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EPILOGUE
NATHAN
ONE YEAR LATER
Life wasn’t a game of chance. It was a game of chess.
I always thought one bad move could cost another their life, but I was wrong. Each piece had to move forward on the board and as long as they were careful, they could carry on until their purpose in this world was fulfilled.
Unfortunately, the player of our game, someone I couldn’t read, decided the most important piece of our life had to go.
Nana Lisa didn’t deserve to leave this earth, but she claimed it was her time to go. She had accomplished her purpose, allowed death to consume her so she could be reunited with our grandfather, and was certain her family would be fine without her.
Needless to say, she was wrong.
The rain poured down, making the ground muddy, but that didn’t stop her funeral from being held. I watched from a distance, alongside Karina, Cole, and Daniel as Sebastien knelt into the mud hours after we buried her. He took it harder than the rest of us and I couldn’t blame him. That old woman basically saved his life.
I let out a breath… even now I could still hear the last words she said to me:
Always keep your loved ones close.
It was something I was still slowly trying to do more of, especially to follow her last words of wisdom… which she had for all of us.
“I never asked. What did Nana say to you when we saw her?” I questioned Cole, still curious.
“You know… the usual stuff about love.” He shrugged but didn’t exactly answer. I wouldn’t push on, not when I knew he had a lot on his plate now that he was back from the shadows.
“And to you?” I asked, looking past Cole, over at Daniel.
His attention focused on Sebastien, but he opened his mouth to speak anyway. “She gave me two…” he glanced over to me with a soft smile and sad matching eyes. His brown tousled hair matted sloppily on his forehead from the rain. “Never to lose the spark of hope because people will look to me for it.”
Well, she wasn’t wrong about that. If Daniel gained anything from her… it was that slightly annoying optimistic thoughts he had when others fell into darkness.
“She also said to always push for a happy ending…” He stepped forward, hands in his pockets as he brought his attention back to Sebastien.
“For everyone,” he finished before he slowly started to make his way over to the grave.
Typical Nana… her words of wisdom always fell back on the idea of love. Even when it came to Sebastien. He got the usual. Someone will come along and keep him out of trouble because they’d be enough trouble for him.
I just hoped he’d be able to get that soon.
Stretching my fingertips out, they grazed against Karina’s. She took my hand in hers, keeping silent. I glanced over as she tilted her head, watching Sebastien, trying to figure him out.
“He’s not going to be ready.” Karina finally spoke beside me. Glancing over, my eyes met with her green ones. I shook my head gently.
“No. You’ll have to stay on a little while longer.” Ever since Mr. Prince was thrown in jail, Karina became the face of the Vasiliev name. That didn’t stop her from modeling, but it put a little more pressure on her. I eased some of it by handling paperwork and making sure the company ran smoothly when she focused on her career.
“You can always step in,” Karina suggested.
It was something I’d thought about now and then, but Mr. Vasiliev’s words always came to mind, and I wanted to respect him and his decisions even though he was gone.
“I’m still keeping the dead man’s wish. He wanted his other son to take over until Balthazar is of age.”
Unfortunately, Sebastien wasn’t ready for any of what I needed to tell him, and that’s why it was still a secret. Sebastien was the bastard son of Mr. Vasiliev and his former mistress before she disappeared from the face of the earth.
“Good luck with that.” Cole scoffed. “You know Sebastien, he wallows in the pain and anger for a long time before he can pick himself back up.”
“He just needs some help,” I told him while still keeping my eyes on Karina.
“Like he’ll ever allow anyone to do that. He’s a stubborn piece of shit.” Cole turned to me, catching my attention. “Well, I’m going to head out.”
“Make sure to keep your eyes on the road.” I smirked.
“I told you, someone fucked with my car the last time.”
And that led him into the shadows to find out who did it, yet even with Mr. Vasiliev’s help, he couldn’t figure it out.
“Still, keep safe. Don’t need you disappearing on me a second time.”
“You got nothing to worry about.” Cole patted my shoulder before heading out. I looked back at Sebastien in the distance.
With all these deaths surrounding us... I needed something positive in my life... something permanent.
“Hey, Karina…” I called for her attention.
“Yeah,” she answered, letting me know I had exactly that.
“This is going to sound weird to be asking at a graveyard and I’m not prepared with a speech or anything but, will you marry me?”
She looked over at me. Her eyes searched mine, making sure I wasn’t joking around. I was serious. I wasn’t proper or down on one knee, but fuck it.
“So soon?”
I laughed. It was still soon. We’d been dating for over a year, but I knew I wanted her in my life forever if she’d have me. “One day.”
“One day it is.”
Although pawns didn’t turn into kings in chess, I knew I’d be hers. And just like a king, I’d let my Queen reign.
