come home yet?" I asked one of the men who kissed my daughter's cheeks, causing her to giggle before nodding to me in acknowledgement. It was a blessing that our men loved our daughter just as much as Noah and I did.

The day I had brought her home, every single man had been waiting out front for our car and I wish I was exaggerating but it was an ocean of men dressed in black and white suits. Their eagerness plastered across their faces had only made the event more significant and funnier.

He shook his head. "She should be home in a few minutes."

"She's here!" I heard Fran exclaim from the front of the house as my eyes lit up, curiosity and excitement swirling in the pits of my stomach as I ran towards the scene.

A girl that I had watched grew up for the past five years stepped out of the black SUV, wearing her school's uniform of navy blue and black. Her dark brunette hair was braided nearly behind her shoulders, her crystal blue eyes lighting up at the sight of Fran and I.

"Welcome home, Julie!" Fran exclaimed, catching Juliette in a hug as he kissed the top of her head.

I placed my daughter on the ground, allowing Juliette to hug her and just as I glanced up at the other figure walking towards us, I couldn't help but noticed that he was extremely nervous. A faint smile rested on my lips as he approached us in his own uniform, his raven black hair combed messily as he greeted both Fran and I with a bow.

"Tori, Fran, this is my friend, Thomas," Juliette introduced as she took a step back with a wide smile.

Thomas grinned nervously, his lips shaking. "H-hi."

Fran cracked a laugh as he patted Thomas's shoulders, shaking his head in amusement. "There's no need to be scared. Come, I'm sure Noah would be pleased to meet you."

My smile faltered at the sound of my husband's name, knowing that Fran was only setting Thomas up for failure but before I could stop him, Fran grabbed him by the wrist and gently led him inside where the men sized themselves up at the sight of the boy.

"Noah's going to kick his ass, right?" Juliette asked me nervously and as if she knew the answer to her own question, she quickly ran after Fran and Thomas.

"Come on, let's go see daddy," I whispered to my daughter as I wrapped my hand around hers and followed the crowd.

When I arrived at Noah's office, he was already observing Thomas with a cold look, staring him down as if he was his opponent. He then glanced to Juliette who was playing with her fingers, avoiding eye contact with her half brother at all costs. Fran, on the other hand, was watching the scene unfold in the corner like a little kid with a grin on his lips.

I rolled my eyes in amusement at the children before picking up my daughter as we approached Noah behind his desk. I placed our daughter on Noah's lap, watching a smile grace his lips.

"Go have some fun," I told Juliette and Thomas and in a blink of an eye, they were out of our sights. I cast a glance at Fran who poured as I gave him a look before he quietly excused himself.

"Juliette brought a boy home?" Noah questioned with a frown, looking up at me as he held our daughter.

I nodded with a chuckle. "Let her have some friends. You know it's already tough for her to make friends at her new school."

Noah sighed, knowing that I was right before glancing at his daughter. "You're not allowed to meet any boy until you're fifty years old, okay?"

I punched Noah's bicep, shaking my head in amusement. "They're going to be dead by the time they even get to know her name and I know you'll make sure of that."

"Hey, this is my sweet baby angel you're talking about," Noah argued with a playful smile. "You're daddy's girl, right Evathia?"

"Yes daddy," my daughter, Evathia Lily Bellucci answered with a chirp. When we had named our baby girl, I had suggested that we make Noah's mother's name as her middle name.

A knock on the door interrupted our little moment as the three of us glanced at the intruder as Javier walked in, a baby bottle in one hand and a milk towel in the other.

"Keelan just woke up from his daily nap," Javier said, wiping his forehead with the back of his hand with a worried look on his head. "I never knew a six-month-old baby could be so much work when all they do is drink milk, cry their fuc-fricking eyes out and sleep." Javier made a wordless apology with his hands for almost swearing in front of a minor.

I laughed as I kissed Noah on the lips and Evathia on the forehead before excusing myself, leaving the two of them to spend some time together. As I turned around and was about to close the door behind me, I admired the way Noah tried to make his little girl laugh before kissing her forehead with so much love, it almost made me cry.

I must've caught Noah's attention because he glanced up at me, a soft smile on his lips and those eyes filled with love and admiration that I could never get sick of. "I love you, princess."

I bit my lip and smiled. "I love you too, Noah-"

"I love you too, daddy!" Evathia squealed in delight, causing both of us to laugh. I watched my daughter glance over her shoulder and shot me a wide smile. "I love you too, mummy!"

I blew a kiss to both of them before making my way to see my son, knowing that I was going to give him my infinite love.

a/n: this is officially the end of Pull the Trigger. I hope the epilogue made up for the last chapter's shortness but it was quite hard writing this chapter knowing that I will no longer be writing Noah and Astoria's story anymore. 

I want to say a huge thank you to each and every single one of you who read, vote and comment on this story, who stuck by this story and supported me throughout this journey. 

I really appreciate every single one of you.

I hope to see you in my other stories but for now, thank you and i love you. 

ariella, xo.