A/N: Ladies and gentlemen, I present you the grande finale! The postlude will follow this update in a few hours.

/ dedicated to Wattpad who has given me the opportunity to share my stories with the rest of the world. This platform for reading and writing is absolutely fantastic! /

Enjoy the epilogue and happy reading! :) xo

"RILEY!"

To say that I was in a bad mood may have been an understatement. I had woken up Riley twice this morning and here he was, still lying on his bed refusing to get up for school, not to mention that it was a Monday morning on top of that and my stupid child just had to go to bed late because he was video-gaming online with Noah.

Teenagers, I thought shaking my head as I carried the jug of water that I held in my hand over to his bed.

"Riley," I called out warningly. "If you don't wake up right this second I swear I am going to dump you with water."

"Mhm," he groaned in reply, shifting on the bed so that he could get more comfortable.

"I warned you," I said before I tipped over the jug and the water fell down from the mouth of the jug to my son's head like a miniature waterfall.

Riley jumped up, spluttering and gasping as he tried to get rid of the water that made his hair stick to his forehead. He had grown out of his shaggy-hair phase and now maintained short hair which admittedly looked better on him since he'd begun losing his baby fat.

"What the hell, Mum?" Riley exploded, looking at me in his drenched form.

"This is the last time I'm telling you to get up and if you ever dare play online with Uncle Noah or any of your friends when you have school the next day I will ground you," I said firmly.

"Mum," he groaned, swinging his legs over the bed. "Why are you such a drama queen?"

"You're the drama queen, honey. You're not focusing on school anymore and if I see your grades slip further, the consequences will not be pretty."

"What? My grades are not slipping, Mum." Riley said staring up at me inquisitively.

"I know. I just always wanted to say that to my child."

Riley stared at me like I had grown two heads and I grinned victoriously, before I grabbed him by the white vest he wore to bed and hauled him to his feet. "Wide awake now, aren't you?" I smiled at him with an eyebrow raised.

He chuckled at my actions before he rolled his eyes and made his way to the door of his room. "I am right, you are a drama queen. And one hell of strange mother."

"Hey, watch your tongue, Rye," I scolded, shaking my head in mock anger as I tried to hide the smile. "I am your mother and you do not talk to me in such a manner."

"Uh, sure," he drawled with a smile before turning on his heel and heading out of his room and towards the bathroom that was situated at the end of the corridor.

"Teenagers," I muttered as I watched him walk away and a smile blossomed onto my lips. He had begun to change over the years but I didn't expect him to be that sweet little boy forever-except that Riley was still kind and sweet and smart, and in my eyes he'd always be little. But he was growing up. My son was growing up and I'd be there for him in every step of the way, aiding him however I could to tackle the curveballs life decided to throw at him.

There was one time I couldn't sleep because something from work was on my mind and I found Riley in his room, sound asleep. I joined him and tried spooning him into my arms but the boy had grown so tall he didn't fit. Instead he groaned and told me that I was embarrassing him-a thirteen year old boy shouldn't be sleeping with his Mummy. His protests yielded when I rested my head on his shoulder and told him that I just needed a few moments to gather my thoughts. We ended up sleeping late into Saturday morning and he hadn't even bothered to wake me up to go back and sleep with Finn.

I smiled fondly as the memory flicked through my mind and I made my way out of Riley's room to get started on the week. Oh God, hopefully this Monday would treat me better than last week's Monday. Perhaps all the Mondays in the world had gathered up and created an army to fight me-this probably made little sense as there was no logic behind it because it was early in the morning, on a Monday morning for that matter, and I was in no mood to think properly until I got to work.

* * * * *

I always knew Mondays were my worst days and yet today didn't seem like just a bad day. It seemed strange. And I couldn't place my finger on why exactly it felt strange.

