If things were different...(Epilogue)
Book/Who: TRR / Drake X MC (Riley Brooks)
Summary: Few years later after Drake and Riley’s wedding and Hana being in the hospital, how is everyone going?
Author’s note: Some characters belong to PB I’m just borrowing them, but the new ones (Shophie, Leon, Lana, Rose) are mine. Be aware English is not my mother language, so if you find a mistake feel free to show me.
Word count: 3169
P.S 1= In this chapter a special thanks to: all my friends who encouraged me to continue this fic, to @a-teardrop-blog for helping me with the grammar and review, and much more for your patience with me. Thank you so much girl. ❤ And to @rileybeaumont a fervent MaxStan and @alanakusumastan a LiamStan but nevertheless continued reading until here supporting me ♥ !
P.S 2= You can find the previous parts here .
Tag List: @butindeed @simplyaiden-blog @topsyturvy-dream @andy-loves-corgis @bobasheebaby @nanieuniverse @teamdraketrr @zazigah @smartlillian @camzsweetheart @kamybelen-blog @writtenbycandy @decisso @drakelover78 @cocomaxley @katherinelangfordz @kaitycole
_____X_____
Seven years have passed and now Drake and Riley were about to celebrate their wool wedding anniversary, but before heading to their trip they made a stop at the Beaumont State for their nephew's birthday party.
The couple was at their hotel room, getting ready for the party when Drake approached Riley from behind to help her close the zipper of her dress. She tossed her hair aside, giving him space, and he looked at her through the mirror.
“So… are you ready, Riley?”
She looked back at him and smiled. “I think so… So many things have changed since we’ve been here.”
He smiled and rubbed her arms. “Don’t tell me…”
She looked one more time on the mirror, giving the final touches on her hair and to the dress on her body before turning to Drake.
“So?”
He was leaning on the sofa, admiring her. “Beautiful as always!”
She approached him, wrapped an arm in his neck and gave him a quick kiss.
“Drake Walker, have I ever told you how flattering you’ve become?”
He tightened his fingers around her waist.
“I’m just telling you the truth.”
She looked him up and down and bit her bottom lip. “You don’t look bad yourself.” Her hands traveled on his chest. “But, we’re going to be late. Let’s go!” She quickly grabbed his hands and pulled him to the door.
A little while later they arrived at the Beaumont State but were caught by surprise when they saw a different and smaller house. When Savannah showed up to greet them, she hugged them both. “Oh, God, I’m so happy you guys came!”
Drake hugged his sister back but couldn’t hide the shock.
“Drake-”
He interrupted her. “Oh, God, what happened, sis? I didn’t notice the different address on the invitation.”
Before Savannah could answer, Bertrand showed up with little Sophie in his arms.
“Oh my God! How big you are!” Riley exclaimed and Sophie blushed.
“They grow so fast! It’s almost crazy!”
They laughed.
“How about walking, little one?” Bertrand put a hand on his back. “Papa is not young anymore.”
He put his daughter on her feet and grabbed her hand while shaking Riley and Drake's hands.
“Please, come in, the party is just starting.”
They all went to the back of the house, where other children were playing, and next to two of them were Liam and Hana. When Liam saw Drake, he opened a large smile and came to greet his friend with a hug. “Oh, brother, I didn’t know you would really come!”
Drake hugged his friend back. “How could I miss my nephew's birthday? Besides, it’s on the way to our trip.”
Liam looked at Riley. “Oh, I see.” He shook her hand. “How are you?”
Riley smiled, shaking his hand back. “I’m great.”
“That’s wonderful to hear.”
“Yeah… I can see you’re doing good too after all.”
“Oh, don’t remind me about any of that, I can no longer be king, but I can say I was never so happy before. I can almost say that now I have all I've ever wanted.”
His eyes lingered on Hana and their two kids playing and eating.
Suddenly, Savannah showed up and lead Riley to another room. “Excuse us guys.”
Riley, unable to understand why she did that, asked: “Oh, what happened, Vannah?”
“Nothing big, I just wanted to save you.”
“Save me? From what? I’m not following.” She frowned.
“From the awkwardness there.”
Riley laughed. “That? Don’t worry, Vannah! It’s ok, we may not be friends, but Drake and Liam are and, after all these years, there’s no point in holding grudges.”
“Are you serious?”
