SWNOVELS Chapter The Temporary Wife: Epilogue: 10 Years Later
“What did you do at school today?” I ask my son, Evan. He grins up at me and wraps his little arms around my leg, hugging me tightly. My heart can barely take it. He’s so fucking adorable, and he looks so much like his mother.
“I played with my friends,” he tells me. “And I saw Bella at recess.”
“Yeah?” I murmur as we wait for Isabella at the school gate. “Was she scared? It was only her first day, so you looked after your baby sister, right?”
Evan bursts out laughing and shakes his head. “Bella? Come on, Dad. She’s never scared.”
I bite back a smile and shake my head. He’s right, of course. My daughter is only four, but she truly is fearless. She has Valentina’s temperament and intelligence, and it’s amazing, because watching my wife deal with her mini-me is the highlight of my life.
“Daddy!”
My heart nearly bursts every single time I hear her call me that. I bend down and catch her as she jumps into my arms, and her tiny arms wrap around my neck. So fucking cute. Today she’s yet again dressed completely in pink, right down to her little hairband. It’s hilarious to me, because it feels like payback for the pink frenzy Valentina made me suffer through. Isabella refuses to wear anything that isn’t pink, and it’s driving my wife insane, while Raven is loving it.
I hold Evan’s hand while my daughter hangs onto me like a little monkey. “Are we going to see mommy?” Evan asks, his tone eager. “I made her a present today.”
I chuckle and nod. “Yep,” I tell him as I buckle both kids in. “But why is it that only mommy ever gets presents?” I ask as I sit down opposite them. Our driver closes the door just as I click my own seatbelt into place.
Evan straight-up ignores me, and I bite back a smile. Both of our kids are as obsessed with Valentina as I am, and I can’t even fault them for it.
“Daddy,” Isabella says. “Did I show you what Tío Mateo gave me because I started school?”
She holds out her arm, and my eyes widen when I see her little bracelet, a small pendant hanging off it. Did my dumbass brother-in-law seriously give my daughter a bracelet with diamonds in it? Is he insane? “It’s a Milagro heart charm! He says it’s for good luck!”
Evan nods and pulls out a necklace from underneath his little shirt. “I got one too, but mine looks like a hand, not a heart.”
I briefly bury my face in my hands when I notice that Evan’s pendant also has diamonds in it. My family has been banned from buying them ridiculous gifts, but there’s no stopping my in-laws. Just a few days ago, two miniature cars showed up in front of our house, one in pink, and one in black — purely because Hugo had bought a new supercar and he wanted the kids to have matching ones they could drive to their uncles’ houses with on the Windsor estate. They’re going to drive me insane.
Isabella gasps. “We’re here!” She always looks up at the office with such reverence, and it’s truly adorable.
“Mr. Windsor,” I hear all around me as we walk to the elevator, each staff member pausing for a moment to greet the kids and me.
“Can I press the button?” Evan asks, and I nod as I lift him into my arms so he can reach the panel. He wraps his arms around my neck, and I carry him as we head toward Valentina’s office, Isabella ten steps ahead of us. I have no idea where she gets all of that energy. She’s like a fucking whirlwind.
“Mommy!” she shouts.
Valentina looks up from her desk and smiles, her face lighting up as Bella runs around her desk and jumps into her arms. “My baby,” she murmurs as she kisses Isabella’s cheek.
Evan jumps out of my arms to join in, and I sigh as I stand back, defeated and abandoned. “What about me?” I ask, but the kids just ignore me. The moment they saw their mother, they just abandoned me. I guess I can’t blame them.
Valentina smiles up at me, her gaze lingering. “I love you, Luca,” she tells me. Fuck. Hearing that really never gets old. Throughout the years, we’ve gone through so many phases in our lives together, but each of them brought us closer. I thought I couldn’t love her more than I did ten years ago, yet each day, my love for her continues to grow.
I walk up to my family and lean in to press a soft kiss on my wife’s forehead. “I love you more, baby,” I murmur, my lips brushing over her ear. “I’ll show you just how much tonight,” I whisper.
“Mommy!” Isabella says, and I pull away, enjoying the way her cheeks still get rosy. “My teacher asked me what I want to be when I grow up, and I want to be just like you. I want to work here too. Can I?”
Evan nods and hugs his mother tighter. “Me too!”
Valentina has been instilling a good work ethic in them, and it shows. She’s kind and patient, and she never puts too much pressure on the kids, but she ensures that they know the value of hard work, whether that’s chores or homework.
“You want to become a CEO, Bella?” I ask. “It’s not easy doing Mommy’s job, you know?”
Two years after Isabella was born, Valentina became CEO, and I became chairman of our company, freeing up more of my time to spend with our kids. It’s the best decision we’ve ever made. She excels at this job, and she loves it more than I ever did.
I gently brush Bella’s hair out of her face as she asks Valentina endless questions about her job, my heart overflowing with love. I never knew true happiness before Valentina, and the kids have made an already perfect life even better.
“I told you so,” I murmur.
Valentina looks up, confusion in her eyes.
I smile at her. “Ten years ago, I told you that I couldn’t put all of your fears to rest just yet, but ten years from then, we’d look back at that moment and I’d tell you I told you so.”
Her eyes light up, and she nods, her gaze filling with a love so powerful that it takes all of me to keep standing here and not steal her away from our kids.
“I told you so,” I whisper.
She chuckles. “I’ve never been happier that you were right,” she tells me. “I love you, Luca. So much.”
I brush the back of my hand over her cheek, my heart bursting with emotions that can’t be described as mere love, yet that’s the only word that comes close.
“I love you more,” I murmur. Every second of every day, I love her more.