Page 32 of A Cursed Heart

Ryan

Three months later

A lot changed in the space of a few months.

The entire landscape of the city, for one.

With no one running the underside of the city, it collapsed.

The police and other agencies rounded drug pushers up in a series of raids.

The FBI finished its investigation, but with Salvatore dead, there were only a few people left to prosecute.

They got them off the streets, though. The city felt safer for it.

I found out after that Anders was a mole.

The DEA placed him deep undercover. His goal was to get a lead on Salvatore’s supply chain, then to take it all the way to the top.

When I was brought in, he was advised to take a step back, to let me uncover it all.

They’d go after who they needed once I shared the files.

He was grateful to me for getting him out of there sooner.

It was getting dicey for him because of all the magical shit Sloane was into.

I got to have coffee with Anders a couple of weeks after we got back to the city, where he apologized for not doing more to protect us.

Since he knew about Mal, he thought it would be enough.

He’d underestimated the magic Sloane had gotten his hands on.

While Anders knew what I’d done to Jasmine and her boyfriend, there was no proof, and like my sister, he didn’t blame me for what had happened. All Anders asked was that I let the law deal with things in future and for me to keep my head down.

I hadn’t realized it, but Sloane was stealing Mal’s magic. It was partly why he couldn’t get us out of there, though the trap he’d set hadn’t helped. Mal was unable to heal himself because of the magical drain. I was so glad I’d shot Sloane.

Meeting Anders was eye-opening for more than his big reveal.

Anders had a gift for us. Before the search of Salvatore Holdings, Anders snuck out all the magical paraphernalia he could that Sloane hadn’t dismissed as powerless.

He worried that in other hands, it could be misused.

Mal was grateful for the power boosts and spell books now that he was a human witch.

He was still finding his community, but there were other witches willing to speak to him.

The biggest change was my mom’s return. I worried about her fitting into the new family dynamic we had going with the three of us.

When she had left for her cruise, I had been a straight single guy helping his daughter through the loss of her mother.

That wasn’t who she found when she returned.

Instead, I was openly bisexual, in a loving relationship with a guy who lived with me and my daughter.

Not only that, my kid adored my partner, often wanting him over me.

Mom just ran with it. Like Lydia had said when she first met Mal, all my family wanted was for me to be loved. It didn’t matter who that person was as long as they treated me right. And Mal did, which was why I was locking him down.

“Freya? Are you ready?”

“Daddy, you need to tie my dress!”

“Here, sweetheart, let Nana do it for you. Purple looks lovely on you!” Mom made quick work of the zipper of Freya’s very flouncy purple tulle dress. She had picked it out herself. The violet fabric had a subtle rainbow sheen to it.

“Alright, Freya is good to go. Mal did such a wonderful job with her hair. No surprise with his hair as long as it is.” Mom was obsessed with Mal’s scarlet hair.

Now that she had more gray than brown hair herself, he was good at convincing her to try other colors.

It was currently lilac to fit in with our purple and blue themed wedding.

She wanted to represent us both, so wore a royal blue shift dress with her purple hair.

I had a blue suit with a matching waistcoat and purple tie.

Mal was in the same purple that Freya was in, with a blue tie.

Our daughter had a blue bow in her hair and would carry blue flowers.

Lydia had made a blue and purple dress because, as she said, she “loved both of her brothers.” I loved that my family had accepted Mal as a part of us.

“Mal? Are you ready?”

“Be right there,” he called from the other end of the house.

Yeah, we’d done it. We’d bought a house thanks to a little side project at Salvatore Holdings.

Okay, it was very illegal, but I felt like I deserved to be compensated for the mental anguish Sloane caused me by blackmailing me.

I’d earned the house for the beating alone, though I’d already taken the money by then.

Nearly losing Mal had readjusted my priorities.

Once the dust settled some, I paid for the house for us to have more space for Mal’s art projects.

