Cobalt Bay, California
Many, many years later...
At some point, I've stopped counting the years, content in knowing that many have passed, each one happy.
Almost twenty years ago, my perfectly well-ordered life was knocked off its wheel locks and sent careening down what would become the ultimate journey.
I might embarrass some people, looking back on the night I met my wife and remembering her incredible beauty that no doubt floored me, and her fierce yet vulnerable soul that inevitably stole my heart.
The years that followed were passionate and tumultuous—a storm we only lived through because we were incapable of doing anything else but hold on to each other.
The world always looks different in the aftermath. Our choice had been to rebuild what was still good and start anew where we had the chance.
And we still didn't always get it right.
Over a decade of marriage with Kady was not without its ups and downs. The furious fire that used to burn hot inside her may have lost its destructive power but it was never extinguished. Not that I ever wanted it to be. It's one of the things I will always love about her.
Her incredible strength, her courage to choose to love and be happy every single day—they've allowed her to become so much more than neither of us could've ever imagined.
She stayed honest, whether its about her mistakes or mine, and she took my hand when she needed it. For someone who'd sworn before that she could live on what mere scraps of love we could share, she didn't miss any opportunity to make sure I knew how much she loved me. It's hard to imagine that at some point in the past, I feared trusting that she would ever come out into the light with me. These days, the shadows didn't touch us.
For one, there hasn't been that much time.
Not with four rambunctious children in five years—Grayson, Francie, and twins Aline and Jonas, now aged eleven, nine and seven.
Our weekdays are busy with school runs, homework, soccer practices for Grayson, evening lab visits for Francie at one of my R&D centres, dance classes for Aline and early woodworking for Jonas. Weekends were mostly family time and we had no shortage of family with everyone taking a turn to host Sunday afternoon get-togethers so that the adults could at least hang out and the kids could keep each other busy playing.
"It looks disgusting," Grayson said as he watched me take off the cover of the chocolate cake that he and his siblings supposedly made last night. Well, he supervised and the other three decorated it with a nature theme.
"Then you've succeeded in making it look convincing," I told him as I examined the cake closely. On top of the very uneven layer of lumpy chocolate frosting was a rough pile of crushed Oreo crumbs to resemble dirt where a bunch of gummy worms and liquorice bugs were crawling out of. There were thick blobs of corn syrup tinged with dark red food coloring to imitate blood and little tufts of white cotton candy were strewn all over it like cobwebs. Halloween was still a week away but clearly, the kids had been pretty inspired.
"That's not what I meant," Grayson said, giving me a meaningful look. "Jonas literally bit the heads off some of the worms and bugs and stuck them back in there with the bitten ends hidden. He thought it was funny and made them creepier but that's just not sanitary, you know?"
I raised a brow at him as I lifted the cake off the counter. "Didn't you do something similar last year with those Rice Krispies ghosts that your Mom made? Where do you think Jonas copied it from?"
Grayson pursed his lips and glanced around innocently. "But you guys told me I could eat all of the pieces I'd touched. I felt so sick afterwards."
"Well, you can share the cake with Jonas later. It's still in the fridge," I told him as he followed me out toward the door leading to the deck. "Francie made an identical cake this morning after breakfast while you were all playing outside. She tied up her hair and wore food-safe gloves so I think this might be safe enough to eat."
"Of course, she did," Grayson said with a roll of his eyes. "She looks at something and all she sees are microbes crawling all over it. I just want to do things without worrying about what I can't see."
"Your sister sees the world a little differently, Gray, but that's not a bad thing so I expect you to respect that," I told him as we walked down the flight of stairs. "Don't trivialize her interests just because you don't share them. She never says a mean thing about how much you love soccer."
"But soccer's normal..." Grayson muttered under his breath.
I stopped in place and glanced down at my son, looking at him intently. He was, in so many ways, so much like his mother.
All our children share Kady's tight, springy curls but they were all a very similar caramel brown color that was lighter than hers. They had golden skin, light brown eyes and varying amounts of faint little freckles on their faces.
But Grayson didn't just look a lot like his mother physically. He was stubborn and unapologetically candid like her, often acting with that wild, restless quality that we have to keep an eye on. He was a good kid, no question about it. But he usually acts first and thinks later that he and I have been having more in-depth conversations lately.
"Normal is subjective, based on individual perception which changes with people's backgrounds and experiences," I explained. "And considering how different people are from each other, there is not one single definite way of qualifying what's normal. Something might be common or popular but that doesn't mean it defines what's normal."