“Come on, Vannah, look at me and your brother. Do you really think I’m not the happiest woman in this world?”
Savannah nodded and looked at her happy brother.
“Seriously, Vannah, you don’t have to worry about me, or even about them. Maybe just with your kids and the party.”
The two women shared a laugh and Savannah left to open the door for the newly arrived guests.
Meanwhile, Drake and Liam were chatting in the backyard.
“You know, I still don’t believe your father didn’t give up, even in the end.”
“Really. It is still unbelievable, he died from lung cancer, he saw how fragile and short life is and even that way he wouldn't stop trying to separate Hana and I, only because she wasn’t able to keep a baby in her uterus for nine months. He drove everyone crazy when he heard we hired a surrogate mother, but damn it! It was still our child, just growing on someone else's belly!”
“Right? I hope he can see his mistake, wherever he is.”
“So do I.”
“But… Don’t you miss being king at all?”
“Sometimes… you know? I was raised for that life, I learned almost everything I could since I was a child to rule Cordonia and fight for it, and have this being taken away from my hands wasn’t easy. I couldn’t sleep for months, worried about Cordonia and it’s future and the possibility of Hana’s father no longer accepting us together.”
“Rough times, I can’t imagine what you’ve been through.”
“Yeah, and not to mention I wanted to make Hana a queen. My queen. And I couldn’t.” Liam had a somber face.
“Liam, I’m sure Hana doesn’t care about that.”
“I know, but I wished I could do that. But let’s forget about this because now I think all things are going well, I have Mr. Lee's support and Hana and I have two amazing children today. Look at their faces!”
They looked at Hana and the kids.
“You know, Liam, looking again she even seems younger.”
Liam smiled, admiring his family.
“I think I can say you even seem lighter…” Drake said, wondering.
“Maybe is the weight of the crown that’s no longer on my shoulders.”
They both laughed.
“But you are different too Drake, you seem less grumpy now if you know what I mean.”
Drake smiled blissfully. “Happiness does that to us.”
“Totally agree!”
They toasted and drank their soda.
After all the guests have arrived, Savannah and Bertrand called everybody to sing happy birthday and cut the cake. After all the best wishes to the kids and cake eating, Riley was chatting with Maxwell.
“So, you guys are doing so great in NY, huh?”
“Yeah, now Drake has his own law firm, I have my own publishing company and we have two dogs. You know… I can’t imagine my life different now. However, let's stop talking about me, I heard you are a dancer now, huh?”
Max opens his mouth in shock. “How do you know that?”
“Max, I have internet, we are on the twenty-first century!”
He laughed.
“Yeah, you’re right. But I can’t waste my dance skills. I’m not Agent Breakdancing for no reason, right?”
Riley laughed and hugged him tightly.
“I missed you so much, Max!”
He hugged her back.
She released him and asked: “Max… Didn't Bertrand try to stop you not even once?”
“Well… you know him. He said: 'You can’t do that, you are going to throw the Beaumont name in the mud' more times than I can count, but in the end, we needed the money.” He looked down.
“Max, if you don’t want to talk about that, it’s ok.”
“No, it’s not that. It’s just… It was a rough time for him and if we were broke before… after Liam lost his throne and when the new king made changes on the court, our house was unsustainable. We had to move, we sold the house and with the money, we paid our dues and bought this new home, smaller as you can see.”
Riley put a hand on her mouth, in shock. “Oh, God! But the new king kicked all of you from the court?”
“No, but we no longer had the same influence as we had before.”
“I’m so sorry to hear that Max, I can’t even imagine how hard all this was for all of you.”
“Nah, you know this is harder on him than on me.”
Riley tried to smile in comfort. “I know.”
Max touched Riley’s arm. “But everything is going to be better, I’m planning on opening my own school dance!”
“Wow! Look at you!”
Maxwell opened his mouth.
“Oh! I realized there's someone I wanna introduce to you!”
“Who?”
“Come here.”
Max pulled Riley with him and approached a young lady in the other room.
“Lady Rose.”
The woman turned and looked at Max, grinning widely, and when she saw Riley she blushed.
“Lady Rose, this is Riley, my best friend in this world.”
“Oh! It's you, the famous Riley!”
“I don’t know about famous, but… that’s me.”
Rose extended her hand and Riley shook it.
“Nice to meet you, Rose.”
“I’m glad to finally meet you, Max always talks about his American friend that once lived in Cordonia.”
