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“Surprise, surprise. My great grandfather lost it in a damned poker game,” she said sadly. “From what my father told me, it was lost forever.”
Jackpot. Those few words confirmed what I’d long suspected. Without another word, I flipped open the box. Inside sat that very same platinum gold crown with rose gold details, encrusted in thousands of pinhead-sized diamonds.
Her expression was absolute, utter surprise. “Vasile, how did you….”
Placing the box on the bed, I lifted the crown out of it.
“Turns out your father’s family and mine have been playing poker for a long time. Your grandfather lost it to my great uncle in a poker game. My mother told me about it on the eve of our wedding. A gift. Sealing our families together. For good this time. Since the minute I met you, I knew this was destined to be yours. I’m just fucking grateful to be the one that gets to return it to you.”
Valeria stood before me, misty-eyed, blinking back tears as she smiled up at me. Carefully, tenderly, I placed the crown on her head and then knelt at her feet.
I took her hand in mine and kissed it.
“You might be a princess, but you are my Queen. I promise to spend my life honoring you and protecting you. And loving you. Forever.”
Valeria let out an embarrassed, tearful gasp, and gripped my arms to pull me up to standing. Then she wrapped her arms around my neck and kissed me, with her tears between our lips. And my tears, too.Chapter 28 - EpilogueValeria18 Months LaterVasile lay in bed naked beside me, resting his ear to my round belly, listening to the baby. I gently ran my fingers through his hair, noticing for the first time a few silver hairs in his sideburns.
I wasn’t sure how it was possible, but every single day he seemed to be even sexier than the last. And every single day I grew to love him more than I ever thought possible.
The baby kicked. I watched Vasile’s face light up and he whispered, “Holy shit. He’s strong,” glancing at me with the most contented, delighted twinkle in his eye.
I nodded at him, biting my tongue, waiting for the little one to do it again. The baby knew when Vasile was nearby, I was sure of it, and I could almost imagine chubby baby thighs kicking with joy when she felt him listening for her.
“You know it’ll be a girl, don’t you?” I whispered.
He narrowed his eyes, pretending to be all stern and angry. “It’ll be a boy. I keep telling you. The first one will be a boy.”
I shook my head, snuggling into the pillows that surrounded me and propped me up.
“Nope. Girl. I can see her in my dreams already.”
Vasile wasn’t buying it. He replied with a scowl, a flutter of his jaw muscles, and a low, growly, “Wanna bet?”
“Don’t you dare,” I said, teasing him, pretending to be angry and disapproving.
All that was just for show. I knew he wouldn’t, never again. He’d given me his word and had stood by it. Just as he had stood by me and always would.
Vasile laughed a little and calmed me down with a wink. He placed his big hands on either side of my belly, gently stroking my skin, looking as blissful as I had ever seen him.
I let my mind drift, wondering—for the thousandth time—if anybody deserved to be as I was. I was so happy and Vasile and I were so happy together that at times, I almost felt guilty. And it still seemed surreal, impossible to me, that everything had turned out all right. But it had.
Natasha was doing better than ever. Her eyes were bright, she was strong and healthy, and she was devoted to Daniel. Away from Petre’s influence, the Greengallows and Daniel had helped her get past the drug addiction he’d forced on her.
As for Petre himself, he was no more of a threat to me now than an injured polar bear a thousand miles away. He would be serving his sentence for a very long time, and once it was over Vasile had promised to put him charge of overseeing shipping up north, a job so cold, desolate and thankless that I even felt a little bit bad for him. But only a little.
We lay together in the very bed where he’d first claimed me as his, in that strange and wonderful old manor house with its orangery and swimming pool and beautiful gas lights. And the running water, my God, the running water, still the most delightful miracle to me every single day.
Only now, that wonderful old place truly belonged to us, not just in name. We’d claimed it as ours and were putting our own stamp on it. Slowly we were having it fixed up as we wanted it to be.
