That night, she wrote a letter to the woman who’d forgiven me but still maintained her distance, sealed the keys and photos of the immaculate yacht, then posted them.
She never let me read what she said, but the morning we left the house on the hill and took Aria shopping for some last-minute necessities in Monte Carlo shops, I received a phone call that I never expected to receive.
My mother accepted the gift Pim had given her.
She accepted me.
She enquired after her new granddaughter and asked if we could meet somewhere for a holiday where we could all finally learn to live in this new future rather than the tainted past.
I couldn’t believe Pim had once again given me something so priceless, and fear filled my veins that something would go wrong. I feared Aria would hate the sea, or she’d miss her garden, or she’d never talk to me or give me her trust.
But as we stood as a family on the deck and Jolfer blew the horn and the Phantom disembarked from her long slumber, Aria lit up in a way I hadn’t seen on land.
I almost died with absolute joy as my daughter, the girl of my dreams and keeper of my heart, took my hand and pulled me down to her level.
I stopped breathing as she pressed a kiss on my cheek before dashing off to stand at the railings and watch Monte Carlo fade into the distance.
Pim found me speechless, rubbing my cheek in shock.
“Did she speak to you?” she asked softly, taking my hand and kissing my knuckles.
Surveying my home, my wife, my family, I spun her around and kissed her lips. “She speaks as loudly as you did when you were silent, little mouse. One day, she might use her voice, but if that day never comes, we can understand her just fine.”
Pim returned my kiss, adding a layer of heat that ensured thoughts of watching the city disappear and enjoying a drink in the setting sun faded in favour of a private bedroom.
Aria must’ve heard my intention and didn’t approve of me stealing her mother away. Dashing over with Spot chasing her with his little pink tongue hanging out, she took both our hands and dragged us to the railing to wave goodbye to our house on the hill.
We were free.
We were safe.
We were a family, and no amount of pennies and dollars were needed because I had two of the most priceless things on earth.
I was officially the richest bastard alive.
* * * * *
That night, as Pim showered after putting Aria to sleep, I checked my emails quickly to find one from Mercer.
One that made my heart whir and future unspool.
From: Q Mercer
To: E Prest
Subject: How Is The Little Life You Saved?
Bonsoir, Prest,
Are you ready to save another?
As Pim opened the bathroom door and walked toward me with steam curling behind her and her stunning chocolate hair wet against scared skin, I closed the laptop and dragged my wife into my arms.
Mercer had another child needing a family, and I had a boat with hundreds of spare rooms.
I grew hard and hot and pressed kisses to her eyelashes and lips before unwrapping her towel and cupping her breasts.
She moaned, hugging me close.
“I love you, Tasmin.”
“I love you, El.”
I kissed her deep, dragging her down and rolling her onto her back. With our tongues tangled, I grabbing her wrists and placed them above her head.
She smiled, sultry and dark, believing she knew where my intentions lay.
But I had something else on my mind first.
Something extremely pressing.
Dragging my lips along her throat, I whispered, “I have another question to ask you, wife. A very, very important question.”
Final Epilogue
______________________________
Pimlico
DEAR NO ONE,
It’s been a while since I wrote to you. I hope you don’t mind.
I suppose I have no need to write when I live with you, love you, and get to see you every day. I get to see you become the most incredible dad. I get to witness you become the most selfless, amazing man. And I get to love you every day as my super-star husband.
You gave me everything I was missing.
You gave me everything I didn’t know I could have.
You don’t know this, but when I speak to my mother on the phone, I tell her every little thing you’ve done for me. I regale her with tales of how incredible you play the cello, and how you’re teaching Aria to master the same songs that once haunted me. I inform her of how patient you are with Rosie, our little black-haired daughter, and her quirks of hiding food around the yacht, unable to be convinced she’ll never be hungry again. And I can’t stop gushing about what an amazing role model you are to James, our newest son.
It’s funny that Aria chose the day James arrived to finally shed her silence and welcome her new brother to the Phantom. It’s funny how effortless our family works, sailing the seas, exploring, teaching our children life lessons, and being there for them through every torment from their previous worlds.