Grayson furrowed his brows in concentration as he tried to follow that reasoning along. Then he scowled at me. "You're saying that just because Francie doesn't like the popular stuff like sports or movies, it doesn't mean she's not normal."
"Exactly." I smiled, telling myself to resist going all the way to a philosophical debate with an eleven-year-old. And I knew, whether or not Grayson fully comprehended what I just told him, he was never going to turn his back on his siblings. Kady and I had to meet with the school principal last month after he'd gotten into a fistfight with some boys who'd been taunting Francie. He may not understand her all the time but he loved her.
I nudged him gently with an elbow. "To be perfectly honest, there's nothing wrong with being different from everyone else. It can draw attention that may or may not be wanted, I admit, but being able to stay true to who you are and what you care about is a freedom not many can dare to seize for themselves.We have to give people who have, the credit they deserve."
This time, Grayson's expression turned astute. "You're talking about Mom again, aren't you?"
I grinned and straightened up. "I know a lot of people who have but yes, your Mom is certainly one of them."
He rolled his eyes although there was a teasing light in his gaze. "You find every excuse to moon over Mom. It's embarrassing, Dad. You're both old."
"And you're disrespectful," I said with a laugh as we reached the party downstairs.
When it was our turn to host, the adults would usually be scattered around the yard while majority of the children, if not in the middle of a lawn game, would be somewhere in the playhouse. When I designed this structure with Kady over a decade ago, I had no real idea of how prominently it would feature in the shared childhood memories of all the children in our tight-knit circle. But even as some of them are starting to outgrow it, they keep coming back.
Rylan, for example, fourteen and almost six feet tall, could still usually be found up on the roof deck, under the shade of the tree, happily and quietly reading a book. Well, quietly if Max's eldest daughter, ten-year-old Sienna wasn't around, which wasn't very often. Somehow, she would always find him and if the other kids—not even her best friend Mariella who was Rylan's younger sister—can't lure her away with some reckless dare or a heavily competitive game, she'd be reading loudly over his shoulder or trying to do tiny braids on his hair. Of course, Rylan would never complain. He'd sit there and try to keep reading through her theatre-loud narration or patiently bear the smarting of his scalp while Sienna tugged and pulled at his hair like a savage. Grayson would often rescue him, telling Sienna to go away because of an idiotic reason he made up like she stank or she had something stuck on her teeth. Rylan didn't always agree to be rescued and he'd reassure Sienna she's perfectly fine which in turn would make Grayson grumpy.
Noelle, now thirteen and often the drill sergeant being the second oldest and the bossiest of all the children, would usually yell at Grayson to come back down because one of his younger siblings was doing something they shouldn't be doing and he needed to 'man up'. And Grayson would come back down, usually with a loud complaint about why he had so many younger siblings.
On most days, Noelle would have some kind of competition she'd designed going on. All of Max's three daughters inherited his daring streak, something that constantly keeps him on his toes and entertains the heck out of Aiko who considers it appropriate comeuppance for him. The middle daughter, Kira, wasn't afraid to tackle or trick anyone who got in her way and Aya, the youngest of the Croft girls at four, was no angel herself even if she mostly just copied whatever Sienna or Kira did.
Like today...
"Aya, the ball's gone. You don't have to keep biting Lucas's arm! Run after your sister!" Max was yelling from the table where I'd set down the cake. He turned back around with a groan and a quick gulp of his beer. "Jesus, you would think a children's game wouldn't be so cutthroat."
I grinned and turned back to watch some revised kind of soccer game unfolding on the lawn. Grayson had already run over and taken the side where Lucas, Viv and Oliver's seven-year-old son, was teamed up with Aline and Jonas. Lucas, who looked uncannily like Oliver when he'd been that age, was angrily rubbing what looked like a pretty red welt on his arm.
"Put some dirt on it," Jonas told him just before he went into position next to his older brother. He and Grayson were polar opposites in personality with Jonas usually being brooding and often preferring to do things on his own. But when they played on the same side, they made for a relentless pair.
"Let's go, you bunch of babies!" Sienna yelled at them from the other side of the field where she stood with Mariella who was making loud crying sounds. Nikko, Jamie and Sidney's nine-year-old adoptive daughter who was staying with us for a week while the two were away for their wedding anniversary trip, cupped her hands around her mouth and layered on what sounded like a war cry.
