- EIGHT YEARS LATER -

"Fuck me," Alfie seethed, wincing as he slammed the empty shot glass down on the kitchen table, "How many years down the line are we now? And your fuckin' vodka still burns like the fiery pits of hell."

Irina chuckled, pouring back another shot of vodka with ease, swallowing as if it was merely water before giving her husband a sweet smile.

"You should be used to that," she replied, sipping her glass of white wine.

Alfie shook his head, rolling up the sleeves of his shirt before washing up the plates the two of them had just finished eating off.

It was late on a Friday evening and Alfie had been working in Birmingham that day, arriving home just as Irina finished serving up their dinner.

Alfie had joined forces with Thomas and the Peaky Blinders, in one way or another, anyway. He didn't officially walk around with a blade in his cap, or even wear a cap, but they viewed one another as partners, regardless of the dress code.

Their latest venture had brought Thomas and the others down to London a lot more often than they had been before, which had thrown Irina and Tommy into each other's company for over half of the week most of the time.

They didn't mind, though. The bridges of their past weren't burned, rather still standing strong, only they chose to walk across them differently to the way they once had.

The birth of Alfie and Irina's second child, a son, was what officially changed everything. There had been a period of time where Irina and Tommy didn't speak, Irina feeling like perhaps Tommy was struggling with their past and being around each other so much had caused him to lose his sense of stability.

She never truly found out the reason, though it just so happened that when Irina's waters broke three weeks early, it was Tommy Shelby that found her barely able to stand in her kitchen while Alfie was halfway across London.

Thomas rushed Irina to the hospital, reassuring her that everything would be just fine, despite the mother's panics about the early delivery of her baby.

Luckily, and thanks to Tommy's multiple phone calls to the office he was visiting that afternoon, Alfie finally arrived just in time to see the birth of his son.

"I have a son," Alfie smiled with tears streaming down his cheeks, grabbing Tommy by the shoulders and hugging him tightly.

"Congratulations, Alfie."

"Thank you," he said, holding his friend at arm's length and nodding at him, "Thank you for helping her. Lord knows what would've happened if you hadn't have found her when you did."

Tommy looked Alfie in the eye, feeling a warmth in his heart as he saw the raw emotion in his friend's face. The two of them had been through so much together, and also so much against each other, though ultimately, it was one woman that had kept their friendship strong.

"Don't mention it, Alfie. I didn't have to think twice."

Elijah Thomas Solomons had grown into a healthy four year old, who was the spitting image of his father but with his mother's deep brown eyes.

It was Alfie who had suggested Thomas as a middle name for their son, and strangely enough, when Irina said it out loud for the first time, it didn't feel strange. There was never an inkling in her stomach that told her naming their son after a former lover was wrong, in fact, it was the complete opposite.

To Irina and Alfie, they owed everything to Thomas, not just the safe delivery of their son. Without him, they would never have even met, let alone fallen in love and had two children. Although Thomas had made mistakes with his actions and his words, crossed lines hand in hand with Irina and re-drawn new ones in different places, ultimately, he had brought two soulmates together.

And soulmates they always would be. Since the first time Thomas Shelby ever mentioned the name Alfie Solomons in Irina's office, the man had been on her mind in one way or another every single day.

He had taught her how to love, how to love carefully and how to love wholeheartedly. Alfie had shown her that love was pain in the worst way but it was also the most incandescent feeling of pure euphoria that a human could ever experience. He'd shown her that life didn't have to revolve around numbers and figures, and that although success did make the woman incredibly happy, she was no longer afraid to admit that a man had made her life even better.

Together with two growing empires, they turned themselves slowly but surely into millionaires. Although Irina adored the lavish lifestyle that she could give to her children, one thing that money couldn't buy was the safety of her husband whenever he left the house.

There had been plenty of sleepless nights for Irina, laying awake staring at the ceiling, listening out for the dreaded shrill of the phone if something had gone wrong. Of course, she knew that Thomas and the boys would do anything to protect Alfie, something that they'd proven many times in the past, but Irina felt like she was holding her breath from the moment Alfie walked out the door to the moment he finally walked back in it.

She had managed on her own for a great proportion of her life, though since falling head over heels in love with Alfie, Irina was more than aware that living without him was simply not an option for her anymore.

She couldn't imagine not waking up in the middle of the night because of his snoring, or glaring at him when he shouted at her for not steaming his shirt properly. They were small things, perhaps moments that without knowing fear she would never have cherished, though now, she made sure to appreciate every second.

It was summer and although the sun had set, the glow of London city lights illuminated the sky. Irina pushed open the French doors and sat herself down on a bench on the patio, her glass of wine in her hand as she crossed one leg over the other, gazing up mindlessly at the stars while listening to Alfie's singing from the kitchen.

A few minutes later, Alfie joined her, resting his arm across her shoulders as she lay her head against his neck. He grabbed her legs and pulled them on top of his own, sipping his wine quietly as the two of them relaxed in each other's company.

Neither Alfie or Irina needed to work, both of them having more than enough money each to provide comfortably for their family of four, though they had both made the decision to continue doing what it was that they loved.

Though with both of them working in the daytime, even if they were both at home, they rarely had any time alone together until the children had gone to bed.

