Page 68 of Crowning His Innocent Assistant

EPILOGUE

QUEEN LIVIADELA CRUZ had a title and a name now. She had spent so many years of her life without those things. Without a family name. But she had one, and a family to go with it. And now they were completing the Herculean task of taking their brood of children, along with Javier, Violet and their children, to the carnival.

Of course, being royalty, it also required that they have a security team hovering in the background, but Livia had grown used to it. And for the most part, it felt like a regular family outing. Though, none of it was regular for Matteo, Javier or herself. For they had never had family outings, and what a family was had been based on nothing other than their own dreams. Certainly not experiences.

Matteo and Livia had become the parents they wanted to be. Not the ones they’d had.

Therefore children were scrambling about, playing with their two cousins, creating an exceedingly well-dressed kerfuffle wherever they went.

Royalty they might be, but they were children first.

“Camila, Byron, do not scream.”

Her son and daughter looked at her sheepishly. Her two younger boys looked at each other, clearly satisfied that it was not they who were on the receiving end of the scolding.

“Just one moment,” Matteo said. “I’ll only be a moment.” Then he slipped away, and she exchanged a glance with Violet.

“What is he up to?”

“Difficult to say,” Violet said, stopping for a moment and breathing heavily. She was pregnant again, and considering her and Javier’s youngest child was six, she was deeply irritated with the state of things, but Livia also knew she was pleased to be adding to the family. When she wasn’t angry over being pregnant again so unexpectedly.

“It’s the handcuffs,” she said. “I am weak for them, and I don’t think.”

And Livia knew exactly what she meant. loz!

Matteo returned and he had in his hand a large serving of cotton candy.

“Matteo...” He handed it to her, and then he pulled her into an embrace, kissing her firmly on the mouth as she held tightly to the pink sweet treat.

“This is for you,” he said. “Along with my promise. That for ten years I have been your husband. And I will continue to be. Forever. That’s what this means now. Forever.”

Tears filled her eyes, and she felt some of the remaining, lingering bruises of her past fade away.

Matteo had shown her what love was. Just how enduring it could be.

“Forever,” she agreed.

And they held hands and followed their children deeper into the carnival. And Livia had never been happier.

*****