[|]

The next day, we were back to the hotel we had been in before Maddy captured me. When I woke up, I felt odd a feeling at the thought of Maddy being dead. Even though she ended up betraying me, she had been part of my life and it made me a little sad that she had to end the way she did.

I pushed away the feeling and sat up on the bed. I looked at the other side of the bed and smiled at a sleeping Lucas. He was facing the other way, bare-chested. I leaned forward and ran my hand over his smooth chest. He moved his body a little but didn't wake up. I rested my chin on my palm and stared at him.

His jawline was covered with very light beards and I pictured him with a full beard. He would look handsome with it and more mature as I imagined him with a trimmed beard. It made me smile begin I focused on his hair which was a bit longer.

I began to imagine our life together with a child running around the house. I smiled wider at the imagination.

"All I want is happiness from here on out," I said and kissed his shoulder before getting out of the bed.

I slipped my feet into my flip-flops and walked straight to the window. I parted the curtains and sighed, taking in the dewy street. I could see some rays of the rising sun hitting some parts of the buildings downstairs.

I placed my hands on the cold window and smiled. My smile dropped when I felt Lucas' warm arms around my waist and his chin on my shoulder. I giggled when he kissed my neck and squeezed my hips.

"Good morning, baby," he whispered and I returned his greeting. "What are you doing awake so early?"

"I was done with sleeping anyway. Remember, I slept early last night?" I asked and he nodded his head. "Plus, I came to think which I didn't get to do now you're awake with me."

Lucas tickled me and I laughed in his arms before he stopped and held me a bit tighter.

"What were you about to think?"

I shrugged. "My life, the future, and how it's weird knowing Maddy's dead. The impact of it came to me as soon as I woke up. It's just a strange feeling. I was attached to her and kind of affected by her death with just 0.5% feelings."

Lucas chuckled. "We shouldn't let her rule our thoughts. She suffered us enough and letting her come into our minds is not good right now. Let's think of ourselves only."

I turned around and he shifted back a bit. I wrapped my arms around his shoulders and stood on the tip of my toes then kissed his nose and cheek before standing on my feet fully.

"I want to start a new life with you, Lucas," I said. "I don't want any more heartbreaks, lies, or hidden secrets that may affect our future. I love you too much to keep on having to fight people who want to separate us."

"Me too, love," Lucas said and cupped my cheeks. "I want to build my life with you because you are my whole world. We don't know what is coming for us in the future but I want to say that our love will be stronger than whatever comes between us. You are my best friend and the love of my life. You are my soulmate and I won't be complete without you. I promise to cherish you for the rest of my life."

Tears brimmed my eyes at his emotional words and I smiled through the tears. He wiped them before they fell and kissed my forehead.

"I love you, Jackie. So fucking much," he said and my heart skipped a beat and I felt butterflies in my stomach.

"I love you too, Lucas," I said and he placed his head in the crook of my neck and then nibbled on it, sending warm feelings through my body and core.

"Will you be my girlfriend again?" He whispered against the flesh of my neck.

I bit my lip when his hands shifted to my ass which he cupped before pushing me against his hard-on.

"Lucas," I moaned out his name.

"Will you be mine once again? Completely and forever?" He asked in a softer tone.

I smiled and moved my head back while cupping his face. My gaze flickered from his hooded eyes to his parted lips. I leaned upward and caressed his lips with the pads of my fingers.

"Yes. Yes, I'll be yours again, if you'll promise to be mine," I said and he bit his lip.

"Yes, Ma'am," he said and lifted me into his arms.

I wrapped my legs around his waist and chuckled. He turned around, walking to the bed while nibbling on my cheek.

[|]

After staying a week in Redside and making sure Axel was up on his feet, we started returning home. Axel was still back at Redside with Barry since he needed to recover fully since his surgery and case had been a critical one. He needed to be monitored by the hospital before he left.

I raised my eyes from Lucas' laptop I was using to watch a movie when I noticed something different about the background outside the car. We were in a different place which was an unfamiliar and serene neighborhood. There were a few big houses on each side of the wide tarred road. Some had trees and a large expanse of land.

It looked as if this was the place most rich and influential people lived. I looked away from the windscreen and eyed Lucas who was humming to himself as he drove. I shrugged and sat back then continued the movie I was watching.

Not up to two minutes, the car stopped and I looked up again. On Lucas' side, there was a large house and on my side, another large house was located, with a lady in a bikini, sunbathing on the field beside the house.

"Where are we?" I asked when Lucas turned off the car and unlocked the doors.

"You'll see," he said and left the car. I follow suit and saw him waiting by the hood of the car.

I went over to him and he wrapped his arm around my shoulder and then started walking toward the house that had been on his side. The house was huge with a brown exterior that resembled wood. It was a modern-styled house.

It was a two-story house with an upstairs balcony that extended toward the other side of the building with a large glass window that allowed me to see the ceiling that had a chandelier. The front doors were a double-styled doors and the wide window beside it was similar to the one upstairs but with curtains.

Lucas led me onto the tarred ground leading to the wide parking space underneath the balcony. My mouth was agape as I took in the large expanse of land on each side of the house which formed space between the house and the neighboring houses.

A few feet in front of the house were green plants in a rectangular pot. Lucas stopped walking when we got to the front doors and when I saw him pull out some keys, I raised an eyebrow and then watched him climb the low concrete steps leading to the double doors.

I became horrified when he started fixing a key into the keyhole of the door.

"Are you crazy? Are trying to break into someone's house?" I asked, feeling scared.

Lucas laughed, leaning his head against the wooden panes of the door. He stopped laughing and faced me.

"Why would I be breaking into our house?"

I blinked once, then twice, before blinking three times. I opened my mouth in shock and looked around the large house which was way taller than I had imagined when we were approaching it. I swallowed and looked at him.

"Our house?" I asked.

"Yes, baby. This is our house. I bought it while we were in Redside," he said.

"What happened to our other house? I mean, what was the need to buy this one? This house looks so expensive," I said, panting hard after I finished speaking.

Lucas walked over to me and took my hands. He kissed my knuckles and looked at me.

"Baby, I know. Look, when I said I wanted to start a new life with you, I meant it in every sense. I wanted to open a new chapter of our life with a new home, away from the old one. I want to create fresh memories with you and our children. So, I bought this house. Don't worry, I rented the other one out to Barry and Axel."

I was still in shock at the information. I was used to living in his studio apartment but a house that could pass off as a mansion was so strange to me. It was luxurious, the neighborhood was luxurious and it was hard to take in.

"Are you okay?" He asked.

"I am. I'm just shocked," I said and smiled, taking in the house one more time. "It's beautiful."

"It's more beautiful on the inside and guess what?" He asked and I craned my head. "I made sure to have the decorators design our baby's room."

My smile wider, feeling happy about the news. He was truly excited to be a father.

"Really?" I asked. "Can I see?"

"Sure," he said and rushed to the door then unlocked it.

I scanned the place and noticed the woman from across staring in our direction with her glasses on the tip of her nose. She waved at me and I waved back before facing Lucas.

I climbed the low steps and stood by him. I saw a short hallway with a long line of falling lights from the ceiling, illuminating the walls. I looked up at Lucas with a smile.

"Are you sure you're not the Don of a Mafia?" I asked, teasingly. "Because this house looks so expensive."

Lucas laughed. "Maybe I should start one and you'll be my Donna."

"Nope," I said and he laughed again.

"Come on, let's go check the house out," he said and he rushed in.

I smiled. "This is my happy ending."