"Agreed. We'll schedule it between diaper changes."
"So romantic."
"Romance is different now. More creative." He rolled to face me. "Besides, I find you incredibly sexy singing off-key lullabies at two a.m."
"Liar."
"Complete truth."
Down the hall, Ezio started crying.
Reality crashed back.
"I'll get him," Alessio said, already reaching for his clothes.
"Together," I corrected. "We're a team."
"Best team ever."
Later, after both twins were settled again, we stood in the nursery doorway in comfortable silence.
Eva slept surrounded by her stuffed animal army. Ezio clutched his toy truck, peaceful and safe.
"They'll never know what it's like to be afraid of their parents," I said softly. "To question if they're loved. To grow up in violence and lies."
"Never," Alessio promised, his arm around my waist. "We broke that cycle. Completely."
"We did." I leaned into him. "They're going to have normal childhoods. Regular problems. The biggest trauma will be choosing colleges or first heartbreaks."
"God willing."
I thought about the woman I'd been two and a half years ago—terrified, running, believing she'd never be free.
That woman would never have believed this future was possible.
But I'd fought for it. We'd fought for it together.
And here we were—boring bookstore owners in small-town Montana, raising twins who knew nothing but love and safety.
"Thank you," I whispered.
"For what?"
"For choosing me. For breaking the blood oath. For giving me this life." I turned in his arms. "For being exactly the man I needed, even when I didn't know I needed you."
"Thank you for saving me first. For showing me I could be more than what my father made me." He kissed my forehead. "You changed everything, Valentina. From that first impossible moment."
"We changed each other."
"We did."
We stood watching our children sleep, and I felt peace settle into my bones.
The nightmare was over. Really, truly over.
Marco was gone. The threats were neutralized. Our children were safe.
We'd survived everything.
