Page 97 of Bittersweet Endings

“She’s attached to you like a damn barnacle,” my wifemuttered, prying our daughter off my leg. Aurora grumbled in protest but relented, curling into her mother’s arms.

“She missed me.” I smirked, just as the twins moved to stand up from their large beach wagon.

Octavia rolled her eyes. “Yeah, yeah. Come on, let’s get them inside before they start acting up.”

We strolled back towards the house, the ocean breeze still thick with salt and warmth. As we neared the patio, a familiar groan reached my ears, and I looked up to see Lorenzo slumped over a chair, looking like absolute shit. His hair was a mess, his shirt half-unbuttoned, and the bastard was wearing sunglasses despite the cloudy skies. Behind him, barely concealed by the outdoor table, was a half-dressed blonde, her bare legs tangled in a bedsheet she’d clearly stolen from my fucking guest room.

Octavia clocked her immediately. “Lorenzo!”

He winced like she’d stabbed him between the eyes. “Jesus, woman, inside voice.”

“What the fuck did I say about whores in my house?” my wife snapped, setting Aurora on her feet and motioning for the kids to go inside.

Lorenzo sighed dramatically while rubbing at his temple. “Technically, this isoutsidethe house.”

I smacked him upside the head as I passed.

“Hey! What the fuck?”

I grinned. “That was for your own good.”

He grumbled under his breath, but as I looked back, he was already smirking. That cocky, no-shit-given smirk he always had when he knew he’d gotten away with something.

I didn’t bother saying anything else. Octavia would deal with the fucker later, and honestly, I had bigger things to worry about. Like making sure these kids actually made it inside without another meltdown.

I glanced back one last time to see Lorenzo pulling the blonde into his lap. Whispering something into her ear before she started giggling.

Fucking idiot.

As we reached the door, Octavia’s hand shot out. Her fingers swiping just under my ear. I stilled at her touch, watching as her brows knitted together.

“You missed a spot,” she murmured, rubbing at the dried blood.

I exhaled, barely resisting the urge to lean into her touch. “It’s over,” I told her. “New York is safe once again. He won’t bother any of us anymore.”

For a second, she just looked at me, searching for something. And then, her lips stretched into a big smile—proud, knowing, and goddamn perfect. Before I could say anything else, she pulled me down for a kiss. It was slow and deep, like she was sealing this moment in stone.

From below, a chorus of groans broke out.

“Gross,” Enzo whined. “Again? You just kissed him five minutes ago.”

I smirked against Octavia’s mouth as she laughed, shaking her head at the kids. “Get used to it.”

I wrapped an arm around her waist, tugging her closer as I looked down at our children. “Yeah, life’s unfair, isn’t it?”

Aurora rolled her eyes, Enzo gagged dramatically, and Gabriella just blinked against my chest. The twins started to roll themselves out of the wagon and took off inside. I chuckled as we stepped into the house.

Fuck, life was good.

If you’d asked me at the beginning of our story if this would be our ending, I would’ve put a slug between your eyes. But love was fucking crazy. It made a crazy man completely unhinged.And now, here I was, the goddamn king. Raising the next generation to keep the madness alive. Even if that meant playing nice with Octavia’s stupid-as-fuck baby devil of a brother and his annoying crew.

I guess some things never changed. Because I enjoyed making his life a living hell, and there wasn’t shit he could do about it. Thanks to my little doll.

THE END