Page 64

Years Later

From the moment our paths crossed, my world changed.

The man who refused to see shades of gray fell for the girl who loved every color.

The cold-hearted doctor fell to his knees for the woman who, even though terrified, only wanted to be loved.

The bastard without a heart cared for hers—restored its steady rhythm—even though mine always skips out of control whenever Alexis is near.

Once, she was a memory. A loss.

Today, she’s the air I breathe.

Our story is no fairy tale. There was pain. Hurt. Resentment. Fear. We fought enemies—some real, some hidden. There was pride, lies, and silence.

But love tipped the scale in our favor. It unbalanced everything—in the best way possible. Because we won.

We didn’t get everything we once planned. But we got more than we ever dreamed.

We couldn’t have more biological children after our second boy, Baron. Even though Alexis fully recovered, her pregnancy left her drained, and I lost nine months of sleep worrying myself gray.

So we made a decision—one that turned out to be perfect.

We adopted two girls, Tatum and Riley, and they brought even more joy into our lives. And as a bonus, they managed to put some order into the chaos ruled by our two little tyrants, Sedric and Baron.

"Sometimes I think back, and our separation feels like it happened in another life," my wife says, settling into my lap in the garden of our home while our four children laugh in the pool with their grandmother.

"I know what you mean. But everything we went through only made our love stronger."

She cups my face and kisses my lips. "For a man who’s never liked talking about feelings, you sure use the word ‘love’ a lot, God in White."

"I’ve never found a better one, wife. There’s no word that fully sums up what you are to me, so I borrowed love as a placeholder."

"Come on now . . . You’re a world-renowned doctor—the best heart surgeon alive—and you still don’t know how to woo your wife? What am I to you, LJ?"

"My world."

"Nice and all, but kind of generic," she teases.

"True. And a little dramatic."

"Flattering. And slightly pretentious," Alexis fires back, amused.

"Arrogant—but hopelessly in love. Just like the man who made you his. I could stay here all day and still not manage to explain what I feel for you, Alexis. It’s undefinable. Made of opposites. Storm and calm. Laughter and tears. But above all—it’s forever."

THE END!