When the ball suddenly whipped past them, Sienna ran for it, lunged and somehow elbowed the ball out of Grayson's grip. Rylan, who'd been acting as referee with Noelle on the sidelines while Francie kept score, blew his whistle and called some kind of foul.
"Oh, shit," Max muttered under his breath, sinking down on a chair as he watched his eldest daughter shriek in disbelief and run up to Rylan, aggressively jabbing a finger against his chest. It was probably no more than ten seconds before the whole gang was crowding around the sidelines, protesting and arguing with each other.
"Maybe we should ask Noelle to come up with some friendlier games," I said just as Oliver and Sebastian came over. "One that doesn't require an adult court ruling before we can pry all the children apart."
"Are you kidding me?" Oliver asked with a shake of his head. "She devises these games as if she's in charge of Roman gladiator matches. The more bloodthirsty, the better."
"It won't be long before someone seriously gets hurt," Sebastian said dryly, looking not at all concerned for someone who'd just given that dire warning and whose son was fast becoming the recipient of Sienna's outrage.
"And all my three girls are going to get thrown in jail at some point before I'm sixty," Max muttered. "I'm going to lose all the family fortune just bailing them out one after the other."
I laughed and clapped Max on the shoulder. "I'm sure Aiko will intervene before that happens."
"Speaking of my wife, where are all the ladies?" Max asked, craning his head around. "Did they think we could be trusted overseeing this bloodsport that Noelle's trying to pass as dirty soccer?"
"They went into Kady's shop to look at the pedestal table she's creating for Vivienne's new store," Oliver answered just as we spotted four women coming out of the massive shed that we'd built for Kady on the property as a twin to mine.
Hers and Jamie's real-estate development business had grown steadily in the last ten years but she wasn't doing as much onsite work now. She continued to oversee the string of social projects she'd started which focused on the protection and assistance of vulnerable women—something she insisted she will always be working on. When the kids became a little more independent and she started to have more time, she fully delved into her passion for woodworking, crafting beautiful small furniture pieces in the last couple of years.
She's come so far.
Tenderness swept over me as I watched my wife smile and laugh. Her face was still stunning after all these years but it was the openness in her expression and the light in her eyes that made her so achingly beautiful to me. It was proof of all that she'd battled and overcome, of how she not only survived but thrived beyond every fear and expectation, especially her own.
Her life was full, her days hectic but happy with four children who adore her and passion projects that fulfilled her, her nights always spent in my arms. And in turn, my life was more than I could ever ask for.
She caught my gaze and grinned at me and the rest of the world faded in those moments when I just stood there and waited until she was within my reach. I tugged her close as soon as I could, dropping a gentle kiss on her lips.
"What are you all doing here?" she asked, her liquid gold eyes brighter than usual. "You know a fight's about to break out over there, right?"
"Leaving it to Dad again, aren't we?" Vivienne asked as she leaned back against Oliver whose arms had slipped around her waist. "He's getting too old for this, don't you think?"
From where we stood, we could follow Dad's silver head as he wove his way through the throng of essentially everyone who considers him a grandfather, by blood or extension.
"Don't let him hear you say that, Viv," Cassandra said with a laugh, just as Sebastian draped an arm around her shoulders. "He's been touchy about his age after his last birthday."
"Aren't we all touchy about age at our age?" Aiko asked before perching on Max's knee and taking a swig of his beer.
"Says the baby in this group," Vivienne retorted with a scrunch of her nose. "But in all seriousness, one of you men would have to step in for Dad next time."
"Why does it have to be one of us?" Max demanded.
"Well, you weren't the one who had to do all the pushing, were you?" Kady retorted.
"Or the one throwing up or wilting away into nothing because you can't keep anything down," Aiko added, winking at her husband who scowled at her for all of five seconds.
"They were really mostly there for the fun part," Cassandra interjected, raising a brow at Sebastian when he opened his mouth to deliver a rebuttal. "What? It's true. Didn't you have fun?"
"Cassandra," Sebastian grumbled, looking at his wife's defiant face before sighing. "I did but I also tried to be there for everything else where you'd let me."
"Agreed," Max said, nodding emphatically because it seemed like he still didn't realize he was following Sebastian into a freshly dug hole. "I changed diapers, made bottles, learned complicated hairstyles, played dolls and memorized all the Disney princess theme songs."
I snickered and caught Oliver's eye and we just both shook our heads because the other two were in for it now.
"Oh, were we keeping score?" Aiko asked innocently. "Because I think I left my ten-volume list at home."
