One year later
Ding! Ding!
I set my book down and briskly walked to the front door. “Wonder who it could be?” I muttered to myself.
Before I could reach the door, the knob turned by itself and it swung open. Startled, I jumped back and possibly yelped a little.
“What's up, Vey?” Oliver asked as he poked his head around the hallway.
“Door scared me,” I replied.
He chuckled. “Did you bother to see who it is?”
On cue, my visitor took the liberty of strolling in. “Dmitri!” I gasped.
Dmitri smirked. “You are one hard girl to track down. But I'm not the only surprise.” He beckoned outside, and one by one all my friends walked in.
Liesl. Margaret. Matilda. Rosalind. And Aya.
“But how-” I screeched. “How did you find Aya?”
Dmitri’s eternal smirk continued. “Thanks to the little note you passed on to me, I found her just fine. You know, you should really use your brain when trying to figure something out.” I playfully smacked him on the arm.
The reunion was apparently too loud, and I heard deafening cries from the back bedroom. Looking around for Oliver, I realized he hasn't been in the room to meet our visitors at all. He emerged from the bedroom holding the baby. “Who are all these people, Veya?” he asked.
“Oops,” I admitted, and told Oliver everyone's names.
“But who is this guy and who is the baby?” Aya interjected when I was finished.
“Oh, sorry! This is my husband, Oliver Grey, and my son Alain.” I beamed.
Dmitri raised his eyebrows. “So this is the person you turned me down for?” he remarked.
Oliver whirled to face me. “WHAT?”
I busted into a gut-wrenching laugh that was infectious enough to spread throughout the room.
Once we quieted down, I invited the group to the kitchen for refreshments. As we filtered to the table, Aya pulled me aside.
“It really is good to see you, Veya,” she said softly. “Thank you.”
I nodded and smiled, my emotions running high.
•••
After many hours, my friends departed with plans to meet up again. I couldn't stop smiling, and Oliver noticed too.
“You look so happy.”
“I am.”
I leaned over and picked Alain up off the floor, reminiscing. A little while after I'd made it safely back to London a year ago, both of Alain’s parents were killed in Normandy. Word got back to me of a little curly-headed, blue-eyed baby in need of a home. Upon finding out it was Alain, I jumped at the chance without thinking. I told Oliver the very hour I took the baby. He was so thrilled, he dropped onto one knee and proposed that moment.
We were married two weeks later in a small eclectic church on the countryside, where it was best. I wore a simple dress and my hair was down, but Oliver still told me I was perfect.
No, you're perfect. We're perfect. This moment is perfect, I'd countered.
You're right.
Oliver snapped his fingers, pulling me from my daydream. “What are you thinking about?” he asked.
I smiled melancholically. “Us.”
His face brightened, and I ran my fingers through his hair as he pulled me close to his face. We stood eye to eye and he said, “Good. You better always be thinking about us.”
•••
Loose ends? Sorry, I always have trouble closing off a story with a happy ending. But I'll still say what happened.
Roger. He was rotting in jail, as he rightly deserved, along with Bert Crewell. To this day, I'm not entirely sure what he did, other than stalking and kidnapping me, but he wasn't prosecuted for that. Whatever his crime was, he had his punishment coming for him.
Ruth tried to make amends with me several times, but I cut her off every time. It wasn't that I didn't forgive her, because I did. I just didn't want to infect my life with her any longer. That, and the fact that she was completely smitten with Roger, the reason for her actions being to impress him.
Oliver and I now lived in a quaint house in a rural neighborhood in Michigan, far away from our past troubles, and I couldn't have been happier. The puzzle piece that my life had been before finally fit into the empty space. My heart is full.
That's all, because if I say anything more, I'll just keep going on and on and believe me, nobody wants to hear that.
So sincerely,
Veya Arvin Grey
•••
Hopefully someone is still reading this book at this point lol sorry for taking so long. But I'm finished! I'm so excited 😁😁 Thank you all for your support! I may start another book but I don't know when. I'll keep you posted!
-nina
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Illuminate
Teen Fiction·······················COMPLETED··························· Sometimes, beauty dwells in vulnerability. Veya is a young adult in London. She's had bad experiences in the past, but they're all behind her now that she's living her dream life: her ideal...