“Always? How long would that be?”
Max laughed.
“Riley, actually Rose and I are engaged.”
“What? And you didn’t tell me about this sooner?” Riley punched Max’s arm.
“Ouch! I’m sorry, but I didn’t want to tell you this on the phone!”
Rose laughed.
“So, tell me, how did you meet?”
“Well… the new king called for a meeting and I was there with Bertrand when Lady Rose Victoria came with her family.”
“I’m from a minor house in Cordonia, and in that meeting, Max looked at me…”
“I couldn’t take my eyes off of her! I swear!”
“I was very intimidated at first, but when he came to talk to me, he introduced himself and apologized for staring so much.”
“Look at this! Maxwell was caught by love at first sight.” Riley teased him.
Rose blushed again, but Max wrapped one hand around her waist and kissed her forehead.
“Indeed.”
"Bertrand was demanding for me to stop courting her... He thought her parents would not accept me because we're broken and I'm a dancer."
“But my father always said if I were to marry one day, it would be for love and not for money or position, like people used to do at court.”
“Wow, I don’t even know your father but I like him already.”
“Don’t tell me! Now I’m saving money to buy our own house, her dad already gave us the wedding party.”
Riley looked at Max with a questioning face.
“Don't worry! We'll make sure you’re invited when we choose the date!”
“Good, and if you don’t, you know…”
Someone bumped into Riley’s back before she could finish the sentence.
“God, I’m so sorry!”
When Riley and the other person turned and looked at each other, there was Hana trying to clean her dress, and when she realized she had bumped into Riley, she was paralyzed.
“It’s ok.” Riley tried to calm Hana down.
“I’m sorry, one of the kids was running and pushed me over you. Please…”
“Hana, It’s really ok. Don’t worry.”
“Hey, I have to go… over there…” Maxwell took Rose’s hand in his and left, leaving Hana and Riley alone.
The two women shared a look.
“I… I’m going… I don’t want to bother you…”
“Hana…”
“Y… Yes…?”
“Look, since I’m here, let me say something. Years ago, I did read your letter, ok? And I’m glad you are still alive.”
Hana opened her mouth in shock.
“Are… are you serious?”
“Yes, I am. Look we aren’t friends anymore, but I never wished your death, I heard about the times you were in the hospital because of some pregnancy that almost killed you, and today I saw you so happy with your kids…”
Hana looked down and smiled.
“Yes... I was miserable when the doctor said I was sterile, and when I got pregnant it was like a miracle, but no longer after I discovered my uterus would not support a pregnancy, and that’s why I always lost the babies…”
Hana told Riley how she had her children and Constantine dethroned Liam.
“This does not surprise me at all… But who is the king now?”
“A Liam's distant cousin. You know… royal blood and blah blah blah…”
“Yeah, I get it. Maybe it was for the best, who knows, huh?”
“Right? It’s what I try to tell Liam. Anyway, I’m sorry for taking your time.”
“It’s ok, I was the one who started the talking.”
“Before I leave… Riley, can I ask you something…?”
“Go ahead.”
“You and Drake… how are things going?”
Riley looked at Drake talking to his sister on the other side of the house and smiled, sparkles in her eyes.
“I… I couldn’t be happier.”
Hana grinned.
“I’m so glad to hear that!”
“So…”
“I… wish you the best, Riley. I meant that back then and I still do.”
“Thank you, Hana. I wish you the same.”
They nodded in agreement and parted in separate ways. Riley approached Drake and kissed him on the cheek from behind. He recognized her sweet and floral scent and responded by wrapping her shoulder and pulling her against his body.
“Hey, babe.”
She leaned her head on his chest and smiled.
“I’ll give you some space.” Savannah left them together.
“Something happened?”
“Oh, no. Nothing. I just wanted to feel you.”
“Oh!” He smiled fondly. “Anytime you want, you know I’m always here for you, right?”
He gave her a peck on the tip of her nose.
“I know.” She tilts her head and looks at him. “Me too. Ok?”
He tightened his grip on her. “I know.”
After staying like this for a while, Drake whispered.
“Babe, I… It’s better we get going, we have to wake up early tomorrow.”
“Well, let’s say goodbye then.”
He intertwined his fingers with Riley's and they walked to greet Max.
“Max, we’re leaving.”
“Oh! So soon?” He made a sad face.
