Epilogue

THE MOMENT THEY STEPPED back into the living room, it was obvious the Santoros were pretending to be normal. Not to be waiting and speculating. But their eyes were aglow and when neither Sofia nor Ares spoke, it was Maria who finally crumbled, clapping her hands together and exclaiming, "Well? What's going on?"

Sofia wrapped an arm around Ares's waist, her blood gushing at their proximity and at how right it felt to be near to him, how much he felt like her perfect complement in every way.

"We're getting married," she blurted out, tears of happiness sparkling on her lashes now.

There was absolute silence for about three seconds—and she couldn't blame them. Sofia's disinterest in marriage was well established. Even as various Santoros had paired off, she'd been resolutely staying in the ‘single' column.

Until she met Ares, and everything changed.

Exclamations of joy filled the room, and Sofia and Ares were temporarily split apart as various family members wrapped them into big, warm hugs. Gianni opened champagne while they celebrated and as they all stood around, Ares came back to Sofia's side, putting his arm around her, as though he couldn't bear to be separated.

"You'll live in Moricosia," Maria said, half-question, half-statement.

"She'll be Queen of Moricosia, mamma," Dante drawled, winking at Sofia. "And a very good queen at that."

"Oh, God. Queen." It hit her like a wave and for a second, she was overwhelmed with all that meant, but a single look at Ares had her centre of calm returning. Because he would be with her, and everything would be fine. "I did say I was looking for a new challenge," she remembered wryly.

"You'll be a natural," Ares promised.

"Oh, if only Raf were here to celebrate too."

For the briefest moment, Dante's face flashed with something—disapproval—but then he was smiling again. Sofia had seen though, and she understood. Raf's marriage to Marcia had been beautiful—a wonderful wedding, at this very villa, to compensate for the fact none of them could stand the woman.

"We'll celebrate with him another time. And you'll all be at the wedding," she added. "My family has to be there."

Maria's eyes became misty. "Perche famiglia é tutto."

" Si, " Sofia agreed, her heart light.

The next day, they travelled to the Cotswolds, to tell Dina Marone the news in person. They had decided to hold off on announcing the news to the rest of the world for a while, to simply enjoy the lovely private space of being a new couple. But they knew it couldn't be put off forever, and in the meantime, Sofia's mother deserved to know. The meeting went as Sofia might have expected. Her mother was cold, disengaged, even when Sofia had brought home a perfect Prince Charming.

And it made her laugh, afterwards, once they'd left.

"You're not upset?" Ares asked, frowning.

"No, I suppose I'm vindicated. For so much of my life, I've tried to please that woman. I've tried to be perfect for her, in every way." Ares's handsome face softened with sympathy. "But if this—you—doesn't even make a difference, nothing will."

"She has to change," he said, thoughtfully. "The problem is in her, not you."

"Yes." Sofia smiled up at him, reaching for his hand and squeezing it. "But I don't care, Ares. She's my mother, and I will always…care for her, and wish her happiness. But she's not my life. She's not my future." She sighed, because her future was so much brighter and happier than she'd ever thought it would be. "My door is always open to her, but I'm done trying. If she wants to be a part of my life, she can start doing the work."

He lifted her hand to his lips and kissed it. "I'm proud of you."

Her heart almost exploded. Not because she needed Ares to say things of that nature, but because she discovered she liked it. She liked having him on her team, being a part of her journey through life. She just liked—loved—everything about him.

As they stepped into the limousine that would take them to his private jet, Sofia said, "I never asked how Louisa took your news."

Ares turned to face her, no hint of secrecy in his features. "She was surprised," he admitted. "She'd always thought I was reluctant to marry, even when I knew it was my duty. It turns out, I just hadn't met the one person who could make me want to sprint down the aisle."

Sofia grinned, even as sympathy for the other woman was a current in her body.

"She was happy for us. She said she's looking forward to meeting you."

"She sounds like an incredibly decent person. I might have thrown a vase at your head."

He laughed. "I think she knew we weren't right, as a couple. Looking back, our whole relationship was really more of a friendship. We liked and respected one another, but we could happily go weeks apart. I know she left me because the whole publicity of being royal was a lot to deal with, but more than that, I just don't think what we had was enough for her to make that sacrifice. If we'd been in love, nothing would have pulled us off course."

Sofia's heart lifted. "I'm glad you spoke to her."

"Yes, though of course, even that was photographed."

"I know. I saw the pictures."

"I hoped against hope that you wouldn't. I knew what it would look like, and what you might think. I'm sorry to have put you through that."

She put her head on his shoulder, a totally different person to the woman who'd left London a couple of days earlier.

