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“Yes,” I yell, too excited to speak quietly, too filled with love and certainty.
He smiles, sliding the ring onto my finger.
EPILOGUE
ONE MONTH LATER
Duke
“Just go meet her, Dad,” Ryan says with a smile, glancing up from the stack of paperwork. From the window behind him, I can hear the activity of Seoul, South Korea. Ryan looks healthy, happy, and recovering from what he was forced to do in the warehouse, with a resilience that fills me with pride.
“There’s too much work…”
Ryan winks. “That’s what you’re paying me for. I don’t want you making me redundant any time soon.”
We decided to come to Korea to look into opening a new gym here. When I asked Ryan if he’d go with me as my righthand man, and he said yes, I knew it would bring us closer. I never guessed we’d bethisclose—closer than ever before. His support for my and Molly’s engagement has never wavered, not even once.
“You’re never going to be redundant to me, son,” I say, walking over to his desk and clapping him on the arm.
He grins, then waves at the door. “Go on. I know you’ll go insane if you don’t spend lunch with her. Make sure to hurry back, okay? It’s hard building an empire alone.”
I chuckle, so proud of my boy. He hasn’t touched alcohol since the mayhem. He’s spent every day trying to become a better person, and I couldn’t be happier.
Leaving the office, I walk a short distance across the bustling city to Yeouido Park. The cherry blossoms aren’t in season, but it’s still a beautiful place with a beautiful woman sitting on a bench, not spotting me yet. She’s reading her textbook, that gorgeous look of concentration on her face.
As I approach, her smile is a gift. She’s recovered from the mayhem just as quickly as Ryan has. I thought things would be awkward between the three of us, but after I proposed, it was like the world finally made sense. We’ve all agreed to forget the strange time my fiancée and son were in a relationship and how this started as a ploy for revenge. A revenge that turned out to be the best thing ever to happen in my life.
Molly stands, seeming more energetic than usual, moving from foot to foot. By the time I’m close enough to pull her into a hug, she’s almost bursting.
“Is something up?” I ask.
“Oh, yeah, Hubby,” she says, making me smile at the nickname. We’re not officially married yet, but she’s already calling me that, and I love it andherso much. “Our lives, our future, everything is goingup.”
She leans back in my embrace, flushed and beautiful.
“I’m pregnant,” she says after a pause. “We’re going to have a baby!”
Happiness floods into me. I cheer, sweep her off her feet, and swing her around and around as the South Koreans probably watch us, wondering what those crazy Americans are so happy about.
EPILOGUE
TWO YEARS LATER
Ryan
I hit the heavy bag, Dad holding it as I rotate my body and try to generate as much power as possible. Despite being older than when we first started training together, Dadseemsyounger. It’s the light in his eyes, the smile always on his lips. Even now, as I hammer the bag, he’s got a subtle smile on his face.
When the timer goes off, I step back, rolling my shoulders and jabbing the air.
“Your technique is lethal, son,” Dad says, tossing a towel at me.
I chuckle as I try to catch it with the gloves. “Are you ever going to tire of that one, Dad?”
“Watching you move like that, hell no.”
After wiping myself down, it’s time for another round. Once that’s done, I take off the gloves, sitting at the side of the ring and rolling my neck from side to side. When I hear the door buzzer go, I can’t help but smile.
It’s my stepmom, Molly, with my brother, Ollie, visiting us between training sessions. It doesn’t feel even a tiny bit awkward as Molly and Dad kiss hello. Initially, it hurt me to be around her, but only because it reminded me of how goddamnwrongI was—twisted up in the head. Nasty for the sake of it.