Was I looking too much into the fact that Finn said he couldn't make it to lunch because he had to buy a house for his boss because she was in a prissy mood-and he had stuttered all the while he explained why he couldn't make it to lunch? Or was I looking too much into the fact that Riley said I shouldn't come home yet and should go out with my colleagues for a drink to relax because today must have been exhausting for me? Was I looking too much into it when I called Noah to tell him that I was coming to Porte Orlands to drop by and catch up, and he told me he was in London? Was I looking too much into it when my parents told me that I was to stay away, at all costs, from them for the day because they had lots of preparations to make for the night? My parents didn't even have any events planned for the night.

Maybe I was looking too much into it. It was a Monday after all. But still, something felt amiss and after going to the pub after work to get a drink as Riley had suggested I do, I drove straight home. I had only gotten a club soda so I didn't think twice about driving home alone.

I got to my door and dug through my handbag. When I found the keys I inserted them into the keyhole and unlocked the door. I opened the door slightly and frowned when I stepped through and darkness met me. Finn usually worked late on Mondays but where was Riley and why were all the light switched off?

"Hello? Anybody home?" I called out.

I jumped in surprise and held a hand to my heart as it thudded with shock. The lights had flicked on and a united scream of, "SURPRISE!" met my ears before I blinked and my eyes adjusted to the light, taking in the sight before me. My heart began to accelerate in pace as I took in the sight, my eyes burning with a great intensity. I brought the hand that lay on my chest to my mouth that was agape with confusion and astonishment.

All the furniture in the living room was pushed back against the wall. In the middle of the living were four plastic circular tables which I was certain were garden tables. Each table had two chairs pulled up. Two candles stood as the centrepiece on each table, unlighted for the moment, with a meal for two on each table. Noah and his girlfriend, Veronica, stood by one table as Mum and Dad stood by another. Riley and his best friend of three years, Aria, stood by the table nearest to the table Finn stood in front of.

The table Finn stood in front of was the table that was planted before the rest. I couldn't even process all the smiles everyone was shooting me when Finn stepped forward, dressed in a sleek suit, his hair combed back to look presentable, his hand held out with a white rose between his fingers.

"Oh my goodness," I breathed, my eyes wide as they surveyed the place. My gaze came back to my boyfriend and settled on him. "What is this, Finn?"

"Am I going to hold this rose out stupidly for the next few minutes or will you actually take it?" he asked instead of answering me.

I giggled at his response before I stepped forward and took the rose from his hands, my fingers brushing against his. I twirled the rose, rolling my fingers against the de-thorned stem. My eyes lifted to his and a smile tugged at my lips. His returning smile made my stomach do a flip.

"I think I know what this is," I whispered, tears pricking at my eyes as I took a step forward, my gaze fixed to his ocean blue eyes. His gaze held mine and just like that the audience around us fell away. He hadn't done anything yet and I already thought it was perfect-it was intimate and it wasn't too public.

"Don't you think it's about time then?" he proposed teasingly with a smile, before he took the rose from my hand, setting it down on the table, before taking my hands into his. Giving them a squeeze, he took a deep breath and looked at me with that expression on his face that always managed to tug at my heart even after all this time. "Madilyn," he breathed.

"Finn," I breathed back, quickly biting down on my lip to stop it from quivering as the happy tears threatened to spill over.

"Thirteen years ago I fell in love with a girl," he started and already my heart was beating rapidly against my ribcage. "I might have not been her first love but I think she was mine. See, I had girlfriends before her but none could elicit such happiness within me. You were perfect, Maddie. I thought that when you got pregnant that everything was falling apart. I thought I was losing everything. You. My son. But I was wrong. Seven years later we found each other again but things weren't certain yet. The past still loomed above us, made us frightful for the future, frightful for what we really yearned; what we really wanted; what we really needed. It seems quite stupid that I was waiting for a girl for eight years, doesn't it?"

I chocked back on a laugh and his hands gripped mine tighter. "Eventually we faced our adversaries and we made it through. We worked it out, we bought a house and you moved back to London when you were ready. Five years ago we promised to take it slow and we have but God, I am tired of taking it slow." His smile widened and I choked back on a sob, my lips widening too.

