20 Five more years passed . Aoife entered St. Catherine's Academy , the same school where I'd met Cillian . Full circle . " Mom , there's this boy , " she said one day . " He keeps bringing me breakfast because I complained about the cafeteria food . " My heart skipped . " Oh ? " " He's annoying . But the food's good , so I let him . " I exchanged glances with Ronan . " Be careful , little one . Boys who bring you breakfast can be dangerous . " " Why ? " " Because they might actually care . " She rolled her eyes . " I'm twelve , not stupid . " " Same age I was when I met my first breakfast boy . " " What happened to him ? " I considered my answer . " He taught me valuable lessons . About love . About choices . About who I wanted to become . " " But you didn't marry him . " " No. I married your father . The right man at the right time . " " How do you know which is which ? " " You don't , at first . That's why you have to be smart . Watch what they do , not what they say . See if they respect your strength or try to cage it . " " Dad respects your strength . " " Yes . That's why he's your dad . " She considered this . " I'll keep that in mind . " " Do that . " Later , I found a package on my desk . No return address , but I recognized the hand that addressed it . Inside , a first edition of Irish poetry and a simple note : " Saw this and thought of you . The girl who preferred honesty to poetry , but deserved both . Be well . - C" I smiled , running my fingers over the old leather binding . Then I placed it on my shelf , between my business ledgers and family photos . The past had its place . But it didn't define the present . That evening , I told Ronan about Aoife's breakfast boy . " Should I have him killed ? " he asked , only half - joking . " Let's give it a few years first . " " Fair . But I'm keeping eyes on him . " " Of course you are . " " She's my princess . " " She's a Brennan - Fitzgerald . She'll handle herself . " " Doesn't mean I won't worry ." " Good . Worry keeps us sharp . " He pulled me close . " What are you thinking about ? " " How different her world is from the one we grew up in . How the choices we made shaped it ." " Any regrets ? " I thought about it , really thought about it . About paths not taken , loves lost , children never born . " No , " I said finally . " Every choice led here . To this moment . To this family . To this life we built . " " Even the painful ones ? " " Especially those . They taught me what I really wanted . What I was willing to fight for . " " And what's that ? " " Truth . Partnership . Power shared , not hoarded , Love that strengthens instead of weakens . " " Did you find it ? " I looked at him- this man who'd never lied to me , who'd stood beside me through blood and birth , who'd helped build an empire while raising our children . " Yes , " I said simply . " I found it all . " And in the city below , our empire thrummed with life . Dangerous , yes . Violent when necessary . But ours . Built on truth , not lies . 20 The Brennan girl who'd once believed love conquered all was gone . In her place stood a woman who knew better . Love didn't conquer . But with the right partner , at the right time , for the right reasons ? It could build empires . And that was enough . More than enough . It was everything .