“Yeah… But you already know what you owe me, right?
They laughed.
“Don’t worry, Riley, I’ll make sure you both are invited!” Rose shook Riley and Drake’s hands.
“It was a pleasure, Lady Rose, I wish you two the best.” Drake smiled.
“Just make my older brother happy, and don’t forget to be happy too, ok?”
Riley hugged both of them and they left to talk to Liam.
“Liam, we’re leaving.”
“So soon?”
Riley laughed.
“Oh, sorry.” Liam said, embarrassed.
“It’s ok, Liam, it’s just that Max said the same thing to us.”
He laughs.
“So he agrees with me” He extended a hand to Riley. “You look great by the way.”
She responded to his greeting. “Thank you. You guys too, Liam.”
Hana approached, holding Liam’s arm, and he said. “Hon, they’re leaving.”
“Oh, It was good to see you today!”
Riley smiled and waved while Drake hugged Liam.
Hana shouted to her son. “Hey, don’t do that to your sister!” She looked at the couple. “Excuse me, guys.”
“Go, go. We get it.”
Liam smiled. “If you guys excuse me too, I’ll go help her, Leon is impossible these days and Lana is not getting behind.”
Drake and Riley smiled back and when they were going to look for Savannah, she surprised them.
“Are you planning on leaving without saying goodbye?”
“Of course not, sis! We’re just saving the best for last.”
“Are you learning to be funny now, Drake?”
“Just come here.” Drake hugged his sister tightly.
Savannah hugged him back and when she released him, she looked at the couple and held their hands.
“Before you two go, let me ask you something.”
“Bring it on.”
“I saw you two leaned over there looking at the kids running… But when do you plan to have one?”
Drake and Riley looked at each other and tried to give a straight answer, without being rude.
“Look, sis, I know you are going to insist on this and just so you know, we decided to not have kids.”
“What do you mean by that? I want my own nephews too!” Savannah said with a dour face.
“Look, sis… really, Riley and I talked about this years ago, and this is a taken decision. We won’t change our minds.”
“I can’t believe that!”
“Uncle Drake!” Bartie and Sophie ran into Drake’s legs.
He taps the kids' hairs.
“Just don’t get your uncle naked on your party, ok?”
They all laughed and Riley bent down to hug the children and say goodbye, so they ran away letting the adults talk.
Bertrand approached. “So is it time, huh?”
“Yeah, we’ll get our plane tomorrow morning.”
They said their proper goodbyes and returned to their hotel room.
On the way, Riley was leaned on Drake’s shoulder and he wrapped his arm around her. “You know, it was good to see all of them after all this time, Liam seemed so happy, like I never saw him before.”
“Hana told me what happened, at least they found a way to be happy in the end. Too bad Constantine couldn’t enjoy and be a part of that.”
Drake nodded in agreement.
Not long after they arrived at their hotel room, Drake closed the door behind them and Riley started to undress, but he quickly held her hand.
“Don’t…”
Riley turned and looked at him. “What? I’m going to take a shower.”
“It’s not that. Just let… let me help you out of this dress.”
She smiled playfully, aware of his intentions.
_____X_____
A while later, after a lovely time together in the shower, they were cuddling on the bed and he kissed her forehead.
“So, are you excited to start our trip tomorrow?”
“As ready as ever. With you by my side, every year I have a reason to celebrate.”
Drake smiled and looked thoughtfully at the lights of the city through the balcony’s door.
Riley put her finger on his chin, turning his head in her direction, making him look at her.
“What are you thinking, Drake Walker?”
“I don’t know… But seeing Liam sad about his throne made me think that if he had married you he would still be king.”
“What is that now?”
“Think about it.”
“No, I can’t think about it, simply because I see all of this in another way.”
“How?”
“Seeing Hana and Liam together and with their kids today, I realized something I couldn’t see before. That this isn’t the kind of life I ever wanted, and if things were different then they are now, I would be miserable… and I think it would not be just me.”
Drake smiled and kissed her passionately and adoring.
“You know, Brooks? You’re completely right.”
She kissed him back and smiled.
“I know I am. Never forget how much I love you.”
She kissed him one more time and lied on his chest.
He pulled her fiercely against his body and kissed her.
“Happy wool wedding anniversary.”
They fell asleep, resting to catch their plane and head to their trip where they would celebrate their love, as they’ve been doing every year since they got married.
The end.