"It was important," she said. "I'm glad you spoke to her. I'd like to meet her some day."

"I'm sure you will."

"I hope she finds someone," Sofia added.

"Yes," Ares agreed. "She deserves happiness, like this."

"No one can be happy like this, surely," Sofia teased. "This kind of euphoria is reserved just for us."

"Ah, how right you are, my love, my queen."

"Do you have to call me Your Highness now?"

"I'll call you whatever you'd like, though my favourite name of yours will always be Sofia Christou Diamantis."

Her heart lifted. Her future married name. "I like the sound of that."

"It's perfect." He kissed her forehead. "As are you."

In Moricosia, they spent the night alone, in the stables, before returning to the palace and privately resuming a life together, getting used to this new stage for both of them, and also giving Sofia time to get to know Ares's younger siblings without the pressure of the whole country watching. Eventually though, on the eve of Christmas, they took the final step, of releasing a press statement, fully aware that it would set off a fever pitch of excitement. And it did, indeed. The whole country was in raptures, though it was nothing to the anticipation of Ares's brother and sisters. Sofia couldn't believe her luck. She'd gone from being isolated, pushing everyone away, to finally accepting her role in the Santoro family and knowing that they did indeed love her as one of them. But more than that, she was now also a valued member of Ares's family.

She felt blessed indeed.

A week after returning to Moricosia, and still feeling as though he were walking on cloud nine, Ares made a call he had not been looking forward to.

Each of the Santoros dialled in, and Sofia sat at his side, having been forewarned of his intention.

"The development tenders will be managed by my Prime Minister, going forward." He looked at his bride to be, his heart threatening to burst from his chest. "To avoid any appearance of favoritism—and the actual existence of it—the decision should be taken out of my hands, in light of recent events."

"That makes sense," Dante was quick to agree. "And we're not worried. Our proposal will go on its merits—that's what we always wanted."

The rest of the family followed suit, with similar reassurances, and Ares felt like a weight had been lifted from his shoulders. He hoped the Santoros would be awarded the business, though he suspected his marriage to Sofia would make it incredibly difficult for his parliament to go that way. He hated to be any instrument of disappointment to friends he valued so dearly, but it was a small price to pay for getting to marry the love of his life.

Their first Christmas together was a special time. On the morning after the announcement of their engagement, they attended Ares's church with his family, and there were thousands of people lining the path, craning to get a look at the future Queen. Despite the coldness of the day, Sofia and Ares spent over an hour slowly proceeding along the rope line, talking to people, shaking hands, accepting flowers.

"You really are a natural," Ares said, later, when they were in the car, alone, driving back towards a beautifully decorated palace.

"I do like connecting with people," Sofia murmured. "And I get the feeling there's so much I'll be able to do here, Ares. When we're married, and everything calms down a bit, I mean."

"You can do whatever you want, my darling."

And she would. Queen Sofia Christou Diamantis would go on to become a patron for many worthy charities, as well as establishing her own task forces about issues that were of vital importance. But she would also lose herself, completely, in the joys of her marriage, and, not long after, the delights of parenthood. The arrival of their first son was such an absorbingly happy time for Sofia—and made all the more so because Maria Santoro came and spent several weeks with them, to help out—that she couldn't believe it when only four months later, she was pregnant again!

Another child, this time a daughter, followed, and so began an intensely busy, exhausting and joyous phase of Sofia's long, happy life.

She travelled regularly to the Santoro villa, because family was everything, and when his schedule permitted, Ares went with her. There, all the pomp of royal life fell away, just as it had in the forest, and they were simply a man and a woman, being swallowed into the bosom of loving family.

As for the forest, that was their favourite way to spend time. Even if they could only escape for one night, they went out there together, hiking, and sleeping under the stars, connecting in the way that had shaped their relationship and their souls.

One of the most remarkable things, for Sofia, was discovering how much closer she felt to her father, now that she was a parent. She heard herself say so many things to her own children that he had once said to her, sing songs that were familiar from childhood, play games that her father taught her, and it softened her a little, towards her mother, so one day she texted her a story about the children, and a game they'd played that afternoon. Do you remember how daddy and I would play this?

Sofia wasn't even sure she'd expected a reply, so to hear back, almost immediately, He loved that game—he loved you, too. So much, Sofia, made something inside of her twist. Not with pain, but nostalgia, and she supposed with sadness, because of how much she had lost, at a time when she'd desperately needed it.

It was a start, the first building block in a relationship that needed much work, but Sofia suddenly felt like maybe, after all these years, her mother was coming out of her fog. And if she wanted to reach for Sofia, Sofia would be there, with open arms. Because family really was everything, after all.

THE END