Sacrifice

Epilogue One

S ix months later

" Mi reina , are you straining yourself?" Vincent comes up behind me and holds my bulging stomach. Our baby grows inside me and I couldn't be happier.

Through hard work and a lot of therapy, I am finally able to sleep through an entire night without waking up in fear. Vincent has been here for me the entire time, even if I have tried to push him away. He doesn't let me go far and if I'm being honest with myself; I don't want him to go far from me either.

It's taken some time, but I'm now able to be in the same area as Diego without worrying he is going to hurt me. He's been so kind and patient with me as I work through everything. Then again, he's not around a lot. Something about a war between him and someone called Bianchi. I don't ask questions anymore. Instead, I focus on the baby I'm going to be meeting soon.

" Mi reina ?" Vincent asks me, and I shake my head, clearing myself from my thoughts.

"Sorry, mi rey bestial . I got lost in thought," I chuckle and blush. He kisses my cheek and licks my ear.

"Are you worried about today?" His hands keep my belly up and the relief on my back is instant.

"Thank you for holding me, Vincent." I kiss his jaw and he chuckles. "I'm not worried. I know Diego is safe, and I won't have to be fearful of anyone today."

"That's right, my love. You are safe with us."

Mossimo comes in and Espresso is, as usual, in his arms. They are inseparable and I'm kind of jealous that he took over my cat, but I can't blame Espresso. The cat is wearing a little crown and a suit. I laugh and Mossimo beams at me.

"We couldn't let Espresso go out without some clothing, now could we?" He has that baby talk voice going on and Vincent busts out laughing.

"Mossimo, it's a cat," he says and I gasp.

"That is Mossimo's baby and my little boy. He has the right to be spoiled." I look at Vincent, outraged that he would call Espresso just a cat.

"Oh, mi reina , you are precious." He kisses my forehead and massages my stomach.

Miguel walks in with his wife, Liliana, and she makes a beeline for me. "How's the baby doing?" She can't have children and has become my mother hen. I adore her and wouldn't have it any other way.

"Kicking me every few seconds, but I'm sure it's because she is hungry." A soft smile lifts my lips as she rubs my belly along with Vincent.

"You know it's a girl?" She pops her head up and I shrug.

"Educated guess. It doesn't feel like a boy."

Vincent growls. "It's not going to be a girl. I don't need another girl in this house."

Diego chooses that moment to walk in, laughing. "You don't get to choose what you are having, Vincent. If it's a boy or girl, you'll love it all the same."

Miguel comes over and gives me a hug as Diego makes his way into the room. I hug Miguel back and smile as he takes Liliana into his arms.

"Diego, I thought you were bringing a date." I look at him and he winks at me.

"She kind of got busy and tied up with work." That's all he says as he makes his way over to the open bar.

Vincent's body tightens, and I look up at him. "You alright?"

He bends down and nuzzles into my throat. "Yes, mi reina . Just worried that Diego may have made up a girlfriend." His words make me chuckle and he bites my shoulder. Whimpering, I step out of his arms because if I let him continue, I will get horny, well alright, hornier than I already am .

"Why don't we go outside to the gazebo?" I offer to everyone and they make their way outside.

Janice comes in from the kitchen with Charlotte and they look guilty. Walking over to them, I narrow my eyes. "What did you two do?"

"Well, um... as you know, we never got to have our girls’ day out, but if all goes to plan, the men should be preoccupied in about five minutes." Janice says and Charlotte has a shit-eating grin on her face.

"Girls, we just got them all to agree to be here together," I whine, and they chuckle as Liliana comes over.

"Should we tell her?" She hands them bags and I look at them.

"Oh my God, seriously, what did y'all do?" My anxiety is spiking and they are giggling like nothing's wrong.

"You'll see." Charlotte says.

All three crowd me and turn me toward the window facing the garden with the gazebo. An explosion of blue goes everywhere, and they drag me to the sliding door as the guys scramble around.

"What's going on?" I ask as I see the men all shouting.

"Your gender reveal party." Janice says as they walk me outside.

Before we can say anything, Kronos is there, staring at us with hard eyes. "Little rabbit, you get your cute ass out over here now."

Vincent comes to my side, and he has blue powder all over him. " Mi reina , if you don't come here right now, you are in so much trouble."

"Lilliana," Miguel yells from the other side, rubbing his eyes, and I turn to see him with blue hair and I can't help but laugh.

"Girls, I think... I think we better get out of here," I stutter as Ayres, Kronos, and Diego come around us.. Shit, they all look pissed.

Charlotte bends over with laughter. "You promised you wanted a surprise and, well, you got one now!"

"Little kitten, today is not the day. Who the fuck put that blue shit in that damn balloon?" Ayres bellows as he shakes his head.

" Mi reina ," Vincent warns again and I sigh.

"I think we are caught y'all. Time to face the music."

Janice laughs and smirks. "I'm not the one in trouble." She winks at us, and walks over to the table where the cake is. Mm, cake does sound good.

"It doesn't fucking matter what or who did it. Get your ass over here," Vincent says as Miguel takes Lilliana in his arms and rubs all over her, getting the blue powder all over her.

Charlotte is between all three guys as Vincent stalks toward me. "I really didn't know what they were doing," I whisper, and his eyes narrow, but there's a smile on his face.

"Looks like you are going to have a spanking anyway, just for being a part of this."

My lower lip trembles and I turn my puppy dog eyes on. "Oh, Vincent, let's just enjoy the fun." I try, and he growls, grabbing me.

"We are having a little boy!" he says triumphantly. I laugh and shake my head.

"You got your wish." I kiss his lips, and he pushes his tongue into my mouth. I taste the blue powder on him, but I don't pull back. One of my favorite things to do is kiss him.

"Not quite." He winks at me, turns us toward the group, and walks us over to them.

"Everyone, thank you for coming over to celebrate our gender reveal. Although it was supposed to be in the cake." He looks at the girls and they chuckle, trying to look innocent.

"Aribella, you are the most stunning woman I've ever met." He gets down on one knee and my heart goes wild. Vincent pulls out an older tattered looking book, and I gasp. “It started the night you lost your copy of Beauty and the Beast. I’m hoping you’ll read it to our children.”

Nodding, I take the book and hug him. He kisses me softly and pulls back.

"It would be an honor if you were to marry me." Vincent pulls a little box out of his pants pocket and opens it. The ring is beautiful. The band is rose gold with an emerald cut center stone. There's two smaller stones next to it with princess cut stones.

"Yes." I whisper and Vincent gets up.

"Louder, mi reina," he demands as he slips the ring onto my finger.

"Yes, Vincent. Yes!"

Everyone is clapping, and one of the guys starts cutting the cake. I look at my new family, and I can't believe how lucky I am. Turning back to Vincent, I kiss him and know that everything is going to be just fine.