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Elena s his words sink in

“You’re sure this is what you want?” she asked quietly

“I want you,” Neal replied honestly “I want you to ether”

Elena looked at hily, but all she saw in those clear hazel eyes, was sincerity

“I love you, Neal,” she said

He smiled “I love you too, Elena”

He leaned in and kissed her When they broke apart, they looked at one another for a second and laughed out loud

“We’re really doing this?” Elena asked in awe

Neal nodded “Who would’ve thought?"

The loss of Hargrove Brothers was still there, still a thing to be h as heavily on hi Neal could put behind hi in his power to try to save it Neal looked at Elena and felt whole again As though the thing he had beenhis whole life had finally found its way back into his life He was staggered by the strangeness of it all Out of the pain of his brother’s death, he had the woman who had taken the lost boy that he used to be and turned him into a man

He felt the loss of his brother like a knife in the heart, so similar to how he had felt when his mother had died, but somehoas better equipped to deal with loss now With Elena’s hand holding fast to his own, he was keenly aware of one fact

After almost thirty years, he had finally learned to survive

The Final Chapter

“Aren’t you going to answer your phone?” Elena asked, trying to block out the sound

“It’s Harry,” Neal explained, “calling again to try and convince ive up my shares”