They didn't mind, though, finding pleasure in small moments like the one they found themselves in that night, wrapped in one another's arms in the late night summer air, listening to the sound of a passing train in the distance or voices from a neighbour.

"Look at us," Alfie said quietly, laughing slightly, "Getting drunk on a Friday night. When was the last time we did that, ey? Before Elijah was born, I'm sure."

Neither of them were sure why they decided to open a bottle of vodka that evening, but as the fresh air hit them as they sat in the garden under the stars, they both felt more than a little tipsy.

"No, you got drunk a month ago with Arthur Shelby at The Eden Club. I had to come and pick you up with the kids in their pyjamas, or don't you remember that?"

Irina looked up at Alfie who's face held a guilty grin. He had a few more lines and wrinkles than he had done when they'd first met, but Irina didn't love him any less. In fact, she'd found her husband to be getting more attractive as the years ticked by, maturity developing more with each day. She watched how he grew as a confident and playful father and a loving and devoted husband, something that made her fall deeper and deeper in love with him.

She adored his grey hairs and tired eyes, and the way he now seemed to sigh with relief when he sat down. Irina couldn't get enough of the way his skin darkened in the sun or the roughness of his hands that had harshened with the labour of time. She had loved him in his youth and she still loved him in every year since, knowing that she would never live a day where that would be any different.

"Yeah," he laughed, "I do remember. Some of it, anyway. You are the best, aren't ya?"

Alfie looked down at Irina's lips and back into her eyes before kissing her, something he knew drove her wild from past experiences. He felt her warm hand caress his neck as they kissed, trailing his own hand across her bare thigh.

"Alfie," Irina slapped his hand away when she felt his fingertips below the hem of her nightgown, laughing as she did so, "We have neighbours."

"So?" He shrugged, tilting his head before kissing her again, pulling her round so she was straddling his lap, all still while she held the wineglass between her fingers, "Why don't we give them a show?"

Irina rolled her eyes and threw the rest of the wine down her neck. Alfie's hands gripped his wife's thighs, enjoying the way the neckline of her dress was so low in his face and the hem was now almost around her waist.

She had suffered from deep insecurities after the births of both of their children, though now, four years later, Irina was finally comfortable in her own skin. Alfie had spent every day reassuring his wife that he loved her legs and her stomach, and that he found the dark and light stretch marks across her skin sexy, not repulsive, as she once labelled herself.

And he wasn't just feeding her lies, either. Alfie truly found himself falling more in love with Irina watching her grow his children and raise them. He watched in awe at them together, admiring her beauty as she danced around the kitchen with their son on her hip or sang songs to the birds in the garden with their daughter.

Alfie had dreamt of the life he was living with Irina since the moment he set eyes on her. Although at first she was incessantly cold and unwelcoming, Alfie knew that there was a heart in there somewhere, and he was determined to be the one to find it.

He had loved her through everything, and would continue to do so until the day he died. He hated leaving his wife and children at home, especially when his business was particularly dangerous, but he knew in himself that nothing would stop him from getting home to them. He'd promised Irina the same thing when he left to end the feud with Joseph Levy, and he promised her the same thing every time he left the house. So far, he had never broken his promise.

"I've always found you so fuckin' sexy, you know that? When I met you at that party and you were wearing those gloves," Alfie shook his head, his eyes tracing across her body slowly, "I knew that I'd not be able to live with myself if I never got a taste of you, but I couldn't stop at just a taste."

Irina scoffed, raising an eyebrow, "So you wanted me for my body, that was it?"

"Well it wasn't for your fuckin' personality, was it? You were fuckin' horrible, nastiest woman I've ever met, I was terrified of you."

Laughing, Irina just threw her arms around her husband's neck, resting her head against his chest as she lay on him, his arms wrapped tightly around her waist.

She adored being close to him and he adored protecting her, holding her in his arms and keeping her safe. They didn't have to talk, all they had to do was be in each other's company, tangled in a tight embrace, and they felt at home.

They had a love that was hotter than fire and colder than ice. Alfie had once told her, "That's why we work, you know, we're like hot and cold, opposites attract. I'm from Hell and you're from fuckin' Russia. I don't know what's worse, come to think of it."

And he had been right, they did work. They'd survived betrayal and heartbreak, love and loss, but most of all, they'd come out of the other side holding each other's hand, knowing now that they'd never let go.

Alfie Solomons might've seen himself as the Devil, but he never thought he'd meet a woman cold enough to get close to him. There was love in the world, and then there was Irina and Alfie.

- THE END -

an;; stop I am SOBBING at this, Alfie is such a softie I love him so much I could scream!!!

I just want to say a hugeeeee thank you to anybody that's read, voted and commented on any chapter of this story, all your support has meant the absolute world to me, I still can't believe people enjoy what I write!

I'd love to hear what you thought of this book, start to finish, and also if you have any future requests for stories you'd like to see me write.

Like always, your feedback really does make me so so happy and I find it interesting to see how you felt about this story, so please do let me know.

Anyway, if you're in need of something else to read, I have plenty of other completed work, as well as some on-going stuff that I'm updating regularly.

Thank you again!!!

-champagnepoetry-