I go deathly still. “Really?”

He laughs. “Just a hallucination, obviously. Trick of the mind.”

“Yeah,” I say nervously as I settle back down. “Right.”

“You were right, you know. The people that die never actually leave us. They’re here, if you just know where to look.”

I smile and lean into his side. “I’ll bet your mother was here, too.”

“I guess I have to believe that now, don’t I?” He smirks a little and then presses his lips to mine.

I sigh when he pulls away. “I wish I could bottle this moment, this feeling. The way the air around us feels and smells. It’s just… happiness.”

“And what does happiness smell like?” he asks curiously.

I don’t even need to think before I answer. “It smells like vanilla.”

EXTENDED EPILOGUE: KOLYA

FIFTEEN YEARS LATER

Check out the exclusive Extended Epilogue to SAPPHIRE TEARS! Fifteen years down the road, see Kolya and June’s growing family, the beginning of the next era of the Uvarov Bratva dynasty, and someone’s surprise return!

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