When the door closes, I pull in a deep breath and turn the video on.
Leif’s face comes on the screen.
He’s in his office sitting on the edge of his desk. He looks just like how I remember him.
“Hello, son. If you’re watching this, it means I’m no longer with you in body.” He pauses for a few beats and sighs. “I wish I could say I hope that doesn’t happen, but in the world we live in, death is just around the corner. As you know by now, everything I own belongs to you. But what I wanted to leave you in this message is wisdom. So, my last lesson is this: don’t grieve for me. Instead, live for me.”
I take note of the change in his face as he speaks. As if this is the most important thing he will ever tell me.
“I devoted my life making sure you lived to see happiness. I had the privilege of seeing you happy when you took your wedding vows. Our forefathers believed that fate would bring you your true love. I believed that happened for you, and a new leaf has turned over in your life with your marriage. So, love your wife and look forward to everything you’ll do together. Those are the priceless moments that are worth fighting for. I had most of mine with you. Thank you for thinking of me as a father to you. That really did mean a lot to me, son, and I will always be with you.”
He dips his head, then the screen goes blank.
Just like that he’s gone, but his words stay with me, giving me a newfound strength.
I sit there for a moment processing his wisdom, and I think of everything that’s happened, from as far back as I can remember.
I’ve never truly lived until now. There was always something stopping me.
But Leif is right, and I’ve been given more than a second chance.
With that in mind, I stand and block out the weakness I still feel gripping my body. The strength in my heart is enough to keep me going.
I leave the office and find Anastasia on the terrace standing by the balcony. She’s resting her hands on the stone surface, looking ahead at the garden.
Fate truly did bring us together. To think this was her family’s home that I lived in as a boy before she was born, then she lost and found herself here with me. It must truly be fate.
When I get closer, she turns and looks at me. A smile brightens her face, and the twinkle in her eyes brightens.
I close the space between us and kneel to kiss her stomach through the fabric of her dress.
“I’m not going to get tired of this.” I kiss her stomach again. “I hope you know that.”
“I didn’t know until just now.” She giggles.
“Well, now you do. You’ll have plenty practice for the next baby, and the one after that, too, and the one after that.”
“Desmier, how many kids will we have?”
“As many as we can manage. It’s not like we’ll ever get tired of trying to make them.” I stand and kiss her properly. “I love you, Anastasia Volkova.”
“I love you, too, Desmier Volkova.”
“Good, we should go to bed now.”
“I agree.”
Epilogue
Anastasia
“It’s going to be so strange coming back after the summer and not seeing you,” Lorelai says, sitting straighter.
“I know. I was thinking that the other day.”
We’re under the tree on Raventhorn’s campus. I’m waiting for Desmier to pick me up, and she’s waiting for Dmitri. This is the first of many dates her father has arranged with him, and I know she’s not happy about it.
Although she’s smiling, I also know she’s still putting on a brave face because of Zakh. By now, everyone knows what he did and that he’s basically being hunted.