Page 222 of Creep

“I love you,” I whispered the words onto the skin of her temple. I turned to my son, leaning down and kissing his little forehead. “And I love you.”

And that was all there was to it.

Lia

Five Years Later

I smiledwhen I heard my children playing in the yard.

Things were good.

No, they were more than good. They were… peaceful.

That was the only way I could describe our life.

Everything was peaceful and happy, and I thanked my lucky stars that we got to wake up to this normal every day of our lives.

I knew Mael didn’t think he deserved it, that he was far out of reach of redemption, but I didn’t agree with him.

He was right when he said having kids could be his chance at redemption.

And I loved the man he had become with our children in the picture. I loved that everything that made himhimstill remained. That the core of the man I had fallen in love with was still very much present, but he had become more refined with age.

And I had only loved him more and more with each year that passed.

My smile widened when my children came into view, and then my husband, who was chasing them around in the backyard, playing their favorite game of the tickle monster.

That was the only monster in their life—a mythical creature that Daddy sometimes pretended to be to bring them joy.

My eyes turned blurry at the thought.

My family was here and safe and happy. I looked out to the huge yard. We bought this house when our son, Caden, was three, and our daughter, Isabella, was one. As much as I loved living in the apartment, Caden and Isabella needed a yard to grow up in. And we had kept the apartment.

Caden saw me first, and he let out a happy squeal, running over to me. Isabella noticed her brother veering off course right away. She let out an even louder scream when she saw me, following behind Caden, but at a much slower pace.

Mael stood there and watched our children with a smile on his face that just about turned me to goo and made me want to have another baby with him.

My boy was five now, and he looked more and more like his father every single day that passed. I knew Mael wanted our children to look like me, but I was secretly happy that wasn’t the case.

I loved looking into my children’s blue eyes, knowing this was how Theo and Mael must have looked before they had their childhood stolen from them.

It made me feel resentful that my father even had a hand in that to begin with.

My father was still serving out his sentence.

He would be in there for the rest of his life. When I imagined my future as a little girl, I always thought I would marry my Prince Charming, have my babies, and have both my parents and my brother with me.

Now, I didn’t have my mom, my dad, or my brother, and I certainly didn’t marry Prince Charming but the villain.

And that was okay.

More than okay.

“Mommy!” Caden cried out happily, wrapping his arms around my waist and burying his face in my stomach.

I bent down and put my arms around him, and like every time I held my children in my arms, I could feel my heart expanding, as if this little organ inside me was suddenly too big for my body.

I looked up to see Mael had lifted our daughter up in his arms and was bringing her over to me. She made a grabbing motion with her hands when I was within reach, patting Mael on his chest to signal what she wanted. He grinned and winked at me before handing her over to me. I took turns kissing my children all over their faces, eliciting sweet little giggles out of them.

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