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KLAUS

” B reakfast in bed?” James exclaims. “We never have breakfast in bed.”

“Don’t touch it,” Rosalie instructs, glaring at the food suspiciously. “Why do we have a special breakfast today? What’s wrong?”

Emma and I look at each other. I don’t know how to explain to the kids that their mother is back. It’s happy news, of course, but I can’t find the words to tell them.

Thankfully, Emma takes over.

“Nothing’s wrong, sweetie,” she says.

James reaches for the blueberry cottage cheese muffin. Rosalie swats his hand away.

“Don’t touch the food,” she tells her brother. “They’re being nice to us for no reason. It’s very suspicious.”

I sigh out loud.Emma widens her eyes at me, quietly telling me to pull myself together.

“Today is actually a very happy day,” she says, reaching for their hands.

“I want tostart by saying that I loved getting to know the two of you. I loved every minute we spent together, from putting up Halloween decorations together to ice-skating in Chicago. The two of you will always have a special place in my heart, and nothing will change that.”

James sneakily reaches for the muffin again.

“Are you leaving us, Miss Turner?” Rosalie asks quietly.

Hearing that, James loses interest in the muffin. He looks at Emma with big eyes.

“Not ever,” Emma says, glancing down at her hand. The diamond ring catches the morning light. “We’re family now.”

She blinks away tears. I know that it’smy turn to take over. I pray I don’t mess this up.

“Wereceived avisitor late last night,” I say. The kids turn their attention to me. “It’s someone who loves you with all their heart. They had to be away from you for a long time because they weren’t well, but they’re back now.”

“Who is it?” James asks.

I glance over at the door, where my sister has been standing this whole time, hidden from the children’s view. Her eyes are red from crying, and I can tell she’s nervous about reuniting with the kids. Instead of moving forward, she remains frozen in place.

“Mommy used to make these muffins,” James says, looking at the muffins.

Rosalie’s eyes widen. Her breath catches in her throat.

“Mom?” Rosalie calls out.

Sera slaps her hand over her mouth but finally walks into the room. She stops at the foot of the bed. The kids’ eyes widen before they leap into their mother’s arms. My throat is thick with emotion as I watch the three of them reunite.

“Is this a dream?” Rosalie asks.

“No, baby,” Sera says. “I’m so sorry I was gone for so long. I’m back now, and I’m never leaving you again.”

“We thought you turned into an angel,” James says, sobbing against his mother’s neck. “We thought we would have to wait a really long time to see you again.”

“I was...sick,” Sera says. “So sick, but I’m all better now. Nothing’s going to separate us ever again.”

Emma walks over to me and wraps her arms around my middle. I cup the back of her head and hold her close, needing my woman’s soft strength.

“We missed you,” James says, sniffling.

“Every single day,” Rosalie says.

“Were you good to Uncle Klaus?” Sera asks them.

“They were the best,” I say, smiling at the kids. “They’ve been so good that I think weshould all go to Disney World this weekend.”

The kids have been wanting to go there for months now.

I didn’t give in to their request because of security reasons, but there’s no reason not to take the trip anymore.

The kids are overjoyed, but it’s not because of anything I said.

They’re happy just to have their mother back in their lives. Everything else is secondary.

For the first time in a long time, I get the feeling that everything’s back to how it was supposed to be.

Emma and I step outside so the kids can have a moment alone with their mother.

“That was a lot,” Emma says, wiping her bottom lashes with the back of her hand. “You did so well, Klaus.”

“How did it go?” Alaric asks. He’s been pacing the corridor outside this whole time.

“As well as it could have gone,” I say. “They recognized the blueberry muffins before they saw their mother.”

Alaric nods, not surprised by this news.

Emma keeps her arms wrapped around me. It’s like she knows that I need her love and warmth in this moment. And she’s not wrong. I’m filled to the brim with emotions, and for once, I’m letting myself feel it all.

“I told the kids I’d take them to Disney World this weekend,” I tell Alaric. “They deserve to get away from Ravenwood for a little while.”

“Oh my God. I can’t wait,” Alaric says. “When are we leaving?”

“I love how you invite yourself to all of our family excursions,” I say.

