EPILOGUE

It always ends with a town car speeding

Out the drive one evenin'

Ended with a slam of a door

But she's got the best stories

You can be sure

That as she was leaving

It felt like freedom

~ Taylor Swift, The Bolter

EPOV

"Hello gentlemen," I sighed, leaning against the iron door frame of the abandoned warehouse. It was a tiny little place, nestled in the middle of Missouri and long forgotten by anyone else. It was an excellent storage space.

None of them said anything. I went over to pull the gags out of their mouths.

"Just say whatever the fuck you want and let us out of here," Shay snapped, spitting a bloody tooth out of his mouth.

None of them were in great shape.

Shay was down a few teeth and fingernails. Nose was broken in multiple places. But I had so many more plans for him. Zane was in a similar state. Caius was semi-conscious. O'Malley's body rotted in the corner as a constant reminder of what was waiting for them.

Shay and Zane had only been here a few days. It was a fun treat to dangle in front of him, his freedom. He was stupid enough to think he was ever getting out of here alive.

"I'm sorry to say this will be the last you'll see me for a while," I mused, wandering over to the table of toys across from them.

I didn't visit often. Didn't care to. But I liked knowing they were here. Lawrence would join them eventually, after his trial for his various white collar crimes was done and over. I'd let him enjoy prison for a while. Then he was mine.

All three of his comrades would still be alive and waiting for him. Whether it was months of years, I'd keep them here. Barely alive, just enough to feel every ounce of pain the human body could handle before shutting down completely.

"We get it," Zane coughed. "Just–"

I put the gag back in place.

It was a courtesy visit, if anything. A goodbye for now.

They'd miss me. Because Jasper and Emmett were going to bring Aiden in once a month for some training while I was gone.

He was under strict instruction not to kill. I loved my son, but that honor was mine.

Two nights ago Bella performed her final show of The Eras Tour in Chicago. It was a spectacular thing to watch. No matter how many times I saw the woman perform, she never failed to amaze me. The show had transformed a dozen times over the course of the last year and a half, but closing night was just as magical as the opening had been.

She was fast asleep in the jet across town.

Our getaway to the island was waiting. And I was bored with the whining already.

Before I left, I stopped by Caius' half-conscious form and reopened the lesion on his neck. An exact replica of the wound that was now scarred into Bella's neck.

–Love|Power–

The sun was blinding, the heat burning into my skin. It was lovely. Familiar. Safe.

Our island was always where we came to regroup. It was the first place I saw Bella after her trial, after she thought I was dead. It was where we brought Aiden to finally talk through all of the shit that it meant to be in our family. Bella and I came here a few months before he was born, one last trip just the two of us. The rest of our family came from time to time, but it was ours.

I always had this vision of how things would end. Some shit would go down, whether it was in Bella's world or mine, and we'd have to get out of town. For good. I knew the right people to fake our deaths or quiet the rumors and knew we could happily live out our days secluded on the island.

I told that to Maggie once, and she told me it was probably PTSD from Bella's trial.

I told her she had lost the chance to one day be invited to said island.

Bella let out a content sigh beside me, turning her face toward me but keeping her eyes shut. Her hair fell in a braid across her other shoulder and the navy bikini she wore did little to hide what I had so thoroughly memorized.

I turned my attention toward her. Our eyes met, and every life-changing, world stopping, monumental moment of my life with her flashed before my eyes. The day I met her. The first time I saw her perform. That weekend with her in Los Angeles. All of our getaways on the island. Watching her trial. Finding out she was pregnant. Watching her give birth to our son. Watching her raise our son. Every single fucking moment that I knew I never would have experienced with anyone but her.

Bella giggled.

I frowned at her. "What?"

"Nothing."

"You can't pull that shit with me, love. You could quite literally tell me you committed murder and I wouldn't blink."

She giggled again. "I know. That's just it. Sometimes its just… funny."

"Funny?"

She shrugged, flipping herself on her back and smiling over at me. "Yeah. Funny. That… you're you and I'm me and we're here."

I knew exactly what she meant. Mob boss and Hollywood starlet didn't mix well, but Bella and I did. Always had. Always would.

I covered her body with mine and let my lips brush along the curve of her neck. "There's nowhere else I'd rather be."

A/N: wow. I… can't believe this one is over. And I feel very content with it, which surprises me. I hope you guys do, too.

Hopeless Kingdom was the first thing I ever attempted to write, and I cannot thank you all enough for joining me on this ride. Every review and favorite and follow truly means the world to me, and I hope you all found a moment or two of peace or tranquility away from the real world in these chapters. Because they've been my comfort through some of the hardest moments of my life, too.

Off to go cry and hit the complete button.

For fun: I went ahead and posted a spotify playlist of my favorite moments of the series if you're interested! It'll be on my twitter (fragilefanfic).

A few people have commented asking about what I have next, so I thought I'd give you all a little summary of the other stories I've got. They're all different, a mix of happy and sad, but I do always get us to a happy ending. That's a promise. (Also, now that this is over I have free reign to do another mobward and I am STOKED!):

Bad Kind of Butterflies:I spent the last four years focused on school and leaving my demons behind me. Then, when I should have been thriving, I was thrown the one client no publicist in the city wanted. Tonight Show host Edward Cullen. My job would have been a lot easier if he didn't make my stomach flutter every time I saw him. Part one of a four part (complete) series with an EPOV companion and holiday special coming soon-ish.

'Tis the damn season: Bella moved to LA with Alice when they were eighteen to become professional dancers. Edward went off to Seattle for medical school after graduation. Everyone is back home in Forks for their first holiday together in eight years. Sometimes, you just have to get the timing right. A holiday 'short' story. Part one of a two-part holiday duology. Part two: Snow on the Beach, is also complete and posted.

Miss Americana & The Heartbreak Prince:Alice found Edward in 1931 and showed him a vision that changed the course of his existence: his mate, destined to be the most powerful vampire to walk the earth. He's spent ninety years in Volterra, making sure the Volturi never learn of her. Until her transformation changes everything. I haven't updated this one in a while, but I haven't abandoned it. I've just been a bit overwhelmed with real life. But I WILL finish it. I promise.

How You Get The Girl: Dating in general was hard. Dating when the world had been speculating about your love life since you were seventeen was even harder. But who was I to say no to a man who was supposedly the greatest thing to happen to the NFL in decades? My new baby. Obsessed with it already. Hope you are too :)

Thank you guys. For everything.