Epilogue

"Don't you think that's a little bit over the top?" Lavender pointed to the cake sitting on the table, decorated with little plastic bugs.

It wasn't just a little over the top. It was beyond over the top. The thing was larger than the wedding cake my mate and I had for our royal wedding. But that was what happened when you had my father taking care of the cake.

Honestly, as over the top as it was, I was grateful—grateful that he had decided he wanted to be a part of his grandkids' lives in a way he hadn't been in mine. When baby Molly was born, I saw a change in him. Sure, he was still power-hungry and worried about work nearly all of his waking hours, but he was now also the papa who got down on the floor, rolled the ball, made silly faces, and read one of the gazillion books we had for her.

He wasn't the only one whose heart she melted. My father-in-law, the king, saw a similar transition too. He would let his guard down from time to time and just play with her. And now that she was the oldest of three, both men's mushy, super-sweet grandpa moments only grew.

"Next time, you should put them in charge of the chips."

"Can you even imagine?" She rolled her eyes, and I pictured a whole entire flowing river of nacho cheese sauce or something equally extravagant and just not needed.

"I can, and maybe we need to think of something else."

"Like napkins." She chuckled. Although he'd find a way to make those extravagant, also.

We finished our walk around to make sure the room was all set up and ready for the twins' birthday party. They were very big into bugs, so the theme for the party was Snail-ebrate. Even little Molly looked at us weird when we said that was going to be the plan for this party, and she loved themed everything. Now that it was all put together, it was absolutely adorable.

For Molly's first birthday, we had the typical "royal" birthday. The people celebrated with her via a parade. It was awful. Even my father-in-law agreed.

Back at home, we had a little cake, and the three of us enjoyed time together. We sang, ate too much cake, and watched her open her presents. The perfect end to a not-so-perfect day.

It was then that my mate and I decided that was what we were going to do from now on—family only. Extended family, but no one else. We didn't need to show off to the nation or any of that. Birthdays were a day to celebrate the important people in our lives and that was that.

Only my father must've forgotten about the "family" part, based on his cake purchase. Either that or he thought we were going to each eat our weight in cake.

"Everything looks great." My sister shoved her list in her pocket. "I'll go get Molly if you want to round up the twins."

Molly was with her Molly, her "grandmother." They were making a present for the boys. I wasn't sure what it was, but it involved food coloring, a lot of salt, and some pipe cleaners. It didn't matter. The boys would love it anyway. They were at the age where everything was magical and wonderful, and I loved that for them. My wish for their birthday was that it would always be that way for them.

I went back to our quarters and found Cole with the twins. They were wearing butterfly wings with a shirt that had spider arms sewn on the seams, polka dots plastered everywhere, and a little green make-up on their nose. I wasn't sure what kind of bug they were, but they picked each and every element and were very proud of their outfits.

"I was looking for our kids. Have you seen them?" I asked Cole.

"Nope. Just a couple of bugs here." He shrugged

"Daddy, it's us," Edwin said.

"No, you're not little boys, you're bugs." Cole tapped his nose. "Adorable bugs at that."

"Come on, Daddy. You know who we are." Fred tugged on my shirt.

"Well, if you're little boys, it's time to go to your party."

The four of us walked down, and halfway there, we met up with little Molly, my sister, and Molly. My daughter had two gift bags, both decorated by her. She was party ready.

"Dad is already in the room. He texted me four times already," Lavender said.

"Yep, that sounds like him."

"And he's worried that the cake isn't nice enough," she added.

Cole broke into laughter. "Please tell me he was saying that sarcastically."

"You still don't know my father, do you?" She let out a sigh and shook her head, only fueling my mate's laughter.

We walked inside, and to my surprise, I found my fathers with the royal family, including extended family, along with a few of my own aunts and cousins. Each and every one of them were coloring ladybugs on a mural that we had pinned up for the kids.

"Guess that activity's a hit," Cole said as he took out his phone and snapped some pictures. The twins ran over to hug their grandparents, aunts, and cousins, dragging Lavender, Molly, and Molly with them. They then all joined in the mural fun.

"It's a pretty special day." He kissed the top of my head. "You did a great job with the planning."

"It's not about the planning or about the day. It's about that right over there." We looked to see our kids enveloped with all the love that, sadly, we hadn't really seen growing up—not to this extent.

Our mating had brought more to our families than the money and power they had originally sought after. It brought love and a sense of family both sides had veered away from over the years. And for me, it brought me the happy ever after I never thought I'd have.

"It really is." He took my hand, and the two of us walked over to add our own ladybugs to the mural.