Epilogue
VIVIEN - NOW
The after-party is in full swing at the plush five-star hotel the label rented for the occasion, and the room is packed with well-wishers, family and friends, and industry heads. I’m proud of our movie even if it was painful to sit in the theater knowing everyone was dissecting some of the most heartbreaking and intimate moments of our lives.
But it feels cathartic too. Everyone knows the truth now. The good, the bad, and the ugly, and they can decide what they want to do with that themselves.
“For the woman of the hour,” Ash says, materializing at my side, offering me a glass of champagne.
I shake my head and hold up a hand. “I’m abstaining. That glass I had earlier went straight to my head. That’s what I get for hardly eating all week.”
“I need to live vicariously through someone,” she pouts, running a hand over her growing belly. “Hurry up and get here, little monster, so your mummy can have an alcoholic drink!”
I smile at my sister-in-law because I know she’s joking. Ash adores being pregnant, and she is positively glowing. It took them some time to conceive, but her pregnancy has been smooth sailing so far. They are both very excited, and I’m thrilled for them. I can’t wait to meet my new niece or nephew.
“I’m happy to help,” Audrey cuts in. She drains the dregs of her current glass of champagne, sets it down on the high table behind us, and plucks the fresh glass from Ash’s hand.
“I thought you were still breastfeeding,” Ash says.
“Nope. Emily is taking formula now, and as it’s Alex’s turn to do the night feed tonight, this mommy is partying to the max!” Audrey gave birth to their first child four months ago, and Ash is due in three months’ time. Our daughter, Fleur Belle Lancaster-O’Donoghue, is twenty-one months old now and the apple of her daddy’s eye. I love that my daughter will have a ready-made friend in Emily and her new little cousin, and she has two older brothers who dote on her.
“You must be relieved the movie was so well received,” Ash says.
“I am, and I love that it was a true family affair.” I wrote the screenplay. Studio 27 made the movie. Dillon and I were executive producers, Mom played herself, Dad directed, and Collateral Damage recorded a number of new songs specifically for the movie soundtrack.
Easton played Reeve in a couple of scenes, and I couldn’t stop the tears from flowing during those parts of the movie. We had asked Bodhi if he wanted to share the role of young Reeve, but he is more of an introvert than Easton, and he turned pale at the thought.
“It makes it more special,” Ash agrees, glancing over her shoulder to where the guys are chatting.
I look over, and Dillon’s bright blue eyes lock on mine. He mouths, “I love you.”
I blow him a kiss, admiring how hot he looks in his suit. Waves of white-blond hair tumble over his brow, and nobody would ever believe he turned thirty in January. He is so unbelievably gorgeous, and every time I look at him, I’m reminded of the young guy I met in Dublin who showed me how to let go of my reservations and truly live.
“Earth to Vivien.” Ash waves her hands in front of my face before poking her tongue at her brother. “You two are always sending googly eyes at one another. It’s disgustingly adorable.”
“We have fought hard for our love. I never want to take it, or him, for granted.” I’m feeling especially emotional after watching my life with both my loves play out on the screen. “I’m relieved I got through tonight without puking,” I truthfully admit. “Dillon will tell you I’ve been a hot mess all week. I could barely sleep or eat, worrying if I’d done the right thing.”
“That’s understandable.” Audrey knocks back her champagne like it’s water. “You have serious lady balls, my friend. I’m not sure I could have opened my heart and my life for the entire world to see.”
“It hasn’t been easy, and I’ve been panicking all week that I made the wrong call. I have a responsibility to both my loves and my children to do right by them, and I was plagued with last-minute doubts.”
Dillon has been repeatedly talking me off a ledge all week long. He is my rock, and I know I couldn’t have done this without his support and his permission. He wasn’t sure when I first broached the subject, until he read my book, and then he told me I had to do it.
“That’s completely natural. I would’ve been the same.” Ash gives me a quick hug.
“I was shaking like a leaf on the red carpet, and when those women hurled their accusations, it sent me reeling back in time. It was like Reeve had only just died, and I felt the pressure sitting on my chest again.”
“I can’t believe the nerve of those bitches. I thought that was all behind us,” Ash says.
“I knew what I was getting into when I chose to make this movie. I knew it would dredge up good memories as well as bad, and I knew it would bring the crazies crawling out of the woodwork. This is only the beginning too.”
“Do you regret it?” Audrey asks.
I don’t have to think about it. “No. So much has been said over the years that is incorrect, and I wanted,needed, to set the record straight. I know there will be people who won’t ever understand, people who will probably hate me more after this, but I didn’t do it for them. I did it for me. For Dillon. For Reeve. But most of all, I did it for the kids. I hope when Easton and Bodhi are older they will understand how I came to love both their dads. I want them to know the true story, not the twisted version that will forever remain on the internet.”
After we adopted Bodhi, we filed the relevant paperwork to have his birth certificate changed. While Lori will always be Bodhi’s mom, and we do what we can to nurture her memory and ensure he never forgets her, his biological parents were Reeve and Saffron, and that needed to be officially documented, for a number of reasons. One of them is so Dillon could transfer his half of the Lancaster inheritance to Bodhi.
At the same time, we got Easton’s birth certificate altered to list Dillon as his father.