Against the Odds | DAERIN

Epilogue

h a e r i n

I picked up the box out of my car and walked into the building. This was finally the last box. I went up the lift and pushed open the door to apartment number 27. I sighed and placed the box down on the floor, looking up to see Danielle shelving some pictures.

"Who's the hottie in this picture?" I asked, my hands finding her waist.

"Just some girl really," she replied. "She's not that hot."

I scoffed and kissed her on the cheek before sitting down on the couch in the middle of the room. "You must be kinda crazy to buy an apartment with 'just some girl.'"

She put the last framed picture up, and I smiled. It was a picture that my mom took of us when we weren't looking, where we're kissing in the snow. She came and lay on the couch, her head resting on my lap.

"Moving in is tiring."

"Babe, you carried a grand total of two boxes. I don't think you exactly exerted yourself."

She laughed, and her eyes fluttered closed as my hand played with her hair. "True."

We stayed like that for a while, and I took a look around my new home. Our new home. It's pretty big, with a decent-sized kitchen and bedroom. The bedroom has a whole wall that's a window, looking out over the city, and as we're high up, the view's really cool.

"Baby..." Danielle said as she opened her eyes and looked up at me.

"Yeah?"

"I'm happy that you're the person I get to do this with. I can't imagine being with anyone else."

"Me too, Dani."

She got up suddenly, pulling me with her and telling Alexa to play slow dance music.

"Dance with me," she said, wrapping her arms around my shoulders.

"What? Why?" I asked, laughing but still holding her waist and doing what she said.

"I just feel like we should dance in our new home." She rested her head on my chest as we moved to the music, and I smiled and shook my head.

"I love you," I mumbled into her hair before kissing it and resting my own head on top of hers. We stayed, dancing like that for a while, in the middle of our not yet decorated living room.

Later that night, I walked into our bedroom to see Danielle already sleeping in the double bed. She looked so peaceful, and I felt content knowing that from now on I'd be waking up next to her every morning. I opened the top drawer of my bedside table and took out the little black box that I had put in there earlier. I opened it, checking that the ring was still inside. I took a look at Danielle and smiled, then looked back at the ring box in my hand. It was a beautiful ring with a small diamond, fitted to her size. She didn't know I had bought it, but I managed to get her ring size while talking about our future together, without her knowing. I took one last look at the ring before quietly closing the box and putting it back in the drawer, and closing it. Then I got into bed, giving Danielle a soft kiss on the head, causing her eyes to slightly open.

"Goodnight, baby," I whispered as I lay down next to her, and she shuffled closer, murmuring goodnight and draping an arm over my stomach. I fell asleep pretty soon after that, thinking of the ring in my drawer and when I'm going to use it.

—

After Darcy passed away, I took full ownership of the bookshop, which she had left for me in her will if I wanted it. I gladly took it, as I love the shop. I rearranged it slightly and even added an extension so I could put a café in it. It gets me quite a bit of money, but I didn't change it too much, wanting to keep it similar to how Darcy left it.