Page 133 of Secrets & Curses of Crimson

I did say that. Realization filled me.

“You didn’t…”

“Oh, I did,” he said with a proud smile. “Hold on, I want to see your face when you see our home for the first time.”

He moved behind me, and my body hummed with eagerness. Gods, what the hell was taking him so long?

“Alright, my love, turn around.”

I turned quickly, and Cassius stood with his arms spread out and a smile filled with excitement. Behind him stood a beautiful black stone home. It was two stories, but just as intimidating as the Crimson castle. The side of the home facing the waterfall was nearly all glass, so the view was unobstructed.

My eyes didn’t know where to look first as I stepped forward quickly. To the left of our home was a garden so vast that I had to stop because I was in awe of it. He had replicated some of my favorite fountains from the castle. There was a pretty stone pathway and archways made of shrubs, and the sheer amount of flowers was breathtaking.

“Cassius…”

“Do you like it?”

“Like it? I love it. You did all of this for me?”

He stepped forward and wrapped me up in his arms.

“Of course. Now let me give you a tour of the inside. I decorated it as best as I could. But Sybil helped before, so we can change anything you don’t like.”

He grabbed my hand and dragged me inside. The home was open and large. There was a large wooden table to our left that could seat our entire family. My eyes shifted to the large living space to the right. It had dark green couches and a large fireplace. My heart stopped when I saw what hung on the wall above it.

It was a large portrait. Cassius and I stood in the center; it was clear it was supposed to be our wedding day. On his side, his parents and siblings stood. On my side, he had them paint my mother, Killian, Sybil, and the twins. Tears streamed down my face as I moved toward it. It was so good to see their faces. Gods, I fucking missed them.

Cassius’ arms wrapped around me from behind and held me as I stared at it.

“I love you,” I whispered as I turned in his embrace. “I love you so fucking much.”

“I love—” I cut him off with an all-consuming kiss. Cassius moaned against me as he deepened the kiss, butthen pulled away. “You. We will finish this kiss after I show you everything else.”

He promised. I looked over his shoulder, and my mouth fell open at the sight of the waterfall.

“Come on, little viper.”

He dragged me up the wide staircase.

“Upstairs are the bedrooms.”

I looked down the hallway; there were two doors on the right and four on the other side. He led us through the first door on the side with the waterfall. Our room was decorated in forest green, with the same wall of windows so we could see the waterfall. It had a private washroom, a large closet, and a seating area with a fireplace and small library.

“This is so perfect, Cassius.”

He smiled.

“What are the other five doors?”

“One is a washroom, and the rest are for our kids. I didn’t know how many you wanted, so I figured four bedrooms, but if we need more, we can add on.”

Suddenly an image I hadn’t pictured flooded my mind. Little boys running around with dark hair and mischievous golden eyes like their father. My chest tightened at the thought of having our own little family.

“Four will work.” I smiled and walked to one of the rooms and saw it was empty, but my heart raced at the idea of it being filled with a mini version of Cassius one day.

“We never talked about it, but you said you wanted kids once.” His voice was tight with emotion as he spoke. I turned to look at him.

“After I’ve had you to myself for a while, then we can have a few little Cassiuses running around.” I agreed. His eyes widened like he was picturing it.

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