Page 120 of Thorns of Love

Her steps were in sync with Vasili’s until they both reached me. Her big brother gave me a small nod and handed me his sister.

“Take care of her.”

I nodded, my eyes locked on my bride. The way her eyes sparkled. The way she watched me like I was her whole world, just as she was mine. If the whole church erupted into gunfire, I didn’t think I’d be able to peel my eyes away from her.

This time she gave me her words with conviction and with love. This time she looked at me the way I felt about her.

This time, I knew she was in it like I was.

“I love you, Tatiana Konstantin.” Pure devotion shone in her pale blue gaze. There were no words needed to know she loved me. “You are my future. My love. My life.”

“And I love you, Illias Konstantin,” she murmured softly.

Forever.

EPILOGUE - KONSTANTIN

TWELVE MONTHS LATER

Our twins were born on the first day of summer. Healthy and beautiful. Anushka and Astor.

The pregnancy was easy. At least Tatiana kept claiming it was, despite the many nights when our babies kept her awake while kicking in her belly. I’d massage her back, her calves, and talk to our babies. Those nights were long, but we got through them.

Together. Always partners.

Watching my fearless queen, my wife, give birth to our children was the single most beautiful moment of my entire life. It brought me to my knees. When our little bundles of joy entered the world, screaming at the top of their lungs, I knew I’d burn down the world for them. By the expression on my wife’s face, she felt the same.

She looked at them with so much love that it stole my breath away. Emotion wrapped around my throat and lungs and when Tatiana turned her dazed expression to me, the love and devotion in her eyes threatened to bring me to my knees.

Thank you,she mouthed soundlessly, tears shining in her eyes. She was thanking me when she did all the work. When she gave me a gift that I’d never be able to repay.

To everyone’s shock, Anushka had my coloring and her mother’s eyes. Astor had his mother’s coloring and my eyes.

I watched my babies and my wife. They were perfection. They held the power to disarm me with just a simple look or a simple smile. The moment my wife and I held our children, the world around us ceased to exist. It was just the four of us, lost in each other.

I had stopped breathing. And when my wife’s eyes found mine, I knew she felt exactly the same.

“We did good,” Tatiana beamed, smiling down at our babies.

“We did good, moya luna,” I agreed, watching my little family.

My endgame.

As the weeks and months went by, I realized how wrong I was about everything. My parents’ life story taught me love stuck you with thorns. That love made you weak.

They were wrong. I was wrong.

My family had taught me that. My wife. My children. My sister. Love was strength.

Marriage with Tatiana was full of laughter and love. Full of love. It all bound us together. It took a lot of sacrifices and pain, but we got here. We got our fairy tale. Our own happily-ever-after. Anything for my wife.

After much debate, we settled our life in New Orleans with a lot of traveling to California and Russia. The truth was, there wasn’t much I could deny my wife and her family was important to her.

Since the twins’ birth, we fell into a routine. We’d wake up in the morning, each handling one twin. We always had breakfast together. Then Mama took it from there. She’d work some or meet her sisters-in-law while the twins were napping. Dinners, bath, and bedtime we tag teamed.

Currently, my wife was putting Astor to bed, while I held Anushka. They shared a room, although I wondered whether it was wise. If one woke up, the other did too.

But Tatiana claimed it would let the twins connect. All the books she’d read said it was important as if they hadn’t spent nine months on top of each other while in their mother’s belly. Who knew if it was real or not? At times like these, I wished I knew whether Maxim and I shared a room when we were born. Probably not but it’d be nice to know for sure.