"The journey to get here...it wasn't pretty. But I would do it all over again because you and I wouldn't be the people we are today without those events. I might have fallen in love with a girl thirteen years ago. But the woman who stands before me? That's the woman I'd love with every breath I take. That's the woman I'd love even after I die. Death do us part? No-" he shook his head, his fingers threading through mine and my tears finally fell over my eyes. "Not even death can part us, baby."

He took a step back then and dropped down onto one knee. My hands raised to my mouth as tears rolled down on my face. He put his hand in his blazer pocket and when he found what he was fishing for, he pulled out a velvet box. My heart leapt through my throat, my mind whizzing with a million thoughts as happiness overrode almost every sense of mine. He propped open the box, a platinum ring sitting in the centre against the white plush cushion on the inside of the velvet box.

"Will you, Madilyn Adair, love me beyond death as I do you?" he asked softly, taking the ring from the box. "Will you, Madilyn Adair, marry me?"

A euphoria like I hadn't ever felt before overrode all my senses and all I could do was manage to nod furiously, the tears cascading down my face in a mess. He laughed, his own blue eyes shining but that may have been because my own eyes were blurred with tears. I blinked furiously to get rid of the tears that blurred my vision as he got to his feet. I rubbed the tears off my cheek, smiling as he ascended.

"Yes, yes, yes!" I exclaimed and threw my arms around his neck, hugging him close to me. His body moulded perfectly against mine and I sunk into the warmth of his body when his arms came around my body and hugged me tightly back, my body pressed against his.

Pulling back, he held out the ring, and giggling, I nodded, holding out my right hand before parting my fingers. He slid the ring onto the right finger and looked up at me. I looked back into his ocean blue eyes.

"Finn," I started, raising my hand that had the ring on it. Cupping his face, I brushed my thumb across his cheek. "I will love you even beyond death. I will always love you," I whispered before drawing close and pressing my lips against his.

He kissed me back, his kiss so deep and fierce and with all the emotions that whizzed around the room I felt the kiss right through my bones, right to the very core of my being.

A stream of congratulations filled the air and Finn and I were pushed apart as all the ladies gathered around me, seizing my hand to see the ring, proclaiming that Finn wouldn't let anyone see the ring before I did. My eyes set upon the ring as Mum's hand rubbed up and down my back like she was proud of me. The ring was platinum and simple, both ends curving in opposite directions as they gave way to a small line of diamond studs. The ring was slim and looked absolutely beautiful. For a few seconds I stared at it, mesmerised, but I wasn't mesmerised by the beauty of the ring even though the ring would leave one breathless. I was mesmerised by the fact that Finn had given me this, that he wanted to spend the rest of his life with me. Finn wanted to marry me and at that moment nothing else compared or troubled me-not even the pesky assignment my boss gave me which was due tomorrow.

My eyes lifted and I found everyone congratulating Finn, hugging him and shaking his hand as Riley stood by his father and looked at me with a silly smile. As if sensing my gaze on him, Finn's eyes lifted and locked onto mine.

And as I stared at him from across the room, his ocean blue eyes latching onto mine from a distance away, I knew-I knew that giving Riley the perfect father wasn't the end game. It was me finding my happiness and I may have had to go through murky waters to get where I was standing but it was undoubtedly worth it.

Economics no longer defined me. I was once an empirical law and perhaps a snippet of that law resides within me but for once, as I stared happily at the man I loved from across the room, economics could not explain what I felt and why.

But I was okay with that. I had finally broken the bounds that caged me in. I was finally free and all it had taken was for me to be honest with myself and for me to open up my heart.

And marrying Finn? It was yet another beginning life decided to grant me with and the journey ahead may be a rocky one but it was one I was willing to take with my fiancé-my husband to-be-and my beloved son.

After all, where's the fun without the adventure?