Falling for My Dirty Uncle

And a young couple who were in love paid the price for too long.

Others may not have lasted as long as you did. Many others wouldn't have had the courage to stand up and declare that they had done nothing wrong. For them, we thank you as well.

Going forward, this paper will be conducting a thorough review of everything that is printed in these pages to ensure that something like this never, ever, happens again.

While we can only apologize as many times as needed publicly, we also acknowledge that we can never repay and repair the damage that has been caused to Magnus Davion and Penny Wright.

It's small compensation, but for whatever it's worth, we would like to note to readers that the Equinox Towers project will stay with Davion Development going forward.

And future city contracts will probably be easier.

Indeed, New Yorkers, we here at Gossip Central want to apologize to each and every single one of our readers for leading this witch hunt. It was beneath us and those that came on board with Rhoda Wright have left en masse.

The inmates no longer control the asylum.

The only thing we can wish upon this couple as they embark on their journey of love is that they never again find themselves in the papers.

May their life be quiet and peaceful, and may they never have to work with a mob of journalists pushing down the door to their privacy.

May they enjoy happiness and may you, my dear denizens of the city, enjoy yours.

Till next time, keep your ears open, New York. We're listening.

Epilogue

Penny

Felicità!

That’s happiness in Italian, and it pretty much describes the way I’ve been feeling for the past few months. It’s hard to believe, but it has been almost an year after everything that happened back in New York. Which is almost as saying it was centuries ago. Time really flies when you’re having fun.

Two months after Laurel’s impeachment, Magnus got down on one knee and slipped the biggest diamond ring I had ever seen in my finger. I don’t need to tell you how much I cried, do I? The most perfect man I had ever met, asking me to marry him? Yeah, I cried so much I thought I was going to dehydrate. And, with that, he also told me we’d be taking a vacation.

A year-long vacation.

That same night we grabbed his Learjet and, the following day, we touched down on the tarmac at Florence Airport, Italy. I had never been to Europe before, but Italy was my destination of choice when Magnus asked me where I wanted to go. I don’t know, there’s something about Italy that just adds to happy endings, don’t you think?

Magnus already had an old Aston Martin from the ‘60s waiting for us, and he slipped behind the wheel with one of the biggest grins I’d ever seen on his face. Boys and their toys, uh? I gotta say, though, I was pretty excited about it too - there’s nothing like cruising through narrow Italian streets in a car that looks like it came out of a James Bond movie set, its engine roaring loud while the wind whipped at my hair.

That first night in Europe we stayed in a villa in the outskirts of Florence, but we hopped all across Italy as my belly grew into a respectably sized bump. Milan, Turin, Rome - you name it, I’ve been there. We’ve also made a few detours to visit some other cities in Europe, from Berlin to Barcelona, but we mostly stuck with good ol’ Italy.

In fact, we’ve been in Italy for so long that I find myself calling it home. We even decided we’re going to wait for me to give birth here before we head back to the states. We timed it so that Magnus could be in New York just before the Equinox Tower construction begins. It’s been a few months since he clinched the deal, and it took all that time to straighten out all the required paperwork. But now he finally has the green light to start building the tower, and I can tell he’s aching to go back to work.

I feel the same too. Sure, one year of vacation sounds fine, but I have grown restless as well. I don’t want to be a leech and live on Magnus’ money, you know? Besides, I’ve always wanted to be a journalist, and that hasn’t changed. In fact, I’ve used the little Italian I’ve learned (maybe I should consider myself a fluent speaker by now) to write a few columns for some local newspapers. I guess Italy really sunk its hook in me, huh?

Even though we’re probably going back to the states in a few months, Magnus and I have already talked about buying a villa in Florence, a cozy and secluded place where we can raise our children. I love the hustle and bustle of New York City, sure, but it turns out I also have a penchant for a quiet country life.

The way we see it, we can split our time between New York and Florence without breaking a sweat. We just go where we want, when we want. Sure, a lot of that is going to depend on how busy Magnus is, but there’s always some leeway.

I stretch lazily in my chair, remembering every turn of the path that led to me being here right now with Magnus, and look up at the first glowing stars in the sky with a smile. There’s a slight breeze in the air but the night is a warm one, the fingers of summer already reaching for the green hills of Genoa.

I hear Magnus’ footsteps coming from inside our bedroom, and I turn back on my stretcher to see him walk toward the balcony. “Hey, babe,” Magnus whispers, leaning down and planting a kiss on my cheek. I look up at him, smiling, both my hands on my oversized belly.

“Hey there, handsome,” I whisper back, and he sits by my side. We’re sitting on the balcony of our room in a villa in the vicinity of Genoa, one of Italy's most important port cities. The sun has just set, but its orange glow still falls over the world like a curtain, and I can’t help but feel like I’m inside a living picture.

“How’s my boy?” Magnus asks me, slowly reaching for me and caressing my bump.

“Girl,” I correct him with a laugh, but he just shakes his head.