A love to last

The air in the grand drawing room of the Natetorrn estate was thick with the scent of expensive sandalwood and the metallic tang of unspoken violence. Sky Wongravee sat in his high-backed leather chair, his posture deceptively relaxed, though the aura he projected was that of a predator watching its prey stumble into a snare. He was no longer the charming F1 racer the public adored, nor the enigmatic actor whose smile graced billboards. He was the Don, and his patience had finally reached its absolute zero.

Opposite him, Nani’s sister, Pim, paced the length of the Persian rug. Her face was flushed with a mixture of indignation and desperation. She had lived a life of luxury built on the contract of their marriage, but the illusion was shattering. In her hand, she clutched a series of photographs—clandestine shots of Nani at a park with the twins, Smyle and Neona, and a subtle, almost imperceptible curve to Nani’s abdomen that suggested a third secret was growing within him.

"You think you can just discard me, Sky?" Pim spat, her voice shrill. "You think you can cast me aside for that freak? My own brother? A cross-dresser who crawled into your bed like a common whore while I was away? If you go through with this divorce, I will make sure the world knows what kind of monsters those children are. I’ll make sure Nani and that little brat he’s carrying never see the light of day."

Sky didn't move. He didn't even blink. "Is that a threat, Pim?"

"It’s a promise!" she shrieked, slamming the photos onto the mahogany table. "I have the family’s backing. We will drag his name through the mud. We will take those twins and put them in a place where they’ll forget you ever existed. And that thing inside him? It won’t survive the stress of what I have planned."

The temperature in the room seemed to drop ten degrees. Sky stood up slowly, his movements fluid and terrifyingly calm. He adjusted the cufflinks of his bespoke suit, the silver glinting like a blade. As an enigma, his pheromones were usually kept under tight control, but now, he let a sliver of his dominant power bleed out. It was heavy, suffocating, and smelled of ozone and ancient earth.

"You’ve lived under my roof for years, Pim," Sky said, his voice a low, melodic rumble that vibrated in the floorboards. "You’ve spent my money, worn my jewels, and enjoyed the protection of my name. Yet, it seems you’ve forgotten who provides that protection. You’ve forgotten that I don’t just drive cars or act in front of cameras. I rule the shadows that keep your world standing."

He walked toward her, and Pim instinctively took a step back, her bravado flickering.

"Nani is my Donna," Sky continued, his eyes darkening to a void-like black. "The twins are my blood, my heirs, and the light of my life. And the child he carries now? That child is the final piece of my soul. You speak of them as if they are pawns in your petty game of social standing. You speak of threatening my family."

He stopped just inches from her, his presence looming over her like a mountain about to collapse. "Do you know what happens to people who threaten a Don’s family, Pim? They don't just disappear. They are erased. Their history, their wealth, their very right to breathe is revoked."

"You... you wouldn't," she whispered, her voice trembling. "My father... the contract..."

"Your father is currently watching his offshore accounts drain to zero," Sky said, pulling his phone from his pocket and tossing it onto the table. "And the contract? I burned it the moment Nani came back from Colombia. I kept you around only to ensure the divorce was handled legally for the sake of the twins' public image. But you’ve made it personal. You’ve made it a matter of survival."

Sky leaned down, his lips brushing her ear, though there was no affection in the gesture—only the cold promise of death. "If you so much as breathe Nani’s name to the press, or if a single hair on Smyle or Neona’s head is harmed, I will show you why they call me an Enigma. I will not kill you, Pim. I will move you to a place where you will live a very, very long life, in total silence, with nothing but the memory of the crown you threw away."

He straightened up and turned his back on her, dismissing her as if she were a piece of discarded trash. "Get out. My men are waiting outside to escort you to your new, much smaller, accommodations. You are no longer a Natetorrn. You are nothing."

As the guards dragged a sobbing, screaming Pim from the room, Sky let out a long, jagged breath. The mask of the Don didn't slip, but it softened as he turned toward the hidden door behind his desk.

Nani stood there, his frame slight but resilient. He was dressed in a soft, oversized silk shirt that draped over his slender hips, his long hair tied back loosely. His eyes, usually bright and mischievous, were clouded with a mixture of fear and exhaustion. Behind him, Neona and Smyle were peeking through the doorway, their small faces pale.

"Sky?" Nani whispered, his voice trembling. "Is it over?"

Sky crossed the room in three long strides, pulling Nani into his arms. He buried his face in the crook of Nani’s neck, breathing in the scent of jasmine and the faint, sweet aroma of an expectant omega. The tension that had held his spine like a steel rod finally snapped.

