Chapter 42: Epilogue

·Grace's POV·

*7 years later*

"Grace! We're going to be late!" Archer shouted at me from outside the room, getting more and more exasperated as the seconds passed.

"I'm almost ready!" I shouted back, finishing doing my makeup. Then, I opened the bathroom door and met him at the entrance of our apartment.

"We should have gone about fifteen minutes agooo...." He prolonged the sound of the 'o' when he saw me coming. I may have freshen up a bit, but I truly didn't expect that surprised reaction. "Every time love, you get me every time." My boyfriend concluded, an astonished look on his face while talking to me.

"You bought me this dress for my birthday, silly. Why does it shock you so much?"

"Maybe because of the beautiful girl wearing it. Truth be told, the mannequin didn't make it justice."

I laughed while he pulled me closer to him, engulfing our lips in a gentle kiss. I knew for a fact that if we had continued with the mischief, God only knows at what hour we would have arrived to Katie and Roland's cottage.

"Hey-" I tried saying in between kisses. "We're late, remember?"

"Right... After you. "

Pulling him out of our home by the arm, we made our way to the garage. My old rusty Volkswagen was long gone by now -as hard as it is to accept it- replacing it with a brand new Mercedes. It may be super cool and dandy, but it'll never be my baby. Call me childish for all I care.

Archer started the engine and we were finally good to go. A half an hour trip was ahead of us, and you know what happens when you stare at the scenery through the window: your mind starts to go elsewhere.

Let's catch up, shall we?

Not only my relationship with Archer got stronger, but also my bond with my old friends. Most of us parted ways after graduation, each one heading to a different part of the country. That meant nothing to us though.

Katie and Roland may have been the luckiest ones, being fifteen minutes by car from their respective Universities. While Katie was studying to become the vet she's always wanted to turn out to be, Roland was having the time of his life at Art School. After they both achieved their goals, they agreed to settle down. That's why they now live in a countryside cottage, where Katie is in touch with nature and Roland gets his inspiration from. Not to mention that it's the best place to raise a baby.

Oh, yeah. Didn't I tell you? Katie is pregnant.

No worries, it was a shock for us too. But hey, I was asked to be the godmother, so clearly I am not complaining. My friend is due to give birth in about two months. Can't wait to get a hold on baby Iris.

Then we have my other best friend, Toli. Saddly, Logan and her were too focused on their professional careers, commitment seemingly impossible at the time. Toli sailed through it all and now she is a prestigious biomedical engineer, whereas Logan is a well-known physician. I'm sure that what they had was real and pure, leaving us all heartbroken when they split off. However, with no shadow of a doubt will they find the way back to each other. Toli hasn't forgotten about him after seven years and neither has Logan. Fingers crossed.

And finally, Isaac. My Isaac. He became a marketing manager after all but he hasn't found 'the one' yet. Don't get me wrong, sometimes being single is for the best. Nonetheless, I feel like my friend is in need of some monotony because, let's be honest here, going out to parties every chance he gets isn't healthy either. I'm still hopeful he will find the perfect guy who calms his chaos once and for all.

And I? I really can't complain myself. I achieved at getting my Medicine degree almost a year ago and I signed up for a few volunteer jobs in foreign countries (they needed as much sanitary help as possible). Archer isn't really fond of the aforementioned missions, but he knows better than anyone how pointless it is to convince me otherwise. If I get to do what I love and travel at the same time, then so be it. Archer, on the other hand, he turned out to be the kind of CEO who everyone looks up to (even Archer Jr., as indomitable as he can get sometimes). We now live in this perfect size apartment in the middle of London's city center, where we spend as much time together as our busy schedules let us. It may not be lots of hours, yet we try to make the best of it.

"You seem distant, love." Archer glanced at me for a mere second before returning his sight to the road.

"Just thinking about this past seven years."

He did not respond after that, he simply wore a little nostalgic smile and extended his hand for me to take.

Half an hour and a quick session of our personal carpool karaoke after ('cause yeah, couples that sing 'I'm Gonna Be' together, stick together), we arrived to our destination. Toli's and Isaac's cars were already parked outside the house.

"Told you we were late..." My boyfriend huffed and I couldn't help but laugh.

There was also another unfamiliar car next to Toli's. Who else is in there?

