Punished (Calavera Hotels #1)

Epilogue One Adrian

6 months later

Patricio helps me to unload the last box from the penthouse. After considering our future, I decided the safest place for my family was here, on Patricio’s estate, with him, my mom, my grandfather, and his security team. There would be nights when I didn’t come home, and Mireya knew that. It was a part of the life I chose, and this was how I would secure her safety.

The house Patricio had been building for me was similar to his hacienda-designed mansion. Three levels and five large bedrooms, with plenty of living and dining space. When I brought Mireya here, she instantly fell in love with it. She has spent every night since looking up dé cor and asking for my input.

Thalia is helping me to invest the money I’ve made, and my inheritance, into other streams of income and stocks. Mireya almost passed out when I gave her her very own AmEx Black card. We both are adjusting to this lifestyle. We had spent our whole lives trying not to overspend the little we had, to being able to afford indulgences and trying not to feel guilty for it. I walk through the back room of the house to the master bedroom and see a crib already set up.

“I hope it’s okay,” Patricio says from behind me. “I wanted to get it for the baby, but you can move it or I can take it back.”

“No. It’s perfect.” A tightness pulls in my chest. I’m still not sure how I fit into this family, but I know my child will be surrounded by love. My mother has been clean for nine months and is thriving in her sobriety. She spends most of her time helping Don Vicente in his garden, and has made it her personal mission to make sure Mireya is cared for. She wasn’t the mother I needed her to be when I was younger, but I am happy to give her the opportunity to be a loving grandmother to my child.

Patricio starts to walk back to the moving truck.

“Thank you,” I say, and he turns to look at me.

“Not just for the crib… for everything.” He smiles for a moment, then nods and turns away again. I have to pick up Mireya from the hospital, so I walk to my grandfather’s house to pick up the engagement gift he had given me a few days ago. I want to surprise her with it.

When I get to the front of the hospital, I see Mireya walking out. She has been coming here for her practicum with Dr. Aguilar. She doesn’t see me at first, but I knew she wouldn’t recognize me in my grandfather’s Impala. He had it painted green for me, and I requested he put on gold rims.

I whistle, and Mireya turns to give me a dirty look. Good girl. That’s exactly what she should do if a man whistles at her. Her skin is glowing, and I smile at the small bump that hides behind her scrubs. When she notices it’s me, her eyes soften, and she walks towards me. “Adrian. How did you convince Don Vicente to let you drive Lola?”

“Lola is ours now.” Her eyes light up as she slides in, and I pull her in for a kiss.

“Thanks to you, diosa.” I reach to touch her belly where my son is growing. “You are carrying his very first great-grandson, so I guess you’re kind of special.”

“Ugh, more like bloated, with Godzilla ankles, but special sounds better.”

I laugh and take the long way home, so we can cruise for a bit. She moves her hand out the window, smiling as the wind beats against her open palm.

“I think I want to be a midwife.” She can read the confusion on my face. I have no fucking idea what a midwife is.

“It’s like a gynecologist. I would help other women through pregnancy and giving birth.”

“You want to stare at vaginas for a living?” I would one-hundred percent support that. I wouldn’t have to worry about some guy hitting on her if she was staring at vaginas all day. She hits me on the shoulder.

“No, I want to help women have a more comfortable experience giving birth in the comfort of their home.”

“I would much rather you be a gina-cologist than touch any other man again.”

“It’s gynecologist.” She laughs, and I still don’t hear the difference.

“Whatever makes you happy, diosa.”

And I mean that. A younger version of myself would sacrifice for her just so she could follow her dreams. Now, I will just work harder to make sure nothing is out of her reach. She belongs to me, and I belong to her. We would build a home out of the house Patricio had built for us. We would fill it with children and give them the love we never received as children.

The life I live doesn’t always guarantee a tomorrow, but I’ll take every opportunity to celebrate her and her dreams. She is my whole world.