Banking On My Bodyguard

epilogue

5 years later

I called goodbye to the team in the office, sending a reply to Naila about Friday night cocktails, before exiting the building through the sleek glass doors.

I smiled to myself as I stepped out into the last of the evening sunlight. It was still warm, the final wisps of the summer heat hanging in the air.

I strolled over to my car and unlocked the doors before sliding inside.

I turned the key in the ignition and began to back out of the car park, heading on my usual route home through the bustling streets of London.

My mind drifted as I drove, contemplating how much my life had changed over the last 5 years.

After a lot of hard work, I'd finally managed to find a financial backer for my company and we'd spent the last two years setting up and getting on our feet.

But things were running well now and we were quickly becoming one of the biggest supporters of underprivileged children worldwide, helping to teach them to read and write as well providing them with materials. I was frequently travelling to meet the people we were helping; it felt good to see my hard work manifest into real changes for children that needed it.

I thought back to my 18 year old self just after my abduction, and how proud she'd be of the me now.

I'd spent 6 months in physical rehabilitation, coming in and out of hospital, attending countless physio therapy sessions. It had been hard, the experience had more of a negative affect on me than I'd anticipated.

I had to go through intense mental therapy too, I still was. Some days were better than others, occasionally my PTSD would win, but that was okay, because on those days I had Kingsley.

Elijah and my other abductors had been jailed for life. It turned out they all had an unprecedented collective amount of crimes, and the judge ruled them a danger to society. It had been the biggest relief for me and my family, after that day in court things got a lot better. We could finally breathe again.

Now Kingsley and I weren't living far from my parents, it was a beautiful London townhouse with three floors and it was the perfect mix of our personalities.

I pulled up outside of it and turned off the car, climbing out. Kingsley's car was already in the driveway and so I knew he was home.

I walked up the path and unlocked the front door, entering into the hallway as I put my bag down.

I called out for Kingsley, but there was no response, so I began to make my way to the kitchen. There was a large window behind the sink that overlooked the garden and I spotted Kingsley kicking a football around with Artie.

My brother was 9 now and I couldn't quite believe it, he'd seemed to grow up so quick and we'd gotten even closer as time went on.

I smiled at the sight of them wrestling before going to open the back door.

"You better not track any of that mud into the house." I called out and they turned to face me, sheepish grins taking over their expressions.

Kingsley released the boy and jogged over to me, coming to stand on the step below. He smiled and wrapped his arms around my waist as he placed a greeting kiss on my lips.