“Alicia?”

I lift my chin. “It’s a secret between me and my sister.”

“Fascinating.” He shakes his head. “I’ve known you were a wild one since you were five.”

“Since I was five? I first met you when I was seven.”

“Mmm. Maybe.”

“Jonathan. What do you mean?”

A sadistic gleam covers his eyes. “A secret.”

“You’re awful.”

“You still love me.”

“I do.”

“Say it.”

“I love you, Jonathan.” I sigh. “I love you so much.”

Still grabbing me by the throat, his lips find mine in a kiss that seals my fate.

Epilogue 1 - Aurora

Six months later

You know when you think you have it all, and there’s a nagging feeling at the back of your head that maybe something wrong will happen and take all the good away?

I’ve never stopped thinking about that possibility since the attack. Not even after Dad went into a coma, taking most of my childhood memories with him.

But in another way, I learnt to move on.

My nightmares have slowly started to disappear, and it’s all thanks to the man who sleeps beside me every night.

Jonathan holds me to him or above him, and the moment I get lost in his warmth, the world ceases to exist — nightmares included.

We go out on long walks, and I’ve gone back to hiking. I love the thrill of climbing and knowing I’ll reach the top at the end of the journey. The fact that Jonathan is there every step of the way gives me a sense of empowerment I wouldn’t have found any other way.

That’s why I’m here today. A year ago, if anyone had told me I would be wearing a huge white dress and walking towards the man I once thought was a god, I would’ve pegged it as another hallucination.

Now, it’s far from it.

All eyes turn to me as the music changes. We’re on Jonathan’s private island for our wedding. The island he named Aurora right after he told me I was staying with him and that was final.

He can be so swoony, despite his tyrant nature.

For him, the proposal was simple. He slid the ring on my finger and said, “You agreed to stay, what did you think it would be?”

Not that I would’ve said no. From the beginning, Jonathan was never a fling. He was a beautiful disaster waiting to happen and I just fell into it. Then I changed him as much as he changed me.

I put my mark in him as deep as he put his mark in me.

Ethan walks me down the aisle, as per my suggestion. He and Jonathan are slowly building back their relationship, so if my tyrant sees that I consider Ethan a father figure — a friend — he’ll lower his guard. It won’t be easy, but it’s worth the shot.

Everyone I love and care about have been brought here by Jonathan’s private jet. Layla sits amongst her parents and brothers, tears in her eyes. Aiden and Elsa are intertwining their fingers while sitting in the front row.

Jonathan and I took them to Alicia’s grave as soon as we got engaged to get his permission, in a way. Aiden said Alicia wouldn’t have an objection, so he didn’t either.

Levi and Astrid are beside them, grinning, and Levi keeps winking at me. He can be such a charmer, which is a King thing I guess.

Harris, Moses, Agnus, and Jessica are all here. There are also some of Jonathan’s closest associates like the Duke, Tristan Rhodes, the Earl, Edric Astor, and the Prime Minister, Sebastian Queens.

I don’t focus much on the guests, though. My attention is stolen by the man standing at the end of the aisle. He’s wearing a sharp black tux that matches the colour of his styled hair and reflects the heat in his grey eyes. He’s watching me with so much love, obsession, and adoration, it makes my toes curl.

It’s like the world has disappeared and we’re the only people left in it. Jonathan always has that effect on me. But this time, it’s different, almost as if our lives will become one.

The moment I stop in front of him, he glares at Ethan, who smiles when putting my hand in Jonathan’s. “Take care of her or you’ll have me to deal with.”

I can tell Jonathan wants to cut him, but he lets it go when my fingers are interlaced with his. The huge engagement ring glints under the afternoon sun.

We say our ‘I do’s’ in the midst of our family and friends, and I feel like I made the best decision of my life by choosing this man.

My love.

My tyrant.

My everything.

He lifts the veil, eyes darkening with heat. “You’re officially mine now, Mrs King.”

“And you’re mine, Mr King.”

Epilogue 2 - Jonathan

Three years later

“What did you say about stamina, wild one?” I grab Aurora by the throat as she holds on to my hand. “How about a redo?”

“I take it back,” Aurora pants, pulling herself to crawl onto my lap.

Her lips fall open as I let her snuggle into me while we sit on the warm sand. We’re both naked after I fucked her on all fours, then with her legs over my shoulders and my hand around her throat until she begged me to stop.

That got her a few more spankings before she came for the third time.

Her long legs tuck into my lap as she kisses along the line of my collarbone, inching up to brush her lips over my jaw.

She now has this habit of kissing me anywhere possible. No idea why she developed it, but I’m not complaining.

“Do you have to always prove me wrong?” she whispers against my skin, her voice breathy and the smell of sex lingering in the air.

I love marking her as mine and having her smell like me. This will be her scent until the end of our lives.

“If you call me an old man again, I’m tempted to retaliate, and yes, Mrs King, proving you wrong is a pleasure.”

“Aiden and Levi call you an old man, too.”

“Behind my back because they’re cowards.” I lift her chin. “Besides, I don’t have to prove anything to them.”

“And you do to me?”

“Abso-fucking-lutely. All the time.”

A small chuckle falls from her lips as the blue in her eyes brightens to a thousand megawatts. “You will never change.”

“Is that a good or a bad thing?”

“Both.” She sighs, hiding her head in the crook of my neck. “I love it here.”

It’s our downtime after working for long months, and we always come to the island for a detox. I had to kick Aiden out because he was planning on bringing Elsa here.

Aurora said we could have a family holiday, but I hardly tolerate the lot of them during weekly dinners. I don’t like sharing Aurora with them, and since Aiden and Levi figured that out, they’ve become dicks about it on purpose.

Ethan does that, too, and I’m still secretly planning his murder. Doesn’t matter that we picked up our strange friendship-turned-rivalry again.

I don’t like anyone in Aurora’s vicinity. Full stop. Even Layla plays with fire when she steals her time from me.

I waited so long for this woman, and now that I’ve found her, there’s no letting her go.