He stood and began stripping off.
I frowned. “Is it bedtime?” I’d lost track of the time.
“No. Not yet. First, I plan to make my fiancée come as many times as she can stand.”
“That’s…” I swallowed hard, all thoughts of my annoying sister forgotten.
“Get used to it, sweetheart, because this is your life from now on.”
“Damn right it is,” Ronan agreed as he walked in, shedding his clothes along the way, with Conal doing the same behind him.
It sounded like an amazing life to me.
The sort of life I once dreamed of and never expected to have.
Except all my dreams had come true.
I was officially the luckiest woman on the planet.
Epilogue 1 - Verity
2 years later
My skin crawled as I stood outside the heavily fortified prison entrance. Not even a bird dared chirrup in this miserable place. Miles of razor wire, concrete, and armed guards stretched as far as the eye could see.
The authorities had made damned sure my father had no chance of escaping again. No parole or even cell perks. He’d be in solitary for the rest of his incarceration, which would last until he was at least 90.
Thea’s words echoed on repeat while I waited for the guard to check my paperwork.
“You don’t need to see him again, Ver. He’ll only get inside your head and fuck it up.”
I understood her concern but disagreed. I wanted to see him one last time. Not because I expected an apology. I wasn’t stupid enough to think he’d say sorry. No, what I needed was closure. A chance to tell him he’d lost and that despite his best efforts, I’d built a happy life for myself.
My therapist thought it might help with my healing process now that we’d worked through a lot of my childhood trauma. The guys were not at all convinced me visiting my father was a good idea, but as part of my ‘personal growth journey’, I’d told them all to go fuck themselves.
It hadn’t stopped Ronan from insisting on accompanying me. He sat in the car a few rows back, watching my every move with hawk eyes.
He had nothing to worry about, though. Papa couldn’t hurt me anymore. He couldn’t hurt anyone. In fact, I doubted he’d still be alive by the end of the year. Marku’s associates blamed him for the demise of their trafficking operation, so from what I’d heard he wasn’t having much fun each time he left his cell for a shower.
But I didn’t have it in me to care anymore. Not after he’d so casually tried to sell me off to further his own business dealings.
An armed guard escorted me inside the concrete building, through dozens more locked doors, and then deposited me in a small room with a table and two chairs.
“Knock on the door when you’re ready to leave,Signora Kelly.”
I still had to pinch myself when I heard that name.Mrs. Kelly. A small smile escaped as I looked down to admire the three interlinked platinum and diamond bands on the fourth finger of my left hand. Then I sat down on the chair and waited for my sperm donor to arrive.
A few minutes later, the second door across the room opened and two armed guards walked in, my father shuffling betweenthem, his ankles and wrists shackled with chains. He’d aged significantly in the last year.
I took in his stooped frame, sallow skin, and many bruises, but felt nothing. This man didn’t deserve my pity. Hell, he barely deserved my time, but here I was anyway.
“Verity?” For a moment, he seemed confused, and I wondered if his mind had deteriorated - the authorities spent very little on nutritious brain food in this place. After a few beats, a light switched on and he smiled. “You came!”
A guard shoved him onto a plastic chair before locking his ankle chains to iron rings attached to the floor. He nodded respectfully at me and then both guards stepped out of the room.
“I wanted to see you one last time,” I told my sperm donor.
His eyes slithered over me, taking in my shiny hair, diamond earrings, and expensive clothes.