"It’s over, love," Sky murmured against his skin. "No one is going to hurt you. Not ever again."

Nani pulled back slightly, his hand resting instinctively on his stomach. "I was going to run again, Sky. When I heard her shouting... I thought I had to protect them. I thought I was a curse to you."

Sky gripped Nani’s chin, forcing the omega to look him in the eyes. "You are my life, Nani. You and the twins, and this little one. I spent years in a cold, empty house with a woman I didn't love, waiting for a ghost. I won't let you be a secret anymore. The world will know you're mine, or the world will burn. I don't care which."

Smyle, the younger and more adventurous of the twins, scurried forward and wrapped his arms around Sky’s leg. "Papa? Is the mean lady gone?"

Sky reached down, picking Smyle up with one arm while gesturing for Neona to join them. Neona, the eldest and more observant twin, walked over more slowly, her eyes searching Sky’s face for the truth. Sky kissed both their foreheads, his heart swelling with a fierce, protective love that surpassed any role he had ever played.

"She’s gone, Smyle," Sky promised. "She’s never coming back. We’re going to be a real family now. No more hiding. No more secrets."

Nani leaned his head against Sky’s shoulder, tears finally spilling over. "I was so tired of running, Sky. Colombia was lonely. Every time I looked at the twins, I saw your eyes. I saw the man I thought I’d lost."

"You'll never lose me again," Sky said, his voice firm and absolute. "I’ve already filed the final papers. By tomorrow, the news will break that I am stepping back from racing to focus on my family. Our family."

"But your career," Nani protested weakly. "The F1... the movies..."

"They mean nothing if I don't have you to come home to," Sky countered. He looked around the opulent room, which now felt less like a fortress and more like a home. "I’m a Don, Nani. I have enough resources to ensure we live in peace for a hundred lifetimes. My only job now is being your husband and their father."

Neona looked up at Nani, her small hand reaching out to touch his belly. "Is there really another baby in there, Mae?"

Nani smiled through his tears, taking Neona’s hand and pressing it against the soft warmth of his abdomen. "Yes, Neona. You’re going to be a big sister again. And Smyle is going to be a big brother."

Smyle cheered, wiggling in Sky’s arms. "I’m gonna teach him how to drive fast! Like Papa!"

Sky laughed, a genuine, hearty sound that chased away the last of the shadows in the room. "We’ll see about that, little racer. But first, I think we all need some rest."

He led them toward the private wing of the estate, his arm wrapped securely around Nani’s waist. As they walked, Sky glanced back at the empty drawing room. He knew the fallout of his actions would be immense. The family would try to retaliate, the media would go into a frenzy, and the underworld would buzz with the news of the Don’t vulnerability.

But as he looked at Nani—the man who had defied every social norm, who had survived alone in a foreign land to protect their children, and who still loved him despite the darkness he carried—Sky knew he had already won.

Later that evening, after the twins had been tucked into their beds and the house had fallen into a peaceful silence, Sky and Nani sat on the balcony overlooking the sprawling gardens. The moonlight draped over them like a silver shroud.

"You really scared her, didn't you?" Nani asked quietly, leaning back against Sky’s chest as they shared a chair.

"I reminded her of the reality she chose to ignore," Sky replied, his hands resting over Nani’s on his stomach. "People see the actor and the racer, and they forget the Enigma. They forget that I was born into a world where power is the only currency that matters. She tried to use my children as leverage. That is an unforgivable sin."

Nani sighed, turning in his arms to face him. "I don't want them to grow up in that world, Sky. I don't want them to see the violence."

"They won't," Sky promised, kissing Nani’s forehead. "I’ve spent my life building a wall between my business and my heart. You are my heart, Nani. Everything I did today was to ensure that wall stays standing. You’re safe. The twins are safe. Our baby is safe."

Nani reached up, cupping Sky’s face with his hands. "I love you, Sky. Even when I was running, even when I was angry... I never stopped."

"And I will spend the rest of my life making up for the time we lost," Sky vowed.

He pulled Nani into a deep, lingering kiss, one that tasted of relief and a new beginning. The Don had reclaimed his Donna, and the Enigma had finally found his truth. The world outside could scream and demand answers, but within the walls of the Natetorrn estate, there was finally peace.

As the stars shifted above them, Sky felt a small kick against his palm—a tiny, rhythmic thud from the life Nani carried. It was a reminder of the future he had fought for, a future that no longer required secrets or shadows. He was Sky Wongravee, a man of many faces, but to the person in his arms, he was simply home.

And for the first time in his life, that was more than enough.