epilogue
EPILOGUE
The black-haired man who sat on a large ottoman fidgeting quickly sprang to his feet when he saw a middle-aged woman appear from the room directly opposite him. He had been wiping his clammy palms from time to time throughout his stay outside the room. At intervals he would shut his eyes in a silent prayer to the Goddess. His heart leaped in fear when she solemnly began to take off her gloves, and with his heart in his mouth, he waited for her to speak.
But instead, her lips parted in a wide grin. “It’s done. You can see them now.”
He raked a hand through his hair, smiling and then leaning in to accept the hug she was offering. “Jeez, Margaret. I was scared for a moment there.”
She only gave another chuckle. “Go on, they’re waiting for you.”
He nodded shakily, walking into the room. His eyes first flew to the frail-looking woman laid out on the bed. She opened her eyes weakly when he walked in, smiling as she saw him.
“Baby…” He whispered, quickly moving to her side. He took her hand in his, placing two kisses on it and leaning forward to kiss her forehead. “Are you okay?” She smiled again, giving a slight nod.
As the sound of a baby crying filled the room, she motioned to the cot by her bedside. “Why don’t you look in?” She laughed at the expression on her husband’s face as he carefully peeked into the cot. Bringing his hand to his mouth in surprise, he gave a small laugh, then slowly put his hands in the cot to carry the baby up.
He felt his eyes sting as he rubbed a finger over the baby’s cheek. “He’s so handsome,” He turned to his wife. “Liyah, he has your nose you know?”
Liyah laughed, nodding in agreement. “And your eyes,” She added. From then she watched her husband smile so widely as he cooed at the baby, holding him carefully as though he didn’t want him to break.
“And what about your baby daughter? Doesn’t she deserve some love as well? Not fair, Nikolai.”
Nikolai whipped around in shock at the sound of his cousin’s voice. He felt his knees go weak when he saw the baby cradled in her arms.
“W-what does this mean? You birthed twins?” He turned to his wife.
She nodded. “We wanted to surprise you.”
He couldn’t hold it anymore. He couldn’t hold back the sob that filled his throat as tears rolled down his face. He couldn’t believe he had twin babies. And Nikolai could feel it in his bones that the twins he was supposed to have once had come back to him. He stretched out his other hand to cradle his baby girl. Holding his twins in his hand, he began to rock them back and forth. But when his tears began to blur his vision, he carefully placed them both back into the cot.
When he was sure they were laid safely, he lowered himself, looking down at the floor as he sobbed into his hands. His sobs slowly changed to laughter when his wife pulled him forward, using her fingers to wipe his tears away.
“So… what do we name them?” Liyah whispered, carefully drying off the tears in her husband’s silver eyes. His eyes were still her favorite thing about him. “I already know what I want to name her,” She smiled.
Nikolai laughed. “Really? That was fast. What is it?”
“Gabrielle…” She whispered.
“Babe,” Nikolai looked up in surprise. “But that’s-”
“I know,” She stopped him. “I think it’s time we turned our painful memories to beautiful ones. So it’s Gabrielle. Elle for short.”
Nikolai felt a lump in his throat but he nodded. “I think that’s perfect.”
His wife grinned widely. “Great. And what about our baby boy?”
He placed a finger on his temple. “What about Ross?” To his greatest surprise she burst out laughing.
“I love you babe but, we are definitely not naming our baby boy Ross.” Nikolai chuckled, raking a hand in his hair.
“You’re right it does sound kind of weird. Okay… I’ve always liked Nathaniel.” His wife narrowed her eyes at him.
“I don’t know, does he look like a Nathan though?” They both burst into laughter, and then Nikolai turned to his cousin. “What do you think, Annie?”
“Well he should have a nice name. All the others are boring. So what about Jaxon?”This content belongs to Nô/velDra/ma.Org .
Nikolai and his wife exchanged looks, wide smiles on their faces as they nodded. “Jaxon it is then.”
A knock sounded at the door and they saw a young man around Nikolai’s age walk in, accompanied by an older man, a woman around the same age, and a little girl. The girl raced to where the cots were kept, getting to her knees and gently rubbing her fingers over the babies’ cheeks. “They’re so pretty,” She gushed. “Does this mean I’m an auntie now?” She asked, facing Liyah.
Everyone in the room laughed, the happiness on their face showing utmost joy and satisfaction.
“Yes, Eve. You’re an auntie now.” Liyah confirmed, laughing when she was suddenly engulfed in a hug by the little girl. Smiling, she rubbed her hair and kissed her lightly on the cheek. As Liyah relaxed into the bed to rest, she watched them all gush over her babies.
She watched the husband who adored her, friends who cared about her, a nanny and friend who loved her, a new-found uncle who was proud of her, the little girl who had been nothing but a bundle of joy, and her twins-Gabrielle and Jaxon-who were the best gifts she had ever received, and Liyah couldn’t help but feel like she had finally gotten her happy ending.
Author’s note: So finally, we are done with the book. I hope you enjoyed it as much as I began wrote it. It was marvelous writing fot you guys. Thank you for your support!