"Uncle, should I flip it?" Alejandro asked for the umpteenth time as he held the spatula right above the patties.

Alvaro spared him a glance, his eyes momentarily sliding away from the potato fries he had soaked in salted water. "Not yet. Let it cook for another thirty seconds. It's Wagyu."

He exhaled impatiently but nodded, discreetly poking at the beef while his brother sipped some Pepsi.

It was cool at the beach.

The sun was out but a chill breeze lowered the temperature, causing the waves to crash into the white sand inches away from their feet.

Casimiro picked up the camera around his neck and brought it to his face, waiting until the tides withdrew and when they tumbled forward again, he clicked on the shutter.

He stared at the picture for a few seconds, feeling a presence behind him.

"Is it good, prince?" Rory asked, peeking over his shoulder. "It's really pretty!"

He shrugged.

It wasn't his favorite but it would have to do.

Hanifa jogged out of the water to see the photograph as well, her wet hair clinging to her face. "Nice. Now take one with me and my surfboard."

"Hey, come take one with me and the grill," Alejandro argued instead. "We've got to show Krrish how much he's missing."

Casimiro laughed. "Sure."

It was one of their regular picnics at the beach but Krrish had gone to Delhi with his mother and Jet was in college.

He took a few more pictures, one with Alvaro trying to balance a saucer on the grill for the fries and another with his mother who drank wine straight from the bottle as she chatted with Clara.

Alejandro finally dipped the patties after a stern warning from Alvaro not to flatten them because they were marinated.

Eniola's phone suddenly rang and she pulled off her shades to see who the caller was.

"Clar, gimme a sec," she excused herself before answering. "Hey, baby. Miss me?"

Casimiro rolled his eyes while his brother snorted.

"You have no idea. Do you know where my ring is, my love? I've been searching for it for a few minutes now and I still can't find it."

She frowned. "Ah, have you checked the second dresser?"

"I have."

"The lower cabinet? You kept it there last time."

There was a bit of rummaging and he kissed his teeth. "It's not there either."

Eniola hissed and stood up from the lounge chair.

"I'll be home in like... ten minutes," she said.

"No no, it's fine. I'll look for it and be with you and everyone very soon."

She laughed mostly to herself. "Baby, you won't be able to find your own shadow when you're stressed."

"I'm not stressed."

"You just came from Valencia and I know for sure you haven't slept in two days. You're stressed as fuck."

One thing that was guaranteed was Tobias being confused and exhausted after being under pressure and overexerting himself.

Tobias sighed. "Alright, darling. Thank you. I'll see you soon."

"See you," Eniola said and hung up. "Uh, I've got to go back home real quick. Tobi's looking for his ring again."

Clara chuckled. "Why does he even take it off?"

"Something about not wanting to get it dirty or misplaced in Valencia," Eniola explained and Varo nodded in understanding.

"Help me get some bottles of water on your way back?" he requested. "I kept a pack in the chest freezer. Forgot to bring them."

"Sure, no problem," she said as she dropped her phone on the chair.

Casimiro stood up from the pile of sand as well. "Can I come with you mom? I need to get my power bank. Camera's almost dead."

Eniola waved.

"Yeah, that's fine. Let's go."

He dusted his trunks and threw on his t-shirt before jogging to meet her.

~~~

"I'll be back in thirty seconds!" Casi said as they separated at the stairs. He swore it wouldn't take him long to switch his batteries and then get the power bank.

Eniola just nodded as she walked to her and Tobias' room.

He was unmistakably seated on the edge of the bed, clad in just a pair of sweatpants as his hand pressed against the side of his face. A sly smile rested on his lips as he watched her come in.

"Hey, darling."

She sent him a smile, hers more curious before heading for the dresser.

"Baby, did you check here?" she asked, feeling his breath through her mesh beach dress.

"What are you looking for?"

She turned to him with disbelief, shock first betraying her features as she found him right behind her. "Your ring?"

Tobias grinned, raising his left hand.

His gold band rested comfortably on his ring finger.

"You found it?!" she exclaimed, her eyes narrowing at him. "Why didn't you tell me?"

"I found it on the bathroom sink a few minutes before you came in," Tobias confessed, the hand slightly rounding her face and dropping to the side of her neck.

Her pulse quickened.

"Still..."

"Hmm." His gaze dropped to her lips. "I missed you. Is it a crime to want to see you?"

Eniola bit her lip. "Well... no."

His fingers pressed on her bottom lip, causing her teeth to release it.

"Are you upset with me?" he asked and she shook her head. "Good."

His arm slid underneath her, sweeping her off her feet and onto the bed in a second.

His mouth met her own before she could protest, stealing her gasps. She knew he could taste the nicotine on her lips and tongue but he didn't complain. She even drew a light groan from him when he pulled away.

"Fuck, you taste good."

She seriously doubted that.

"Tobi, I'm supposed to go back."

He rolled his eyes as his fingers worked on loosening the straps on her chest area. "Five minutes."

She caught his arm, completely useless against him.

"This alone would take more than five minutes. Just... do it."

Tobias smirked, dipping his head to drop a kiss on her clothes chest before pulling away.

He grabbed her legs and drew her to him, his hands snaking underneath her dress and tugging her short shorts.

"You've been swimming?" he asked, finally noticing her clothes were somewhat damp.

"Yeah," she said almost shyly as he pulled her thighs apart.

There was a very distinctive peek of his tongue before he dropped his head between her legs, not bothering to hide the chuckle when she gasped. His tongue pressed against her clit, drawing towards her opening before going back again.

He repeated the motion until she was a hot and bothered mess. He slipped his tongue into her, his eyes almost rolling back when he tasted how slick she was.

"Fuck, Tobias-" she moaned, her hands finding his hair that was beginning to grow a little bit too long before tugging it, pulling him closer. "Fuck, I'm going to come."

It was always straight to business with him as he sucked on her clit, his teeth barely grazing her labia before her insides contracted. He knew exactly what he was doing when it came to her body.

He lifted himself, his eyes going to the clock before grinning. "Three minutes left. Can we make it?"

Eniola smiled back, watching as he leaned in to kiss her.

Her hand reached into his pants, her grasp finding his hard form before stroking it.

"We could try."

