Page 92 of Claiming Liberty
She quirks a brow.
“Angel Ramos is my island name. I use it to conduct business associated with the island residents, but it’s fake. Sawyer thought we should keep our legal names separate … just in case.”
Ten steps ahead.
“I’m not even a US citizen. Peter knows what part of Spain I’m from, but I mean,” I shrug. “We should be fine.”
“What’s your real name, then?” she smirks, and I can’t help but marvel at how beautiful she is. “Or don’t you trust me?”
Trust you?
I trust you with my life.
“Angel Rivera…” I squeeze her hand. “No more secrets.”
She flashes me a radiant smile, her eyes gleaming. “No more secrets.”
We face forward, walking into the sunrise instead of sunset, but it’s just as glorious.
“Liberty Rivera,” she repeats, leaning her shoulder into me. “I like the sound of that.”
EPILOGUE
LIBERTY
Our family stands in a semicircle around Angel’s mother’s and Dario’s headstones.
They left this world around the same time, Martina going about a month after we arrived in Spain and Dario a few days later. The succession came as a surprise that, in hindsight, wasn’t so surprising. It’s almost like Dario was waiting for her. A mother should never see her child die.
My hand goes to my belly on instinct as I look down at the ever-growing lump. My heart warms when my little bundle kicks. As sad as this one-year anniversary is, it’s filled with equal parts joy.
We just came from the doctor’s office. We’re having a girl.
Nobody cries as Angel takes the bouquet of lilies up to Martina’s grave and lays them by the headstone. I don’t think anyone feels true sadness or loss, more like peace that comes at the end of so much suffering. Broken pieces put together, not in their original shape, but creating a beautiful mosaic, nonetheless.
Angel walks back up to me, his eyes lowering to my belly. She isn’t even born yet, and he stares at her with love bursting from his eyes.
I take his hand as he stops next to me, then rest my head against his arm. He kisses my hair as we watch Sam carry the other garland of flowers to his father’s headstone. He takes a moment, staring down at it before walking back to Elsie and Julia.
Julia gives him an encouraging smile before opening her arms for him. He gives her a hug then stands strong, his features as hard as they were before. His composure is so damn similar to Angel’s father, it’s striking. If I didn’t know Angel so well, and if I hadn’t gotten to know Reyes, I’d miss how much of a front it is. I wouldn’t know how soft he is underneath that layer of rock.
Elsie gives him a gentle pat on the shoulder, her big blue eyes overflowing with care.
She formed an instant bond with Adán, and especially with Sam, as soon as we got here. Julia took us in until Angel and I could buy us a house, and as hesitant as I was to throw Elsie in with strangers after everything she’d been through … it couldn’t have worked out better.
She was there for Sam like no one else could be when he lost his father, and they were able to look out for one another when they left for school in the States. Sam has decided he wants to go to Yale after he graduates high school.
My eyes drift to Luis when he clears his throat. Simone, barely contained in her tight black dress, arches her head back comically to look up at her husband. An image of them at their wedding enters my mind, and my lips pull.
It was magical in and of itself, but the part that makes me smile is what happened afterward. What happened when Angel and I were back at home, my head spinning from too much to drink, still dressed to the nines in our flashy wedding attire. He’d been right… They know how to party in Spain.
He was holding my hair back while I hurled into the toilet when the ring box slipped from his pocket and clattered onto the bathroom tile. I soon learned that he’d been carrying it around with him for weeks, waiting for the ‘perfect time.’ Despite my elation, I almost killed him for making me wait and refused to waste any more time planning a wedding. I’d been ready to take his last name before we’d ever left the island.
We got married in a courthouse the next day. Little did we know, our baby girl was with us.
After Luis makes a brief yet thoughtful speech, Reyes, Julia, and Sam speak.
Angel is noticeably quiet, but I wait to ask him about it until we’re alone in the car.