“Please. I’m basically like their backup godfather,” Alaric says.

“Did you contact the Resistance yet?” I ask him.

Alaric’s eyes flicker to Emma for a moment.

“I did,” he says. “There was a pen drive in Adam’s wallet. It was password protected, but our team worked on it all night, and we finally have a lead on the crime network.”

“What’s the lead?” I ask.

Alaric glances at Emma again, hesitant to share sensitive information in front of her.

“She knows about the brotherhood,” I say.

“Klaus told me you were a part of a cult,” she says.

Alaric recoils and turns to me. “You called it a cult ?”

“I was joking,” I say. “Kind of. Anyway, what did they find?”

“We have some people under our watch,” he says, carefully phrasing his every word. “We can speak with them at our leisure.”

He means to say that we captured some criminals for interrogation.

“And our IT team traced the servers, so we have a couple of IP addresses as well,” he says. “It’s only a matter of time before they dismantle the whole operation.”

“That’s amazing news,” I say.

“I know,” he says, smiling at me. And then he turns to Emma. “I can’t thank you enough. We cracked down on a really important case, and we couldn’t have done it without you. If it weren’t for your quick thinking, Adam’s phone and wallet could have been destroyed in the fire.”

She nods. “I’m glad I was able to help in some way.”

I haven’t shared the details of the case with her.

Emma is a strong woman, but I don’t want her to know about the evils of the world. I don’t want her worried about things that are mostly out of her control.

“I’m making waffles for everyone,” Alaric announces, heading toward the stairs. “I don’t know about you, but I’m starving.”

All of us stayed up talking the whole night. There was a lot to catch up on, and sleep didn’t feel so important.

“We’ll join you in a bit,” I tell him.

It’s just Emma and me standing in the corridor now. I pull my woman toward me and hold her close.

“How are you holding up?” she asks me.

“I’m happy,” I say. “That things are back to normal again.”

She rubs my back. “It must have been so stressful for you, knowing that your sister was out there but not knowing where she was.”

After the car accident, I went through Richard’s books and learned that he was in a lot of debt. He owed money to some dangerous people, so I imagined the worst. I assumed that one of his enemies decided to get revenge. But so much of it didn’t add up.

The hopelessness never faded.

And when things were at an all-time low, Emma walked into my life.

Nothing had changed, but everything was different. She was a ray of sunshine that lit up my whole world, making everything beautiful again.

“It’s all over now,” Emma says, looking up at me. “Now what?”

“Now, I get to spend the rest of my life loving you,” I say, kissing the top of her head. “Now, we go to Disney World and Spain.”

“Spain?” she asks.

“Alaric took me there the summer after college,” I say. “It’s the place I love most in the world. I want to show it to you.”

She burrows her face against my chest.

“I would love that, Klaus,” she says.

“I can’t wait to make you my wife,” I say. “If you let me, I would marry you in a courthouse.”

“I’m not opposed to that idea.” She looks up at me.

As our eyes lock, something passes between the two of us. It’s an understanding of the souls.

“Sera will be heartbroken, though,” Emma says, discarding the idea.

“About what?” Sera asks, stepping out of the bedroom. The kids are in tow behind her.

Emma turns to look at my sister. “We don’t know if we’regoing to actually do it, but we were considering tying the knot today.”

Sera’s eyebrows jump up. “Today?”

“The timing isn’t right, though,” Emma says quickly. “With everything going on, it’s probably best to take a few days to just breathe.”

Sera is grinning now. Her cheeks are red from crying, but there’s so much love in her eyes.

“If you want to do it, you should do it,” Sera says. “I was just teasing my brother with the big wedding idea.”

“No, you weren’t,” I say.

“No, I wasn’t,” she agrees. “But it’s your wedding. You should do it how you want to do it.”

“Everyone we love is here,” Emma whispers. “Maybe we should just go for it. I can invite my friends over as well.”

“I’m so excited for you guys,” Sera says, running over to us and hugging both Emma and me. The kids join in on the group hug. “They’re getting married today, kids.”

I look at Emma.

She gives me a soft smile.

Today will mark the beginning of our forever.