Epilogue – Five Years Later8Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡYIgsAKYI8i
It was a quiet morning—Sunday, their favorite kind.
The sunlight spilled through linen curtains, casting gold over the small dining table filled with empty coffee mugs, fruit peelings, and the latest issue of Modern Home + Living, where Janina’s renovation project was featured on the cover.
In the corner, a toddler babbled to himself while stacking wooden blocks. His name was Elias. Three years old. Curly-haired, sharp-eyed like Ethan, but with Janina’s quiet strength.
From the kitchen, Janina emerged barefoot, her hands dusted with flour, a soft smudge on her cheek. She was trying to teach herself how to bake pandesal—badly.
Ethan looked up from the couch where his laptop rested on his knees. He’d just finished emailing the final edits of his poetry collection to his publisher.
“Did you know,” he called out, “that you’re the most stunning disaster of a baker I’ve ever met?”
Janina rolled her eyes and walked over, dropping a warm piece of misshapen pandesal into his lap.
“You married me, disaster and all,” she smirked.
He caught her wrist and pulled her into his lap. “Damn right I did.”
They kissed, slow and familiar, the kind that doesn’t ask for anything except time.
Behind them, Elias clapped at a tower he built, squealing, “Mama, Dada—look!”
They both turned, and Ethan scooped him up, kissing his forehead.
“You’re our best poem,” he whispered.
Later that night, while their son slept and soft jazz played in the background, Janina stood by the balcony, staring up at the stars.
Once, she had thought she didn’t deserve a life like this. Not after the choices. Not after the mess. But here she was—no longer anyone’s wife, no longer running, no longer a secret.
Just Janina.
Loved.
Free.
And finally, home.
🌙 End of Epilogue
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