"Ten volumes?" Max asked, looking at his wife in disbelief. "What do you—"
"Max," Sebastian warned, shaking his head at him. "Just shut up."
Max glared at him. "But—"
"You don't really want to pick up that gauntlet, man," Oliver told him. "Or we'll be here all night."
"I'm sure Max would appreciate your hospitality, guys," Aiko said to me and Kady. "I mean, your dog house is so much nicer than ours."
Kady laughed. "You can come back for him tomorrow, Aiko. But I think we better go and help Jack before we have a full-blown riot in our hands."
"Yes, let's go," Vivienne said, stepping forward. "We'll just have to do what the men won't."
"They're just children. Honestly..." Cassandra was saying just as she joined the other three women to head toward the group.
When they were out of earshot, Max turned to look at the rest of us. "What just happened?"
Sebastian rolled his eyes at him while Oliver just laughed.
"If you don't know, then we can't help you," I told Max with a grin.
Understanding dawned in his eyes and he just shook his head and downed the last of his beer.
We stood and watched as our wives broke up the group swiftly and efficiently, tasking the children with different things to distract them and restore the peace.
Of course, we weren't always completely helpless.
All four us have been very involved fathers and devoted husbands—an unexpected turnaround for many of those who'd known us from our very early days when we started to earn a reputation.
But the incredible changes, especially to my three best friends—brothers, really—came from one of the few places where something life-altering could occur. Love.
Love for the one woman who anchored us into depths we didn't realize we were capable of.
Love for the family we'd grown and the children we'd brought into the world.
Love for the kind of life we might have once thought was completely out of our reach despite all the money and power in the world.
The road we've each taken to get here hadn't been an easy one but the journey forced us to find the courage not just to get to the destination but to stay there and make a home.
Some might call it a happy ending.
But stories like ours never end.
*****
Thought I'd give you a quick little list of the family tree of our 4 CBB couples:
Cassandra & Sebastian Vice
Rylan Alexander Vice
Mariella Rose Vice
Vivienne Cartwright-Yates & Oliver Yates
Theodore Edward Yates
Noelle Adrianne Yates
Lucas Morgan Yates
Aiko Bradley-Croft & Max Croft
Sienna Kinsley Croft
Kira Harper Croft
Aya Madison Croft
Kady & Stellan Cartwright
Grayson Elliott Cartwright
Francine Jade Cartwright
Jonas Everett Cartwright
Aline Grace Cartwright
*****
Ninya's Notes:
Hi everyone!
Apologies if this was a day late. I had an epilogue half-written and then at the last minute, I decided to change it. I wanted to focus on the kids and that actually took a lot of time plotting out ages on the timeline that covered many years after where this story ended on the last chapter.
After lining them all up, I had to make a couple adjustments to the ages but I think it works and you can get a pretty good idea of where everyone is in the epilogue. I also wanted to close the story with the four men. While the four books weren't from their perspective, the series was anchored on them and their evolution after meeting the women in their lives.
It's really bittersweet for me but I'm glad to see, writing into the future with this epilogue, how much they've all grown and how happy they've become despite everything they've all gone through.
I hope you enjoyed it. I would've posted this last night if I didn't have such bad neck cramping--the price I've paid for writing for years on top of a desk-type regular job. Any writers out there feel my pain, literally?
Anyways.. let me know what you think and thank you once, again, for being here.
XOXO,
Ninya
P.S. I love this song because it's so true and I think every couple in this series had to realize this to get to their happily-ever-after.
♪♪♪ Chapter Soundtrack: Love Someone by Lukas Graham ♪♪♪
There are days
I wake up and I pinch myself
You're with me, not someone else
And I am scared, yeah, I'm still scared
That it's all a dream
'Cause you still look perfect as days go by
Even the worst ones, you make me smile
I'd stop the world if it gave us time
'Cause when you love someone
You open up your heart
When you love someone
You make room
If you love someone
And you're not afraid to lose 'em
You probably never loved someone like I do
You probably never loved someone like I do
When you say
You love the way I make you feel
Everything becomes so real
Don't be scared, no, don't be scared
'Cause you're all I need
And you still look perfect as days go by
Even the worst ones, you make me smile
I'd stop the world if it gave us time
'Cause when you love someone
You open up your heart
When you love someone
You make room
If you love someone
And you're not afraid to lose 'em
You probably never loved someone like I do
You probably never loved someone like I do