~~~

Casimiro raised a brow at his mother as she heaved the pack of water out the fridge.

Thankfully it was cold.

He stretched his hand forward. "Let me help."

Eniola looked worried for a second.

"Are you sure you can carry it? It's heavy," she warned but after enough persuasion, she handed it to him. "Be careful, okay? Just put it in the buggy."

Casimiro nodded. "Sure. Is dad coming?"

"He is."

He had gone to fetch Tomiwa who was asleep in her room. She had also gone to the island with him and was tired too but they couldn't leave her alone in the house.

Eniola and her younger twin had barely made it to the back of the ranch when she saw Sergie and some other guards hurdle past.

Their guns were out.

She frowned.

Their guns were never out.

There were children on the property and she and Tobias had made it mandatory to never show weapons.

She pulled Casi close.

"Serg?" she called her bodyguard's attention.

"Donña," he said curtly, a slight tip of his head.

"What's going on?"

Sergie shook his head. "I'm not entirely sure myself but there's an intruder. He put in an ID of one of the cleaners but now we can't find him on the database. We can't find him on the property either."

"Mom, my hands are hurting," Casi complained and a guard took the pack from him. "In the buggy, please. Thanks."

"Does Tobias know?"

Sergie nodded. "We just alerted him and Varo. It's best if you go back inside."

"No, my son and Varo's family are out there-"

A gunshot tore through the air and Eniola felt herself thrown to the ground.

"Mu!" she yelled as the guards shielded her. "Where's my- oh thank God,"

He was safe.

Her hands went around him as they were pushed into the stable which was the nearest shade to take cover. It smelled like dry and wet grass at the same time.

"What the fuck is happening?" she yelled, frustrated to not get a reply before reaching for her phone.

It wasn't in her shorts. She had left it at the beach.

"For fuck's sake," she grumbled, her eyes raking over son. "Mu, are you okay? Did you get hurt?"

Casimiro shook his head. "I'm fine."

Eniola nodded, convincing herself it was all good and ignoring the pounding in her chest.

"Good, good. Just stay with me, okay? There's nothing to panic over. It's okay," she cooed, looking around.

The horses were startled but stayed in their slots.

They were safe.

She looked at the human barricade in front of them. "I need a phone."

A small phone was given to her and she immediately dialed Alejandro's number that she had memorized.

The phone rang for a few moments before disconnecting and her eyes widened.

"No, no. You're not doing this with me right now," she muttered to herself before dialing the other number on her mind.

"Yes?" The voice on the other line was urgent and she was more than relieved to hear him.

"Tobi? Thank fuck, Tobi..."

"Eniola?" he sounded more relieved than she was. "I've been trying to reach you. What happened to your phone?!"

"I left it at the beach- what's happening?" she asked.

"I wish I was certain. It seems to be resolved at the moment. The gunshot was from our men. Alvaro, Clara and the kids are safe," he explained.

"Thank God," she sighed. "Where are you?"

"I'm currently at the ranch. I can't find you- is my wife there?"

She heard his voice from outside the stable and almost stumbled to her feet, grabbing Casimiro's hand.

"Get out of my way," she told the guards. "Tobias?"

She found him, his eyes combing through the entire place before resting on hers as he carried Tomiwa.

"Fuego, I almost had a heart attack."

She laughed, still breathless but more than glad to see him and Tomiwa safe.

"Likewise-"

A bird dropped right between them and she stepped back in shock, her eyes immediately peeling away from the dead creature and facing the sight of someone on the roof of their staff building.

She saw his face- well the little that she could see as his black wet hair stuck to his face and his other dark clothes before he slowly lowered himself. His eyes were red as the locked sight with hers and she could see the smallest smile on his lips.

His entire body had aligned with the rifle pointed towards them before she knew what she was doing.

She was away from Casimiro and had only pushed Tobias and their daughter out of the way before the sniper went off a second time.

~~~

Bitch, I actually finished a book.😂

I'll probably rewrite this epilogue a few... Hundred times but I'm so proud of myself.🤧 I had to just hurry this because I've got serious exams next week and I don't want to make you all wait for two more weeks.

This is how book one ends.

Thank you so much for being with me for so long and staying even when the characters were annoying as fuck in the beginning. You really are God's strongest soldiers. I'm very grateful for all the reads and votes AND comments (no matter how vile/horny/mean/hilarious they are). Thank you. Thank you.

The character sheet for the second book, DOS FERNA is already out so you can go check that out while you wait. I'll start uploading new chapters on the 13th of April.

See you soon!👋🏽❤️