“Just promise me…” the words echo as Ann sits up breathing heavily.

“Everything ok?” Ben asks immediately sitting up next to her. He holds her gently as she calms down, slowly taking deep breaths and allowing herself to get lost in Ben’s comfort. She leans on him without saying a word and after a while, they both go back to sleep.

This was something that happened every now and then, what happened to Ann that was traumatic, but she had Ben with her every step of the way. The night terrors have slowly reduced since then, but it happens… and Ben is just as comforting every time. It’s been a crazy couple of months for Ann, she’s gotten back to her normal life for the most part, she still has a lot of healing to do but she’s working on it.

Clarissa on the other hand, never got tired of bragging about the look of horror on Kai’s face when the officers brought Python down to the police car. It was just as Clarissa had expected, if Python would die in a police chase, Kai could say whatever he wants, but now his options are limited. The proof of everything that has happened was Python himself, but getting there was a tough road.

It took some convincing and a lot of effort even from Emma who finally managed to convince Python to testify against his brother. Emma says the clincher was when he started getting better without taking the medication his brother prescribed.

Of course, the truth behind what Kai and Python had done shocked everyone. What even Clarissa thought was a straightforward manipulation and murder cause ended up being so much more. Kai had been using his brother Kane as a fall guy the entire time to commit not only one string of murders across the country but many more crimes as well. He even gained the confidence of his patience and overdosed them and in some cases, he would convince Python to kidnap people so he can torture them. Kai had even begun to poison Python and convinced him he needed a liver transplant. And what would happen to the so-called donors that were a perfect match with Python, the autopsy reports spoke for themselves.

At the trial Kai couldn’t take it anymore and didn’t like the idea of spending the rest of his days in jail, so he took his own life. Python on the other hand was handed over to be treated, the obvious mental scars that remain will take a lot of time to heal.

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Meanwhile, Oscar and Fiona are now working on their relationship. The two of them are slowly growing back together, doing everything they both can. Fiona says she wishes everything would go back to the way it was, but Oscar says otherwise. To him knowing the truth had put together so many things, it especially helped him understand his sister. In certain ways, despite the pain, it did help them both. Ben believes Oscar’s feelings towards their situation changed after what happened that night. Then again it affected all of them, everyone took away something from that experience, the memory of Nicholas affected all of them and they tried to make the best of it.

Few weeks later

“Ben, why are you that face?” Ann asks, her eyebrows raised.

“What?”

“I am so tired of asking you the same thing. Just give me an answer,” Ann says as Ben kisses her cheek.

“If you mean handsome?” With a wink and an unusual amount of confidence, Ben spends the evening delightfully flirting with the woman he loves. Ann was showered with gifts that night and though she had her questions, she treasured every second of it.

After dinner they went for a long walk, talking about everything and anything that came to mind. It was perfect until Ben suggested they go home. A part of her was disappointed, she was expecting a proposal, but she was ready to wait. She knew Ben would have something planned and it was only right for her to give him his space. He had always been so accommodating to her and she was more than happy to be there for him.

As they walk in, Ann is ready to relax but is met with a beautiful sight, tons of fairy lights, flower petals and balloons, all coming together to a sign that was written the most beautifully.

‘Will you marry me?’

“Yes…,” Ann said in a soft voice. “Yes! Yes!” With each yes Ann’s voice kept getting hire and hire. Ben smiled at her reaction and kissed her.

“Come on Ann, let me ask you properly.” He got down on one knee a ring, it was a magical moment, but Ann was too excited to pay attention to the words. As she jumped into his arms once again, he put the ring on her finger and they kissed again. Ann embraced him, trying to put into words how happy she was.

As the night went on, Ann found herself looking out the window, as Ben slept comfortably. She pondered about Nicholas; it was a scary sight she witnessed that night he died. He tried to tell her something but with all the chaos, she barely heard him. Despite this, a part of Ann knew what he said, she knew and with a smile recalling their last conversation, she felt all loose ends tie up. With a sigh, she smiled and went back to bed and hugged Ben.