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I want you by my side, and I do want a family with you too.”
I paused under her touch and was stunned to hear the same words addressed to me. “You do?”
She scrunched her nose. “I do, what?”
“You said...” I paused to catch my breath, not believing that any woman would have the heart to love and accept all of me. “Grace, are you fucking with me? You said you loved me.”
“That's because I do, Igor,” she nodded and grinned.
I squinted. “And you are not saying it back because I said it first, right?”
“No,” she scoffed, shaking her head. “When I hated you, I made that perfectly clear. I mean, you could be a thorn in my side… ... a very annoying thorn, but I'm tired of denying this attraction I feel for you. Ignoring it became so exhausting. So, yes, Igor. I'm serious. I love you too.”
I wrapped my arms around her waist and kissed her cheeks.
“Hold on,” she said and pulled back. “I never got to say thank you for saving me back there.”
I brushed a feather-light kiss on her lips and shook my head. “Protecting you, loving you, making you happy, and making you angry whenever I like, is my priority, princess.”
“Can we erase themaking angrypart?” she asked, grinning from ear to ear.
“No,” I shook my head and kissed her lips again. “It's part of the package.”
She giggled and kissed me back, her eyes brimming with unshed tears and pure, genuine love.
She was mine at last! Completely surrendered and freely mine! The feeling was beyond elation or excitement. I felt warm and at ease. I didn't realize everything yet, but I vowed to do everything in my power to keep her and our baby safe, to protect them no matter the cost.
Epilogue - Grace
~ Five years later ~
I was in the kitchen preparing something when I heard the front door swing open. It was funny that five years later, my heart still beat with anticipation when Igor's car pulled up or his heavy footsteps could be heard on the tiles when he came in.
A smile crept onto my face as I put my cooking aside and hurried to him. I greeted him with a kiss, the warmth of his lips on mine a familiar and reassuring feeling.
“I missed you,” he said, pressing his nose into the crook of my neck. His arms wrapped around my waist, and he peppered kisses on my chin. I kissed him on his jawline, too, and lightly brushed my lips over his scars.
As he looked around, his eyes met the everyday scenes of our life together, and there was a sense of contentment in his gaze. Then our little four-year-old daughter ran over to him with a beaming smile on her face.
“Daddy!” She stretched her arms upward, a sign for him to pick her up. He knelt and held her in his arms. The tenderness of his touch reflected the love he had for our family. He picked her up from the floor and tickled her tummy, to which she squealed with delight.
“Hello, my beautiful little princess,” he kissed her cheeks, and I looked up at them, feeling my heart swell with joy and pride. At that moment, as our daughter laughed and played with her father, I couldn't help but feel a sense of happiness and gratitude for the life we had created.
Another deep joy was the relationship that my mother and Igor had built over the years, and that was only because they agreed on one important thing — they both valued family and would do anything to protect it. Igor would literally kill to protect his and my mom would defend hers with all her power.
I remembered one night when he confessed to me that she finally trusted him and accepted his place in my life as my husband and it warmed my heart to know that he also felt a part of my world — the little world I shared with my mother. She knew about the USB stick and the powerful information on it, but for my sake and to protect herself and her position in the police, who knew what would happen if these findings fell into the wrong hands, she vowed never to divulge this information.
It suited us well, but it was sad when she had to move far away to some island in the Mediterranean for furthertraining. Although it sounded more like along vacationto me.
I set the table with the plates and cutlery and began to prepare Sasha's plate when he came downstairs, all freshened up. We made ourselves comfortable over dinner and I could see his excitement as he inspected the food in front of him.
“Delicious,” he hummed and smiled at Sasha, who gobbled her food without sparing so much as a glance at us.
“Thanks,” I said with a smile, and abruptly, he stopped eating. I frowned. “Everything all right? Do you want some water?”
“No, I'm fine,” he said, his demeanor hinting at something important. “There's something I need to talk to you about.”
“Uh, okay,” I dropped my fork and asked our nanny to take our daughter upstairs so she could take a bath. My curiosity was piqued. “What do you want to talk about?”