“Lydia said she’s waiting with Mrs. Roberts at the courthouse,” Mal said while fastening his suit jacket. My man, my soon to be husband, looked dapper in his tailored lilac suit. His hair looked even more vibrant against the fabric. It was mainly loose with a few braids keeping it out of his face.

My sister was living in my old place since she didn’t have the same memories attached to it, which was handy for both of us.

I didn’t have to feel guilty about leaving my kind neighbor behind and got to provide somewhere for my sister to live now that she was done with her degree.

The situation worked for all of us. Mrs. Roberts still had someone to look out for her.

We visited often, so she didn’t miss out on time with Freya.

“Okay, are we all ready? Let’s go get married.”

Mal took my hand. “I’m ready.”

Malcolm

Two Months Later

The heat was almost oppressive in my little studio. Gangster, our Maltese puppy, lay on the hardwood floor panting. “Hold on, I’ll get the portable air-con.”

It was just the two of us since Ryan was grocery shopping and Freya was having a sleepover with Auntie Lydia.

Spending the night away was easier for her now that she was sleeping in her old bedroom.

The familiarity of it was soothing to her.

Our little girl was thriving! There were times she still missed her mom, but they were interspersed with times when she remembered the loving things her mom did for her.

We tried to encourage those. Jasmine hadn’t been a bad mom, just one with an addiction that had gotten the best of her.

I hoped that wherever she was, she was happy.

I set my paintbrush down and wiped off my hands. My nails were caked with paint. I took a moment to appreciate all that I’d created.

While I enjoyed the peace and quiet to paint, I got lonely after a while. Gangster, named by Freya, was hardly the best company. I was working on Ryan about getting a cat, or likely two. Freya would lose her mind! I wanted the noise and the chaos sometimes.

The spare unit was in Ryan’s office. Finally, a space of his own.

When we moved, I’d decided that he needed a decent space to work, one where he wasn’t being distracted all the time.

Since then, he’d been far more productive, earning himself a promotion.

I walked by framed photos of our wedding day, one of the happiest in my short human life, to his office, loving all the touches of color he’d asked me to add.

I’d painted one of the courthouse photos of us hand in hand, gold bands on our fingers with Freya in the front, directly onto the wall for him.

He said it made him smile every time he looked at it.

Once the unit was in place, blowing cold air over Gangster, much to his relief, I returned to the painting.

It was a commission from one of Mrs. Roberts’ book club friends.

They loved to get me to create works based on their favorite books.

Ryan thought I had a career as an illustrator if it was something I wanted to get into.

I wasn’t sure. It wasn’t as if we needed the money.

I did okay with my painting gigs, and Ryan earned a lot.

We didn’t have any bills, thanks to the money he’d taken. We were set for life.

No, I wanted to focus on our family. I wanted to extend it if we could.

“Mal?”

“In here.”

Ryan wandered into my studio, the mail in his hands. “There’s something addressed to you.”

I took the envelope and opened it. “It’s my GED.”

“Congrats! You barely had to study. Not gonna lie, I’m jealous you passed with such a high score!” He kissed my cheek. “I’m proud of you.” He wrapped his arms around me. “I’ve got another surprise here for you.”

He waved a letter in front of my face. The words were too blurred to read. “What is it?”

“It’s official. Me and Freya have changed our last names. We are officially the Cross family!”

I scooped Mal up to kiss him properly.

“Mal! You’re getting paint all over me.” He tried to wriggle out of my hold.

“Then how about a shower to wash it off?”

“You have the best ideas.” Ryan dashed ahead of me, stripping as he went. I followed, leaving my clothes with his.

Deciding to choose Ryan all those months ago was a risky move, one that had more than paid off.

I had a new life, one where I was human, a painter, a father, and a beloved husband.

Ryan gave me more love than I could have ever thought to wish for, and it was my life’s work to return it.

He was my heart, my soul, and, most importantly, the man who had freed me so I could love him with all of my once cursed heart.

The End.