The Lion's Den

Chapter 23

8 Years Later:

     "Mommy, I'm scared," a small voice called out to me through the darkness of the room. 

     "It's okay Thea. Come on," I pulled the dark comforter back for her to climb into the bed beside me. I heard small feet pad across the room to the other side of the bed. That means Theo's here too. 

     Warm arms pulled me into a solid chest. "I love you," a deep voice says from behind me. 

     "I love you too," thunder crackles, making Thea jump next to me. Rain thrums on the roof, and I prepare myself to be lost in my sleep. Nightmares of the day I thought I had lost Zivon forever will haunt me, but when I awake, he will be right here. 

     Memories of Zivon's pale skin and blue lips will never leave me, burned into my eyelids in the night. The nightmares never end right, always the empty face of a doctor in a white coat telling me Zivon is gone. In reality, he suffered from Hypovolemic Shock after losing more than 30% of his blood. After being admitted to a hospital, he began his journey to a full recovery. 

     His recover was difficult for us both, but today all that remains are the scars that ripple his skin. 

     I slide my diamond ring from my finger, setting it on the bedside table next to me through the darkness of the night. Memories of Zivon's proposal flash in my mind, erasing the bad. The vivid colors of the beach sunset and him on one knee almost make me chuckle at how cliche it was. It doesn't matter, it made me love it more. 

     Watching Zivon and I's story unfold, I remember every day the beautiful destruction of us. The pain, passion, and love. The times I've waited up for him all night, wondering if the mafia business had finally caught up with him. Wondering if I would learn of his death on the news, only for him to walk through the door splattered in blood. 

     My heart has broken so many times, only to repair itself the instant I see him. My life before him feels surreal, seeming so ridiculous that I had ever had a life different from this. The vicious cycle of worry, pain, relief, and joy is all worth it for every moment I get to have at peace with him.  

     And so, Zivon Stransky shattered my life. Ruined it to nothing but rubble, only to rebuild it into a masterpiece. I love him and our little twins a little more everyday. My eyes close, and I pray for the good memories to form my dream instead of the traumatic ones. Because I'm constantly reminded that everyday since I enter the Lions Den, it is a flip of a coin, and all's I can hope is that it falls in the favor of Zivon and I. 

Zivon's POV:

     Theo's little sticky hands wrap around my waist, running across the scars on my side. The most prominent one is the deep cut of a dagger, the one from the day the bastards left me to bleed out. 

     As fucked up as it may be, I have bittersweet feelings about that day. It was the day Nova risked her life to save mine. It was the day I told her I loved her. Of course it sucked, because the "Germobs" attempted to kill me once and for all. But in the end, they lost. Because of her. 

     I almost lost her once, the day Bert took her right from my own home. I couldn't pull myself together enough to find her. But she's stronger than me. She's proven that. I honestly don't know why she stays, but hell I'm glad she does. I wouldn't know what to do without her. 

     A flash of lightning temporarily lights the room, and Theo pulls his little body tighter against my back. Theo and Thea's favorite hobby is shooting guns, but they're scared of thunder. It honestly makes no fucking sense. 

     One of Nova's naturally pink curls tumbles down my neck. I love that Theo and Thea got her pink hair, it reminds me of her every time I see Thea's floppy curls bounce around as she runs down the hallways. 

     Theo got my dark eyes, while Thea got an shear emerald shade. I have no fucking clue where the color came from. If they weren't twins I may think Nova cheated on me, even though I know Nova would never do that to me. 

     I long for the day I watch Theo take the thrown, when he becomes king to the mafia. I will retire and spend the rest of my life giving my undivided attention to my beautiful wife. 

     She always jokes that I wouldn't be able to breath without her, but she doesn't know just how right she is. I remember the day I met her, when I held a gun to her head. Her crystal blue-green eyes held not one ounce of fear, and that's when I realized I was gazing into a mirror. 

     Maybe she was crazy, psychotic even. But hell, so was I. So now, as I hold her in my arms, I know that we at the perfect match- a match made in hell. 

     I always believed the saying you don't know what you have until you lose it, but the girl with the pink hair never had to leave to teach me what I have, and always will have-
                     her.