Masuk🪷🪷🪷
**Epilogue** ♡Where the Story Finally Rests♡ The house was quiet in a way it had never been before. Not empty... never empty... but calm, settled, as if it had finally learned how to shut up. It was the kind of quiet that came after noise, not before it. The kind earned through years of screaming storms and shattered silences, through blood and tears and survival. The kind that didn’t feel lonely, but full, brimming with life tucked into every corner, like a memory that refused to fade. Morning light filtered through sheer curtains, slow and gentle, spilling gold across the living room floor. It brushed over scattered toys left behind from the chaos of yesterday, tiny shoes kicked off without care, a stuffed bear missing one eye, plastic blocks half-built into a crooked tower that had clearly collapsed mid-laughter. Proof of life lived loudly. Proof that joy had taken root here. Somewhere down the hall, a baby stirred. A faint sound followed, half yawn, half protest,
Cassie woke him with tears in her eyes. These were the kind that shook her breath, clung to her lashes, made her lips tremble like she was standing on the edge of something enormous and irreversible. "Nikolai," she whispered first, her hand clutching his sleeve, fingers tight, almost desperate. He stirred, half-asleep, instinctively rolling toward her, his arm already reaching out before his mind fully woke up. Even in sleep, he knew her. Even in sleep, his body searched for hers. "What..." he murmured, blinking, his voice rough. "Little soldier... are you okay?" She swallowed hard, another tear spilling free, her other hand pressed protectively against her belly. "It's time." The words landed like thunder, making him freeze. Not because he didn't understand them, but because he understood them too well. That word carried nine months of fear, hope, laughter, arguments over baby names, midnight cravings, soft kisses pressed to her stomach, whispered promises spoken
The first sign that Cassie was truly pregnant came at 3:00 a.m. Not the pain... Not the nausea... Not even the doctor’s calm confirmation, which had made Nikolai sit unnaturally still, as if he moved too fast, the universe might take the news back. No! That wasn't it at all. It came at three a.m., when the bed jolted beneath him as if something had exploded under the mattress. Nikolai woke instantly, years of survival hardwired into his bones, heart already racing as his hand shot out blindly, ready to grab a weapon that wasn’t there... And then he heard it. “Nikolai.” He blinked, disoriented, the ceiling unfamiliar for half a second before reality snapped back into place. Hospital white nightmares dissolved into the warm darkness of their bedroom, the faint glow of the streetlight filtering through the curtains. “Mm?” he murmured, his voice thick with sleep as he turned toward her. Cassie was sitting up. That alone was alarming. Her hair was a wild halo aro
The reception was nothing short of absolute chaos. Beautiful, expensive, legendary chaos. If the chapel had been elegance and emotion, the reception hall was pure, unapologetic Rosewood madness. The moment Cassie and Nikolai entered the hall hand in hand, applause erupted so loudly it drowned out the music. “MR. AND MRS. ROSEWOOD!” someone shouted. Nikolai leaned down, his lips brushing Cassie’s ear. “I waited three days for this. I’m not letting go of you for the rest of my life.” She laughed softly. “I’d be offended if you did.” They barely made it three steps before Gloria rushed forward, pulling Cassie into a crushing hug. “My daughter,” Gloria said proudly, eyes shining. “You survived us.” Cassie laughed. “Barely.” Before Nikolai could reclaim his wife, Adrian appeared, already holding a glass of champagne, his tie loosened, chaos written all over his face. “Brother,” Adrian said solemnly, throwing an arm around Nikolai’s shoulders. “I forgive you.” “For wh
Even Emily, already dressed as the flower girl, petals clutched dramatically in her tiny hands, couldn’t help herself. She stood right in the middle of the corridor, chin lifted with an exaggerated seriousness only a child could muster, pink satin shoes planted firmly on the floor as if she were about to deliver a verdict of cosmic importance. “Daddy,” she said innocently, tilting her head just enough to make the flower crown slip crooked, “you’re embarrassing.” The word landed like a perfectly aimed arrow. Nikolai stopped mid-step and glared at his daughter. Gasps rippled through the small entourage trailing behind them, family, bridesmaids, cousins, a few overexcited friends, all frozen in place as if time itself had paused to witness his downfall. Nikolai pressed a hand dramatically to his chest. “Traitor.” Emily’s lips twitched. She tried... she really did... to look solemn, but the effort collapsed instantly into a wide, mischievous grin that showed the tiny gap bet
The wedding day arrived the same way most important moments in the Rosewood family always did, loud, dramatic, outrageously expensive, and completely out of control, wrapped in silk, diamonds, and old-money arrogance, yet hanging by a thread of pure chaos, with at least three near-fights, two emotional breakdowns, and one person threatening bodily harm before noon. And that person... Was Nikolai Rosewood. By ten a.m., the Rosewood Mansion looked less like the venue of a holy union and more like the staging ground for an impending war. Staff rushed through hallways with walkie-talkies crackling nonstop. Designers argued in hushed but aggressive whispers over floral arrangements that cost more than most people’s annual salaries. Someone screamed about the champagne being the wrong temperature. Another person cried over a seating chart that placed the wrong cousin too close to an old enemy. And in the middle of it all... Nikolai had not seen his wife for three whole d
When Gloria, Cassie, and Stacy finally returned to the penthouse, Emily skipped happily beside them with her small bag of toys swinging at her side. The atmosphere was undoubtedly a little bit tense. Even without speaking, Cassie’s shoulders were still tensed from their earlier encounter. Glori
"This child..." one aunt stammered. "Nick... whose child is she?" Emily blinked, looking from one shocked face to another. "Daddy," she repeated matter-of-factly, hugging Nikolai's neck tighter. Nikolai smiled at her, placing a kiss on Emily's forehead. But he didn't answer. His silence only fuele
The words hit like a thunderclap. Regina blanched, her lips parting soundlessly. Mabel muttered something incoherent, clutching her handbag like it would shield her. And Raymond... Raymond’s Adam’s apple bobbed as he swallowed, his pride clawing against the fear curling in his gut. This was the r
Life had slowly returned to how it used to be, which could almost be called normal in Nikolai and Cassie’s lives. Gloria and Lucas were like clockwork—visiting Emily with an enthusiasm that could only come from doting grandparents who felt robbed of her early years. They spoiled her shamelessly,