My thoughts came to an end when we heard people chatting in the backyard. I guess I'll find out soon enough. Surrounding the fence, we came to face one hell of a view.

There they stood Katie with her very noticeable baby bump, Roland embracing her from the back and resting his hands on the tummy, Isaac with a glass of champagne doing his awful Beyoncé impersonation and Logan with his arm around Toli's shoulders.

When did those two get back together? And most importantly, why wasn't I informed?!

I cleared my throat to gain everyone's attention. And that's what I accomplished.

"Hello, you two!" Katie greeted us, but my attention wasn't on her, it was on my other best friend.

"Hi..." Toli couldn't suppress the giggle anymore. "I should explain, shouldn't I?"

"That would be nice" I replied, my eyebrow raised.

"No, no. I will" Logan started. "It's simple though. Two days ago we bumped into each other at a pub after work. I saw her near the bar counter and I just couldn't let her go again. What was the point of committing the same cowardice one more time, right? So I approached Toli and we started talking. We confessed how self centered we were some years ago and how we couldn't spend one more day without the other. The rest, as you can see, is history." Toli smiled lovingly during the whole speech.

"I was just going to say that... I'm so glad you two are back together! I mean, about time!" I rushed to hug them, congratulating the couple. Archer shook Logan's hand and hug Toli too, after I did.

"It's so good to see you again, man."

"Indeed, I missed my bro." Logan hug him tightly. "Dad sends his greetings."

"Wow, he's going to kill me. I forgot to hang out with him and the others last week." Archer frowned.

"He looked pretty pissed." The other boy chuckled.

"God help me."

Some time after graduation, Archer decided to overcome his fear and meet up with his old friends: Caleb, Lee and, of course, Aaron. Apparently, at first, the encounter started off as a undeniable mess. And then, when the three grown up men began to understand, everything was plain sailing. Now the four of them are as close as two coats of paint, adding a new member to the group: Logan. Even I got to meet them, and let me tell you, what a group.

Hours passed and the sky began to darken. Katie, Toli and I were talking about baby stuff when someone turned the lights of the house off, scaring the three of us for a moment.

"Hey Grace, look. " Katie signaled to the tree in front of us, which was decorated with bright fairy lights.

I spotted Archer in front of said tree as if he was waiting for me there. Ironically, it happened to be an oak, the same tree we were under while sharing our first heart to heart conversation what it feels ages ago.

"What are you doing here, honey?" I asked him.

"There's something I need to get out of my chest."

"Okay...?"

I think I might have started hyperventilating as Archer got down on one knee and took a beautiful silver ring out of his back pocket.

"Grace, our story cannot be described as conventional nor boring. We have gone through the most horrendous events, but even after that, we still chose to be together. I once swore to love you like no other man is capable of doing, and damn straight I'm willing to keep that promise. So here I am, under an oak, where I first started to realize my devotion to you as a whole, with your fierceness, intelligence, beauty and, do not forget, those comebacks of yours that drive me crazy. Love, words cannot describe how impossible it is for me to wait to spend the rest of my life with you." He paused and took my hand in his. "Grace Marie Lancaster, will you do me the favor of becoming my beloved wife?"

With happy tears running down my face, I answered him without thinking it twice (not that I needed it):

"Yes." I whispered, not caring whether I was smiling like a mad woman or not.

"What was that?" Archer put his hand behind his ear, pretending not to have heard my answer, happy tears welling up in his eyes as well.

"Yes!" I screamed and jumped on top of him, hugging and kissing the life out of him. Clapping and cheering could be heard in the background.

I thought what happiness was before this day. I was mistaken.

Life is not a a walk in the park by any means. That's why we need to seize these kind of moments and never let go of them, for they keep us going. I can still recall every sweet, valuable moment I shared with my now fiancé.

Such as when he got me that vintage writing machine for Christmas more than seven years ago. I can almost see it, the moment I asked him what I should write about.

He told me to write about us, our story.

And that's what I did.

*****

A.N: I'm so so sorry I haven't posted this chapter before, but I lacked the inspiration to do it. Lately I've been feeling like my work was losing its essence, that's why I've been editing some of the last chapters and wrote the epilogue so slowly. I wanted to give you all the end you and my characters deserved.

More chapters are about to come!

Love,

M³