EPILOGUE

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Eeeek here we are! I tried to fit in some of the things you asked for in the comments last chapter! Maybe we'll have a bonus chapter  with some more of your suggestions in the future! :) Hope you enjoy! Lauren xxx



The Love Shack is busier than I've ever seen it when we arrive. It's alive with noise, movement, and people. Pink lights flash over the mass of disheveled looking Forever Fall High students; some are dancing, others talking agitatedly to one another around the tall tables beneath the tacky beach umbrellas. Cupids are here too, dressed in their stiff white suits and talking casually to mortals. The air smells like spilled cocktails.

The seven of us stand huddled in the doorway.

"Woah," says Charlie – peering over mine and Cupid's shoulders.

Everyone looks worse for wear. Chloe is still in her pink evening gown from the dance and holds a glass full of ice to her black eye. She's talking expressively to her friend from the cheerleading squad whose dirty white shirt is torn at the sleeve, and who I'm pretty sure I saw in the Underworld earlier.

Jason, the dark-haired quarterback passes us by on his way to the dancefloor.

"Dude, you would not believe what happened!" he yells over the One Direction track blaring from the speakers. "I was DEAD in this creepy palace place!"

"You think that's weird?! You should have been at the dance, man," says his friend. "Everyone was making out and fighting and stuff. It was carnage!"

Cupid squeezes my hand and leans closer. "Looks like Jupiter fulfilled his end of the bargain." His words tickle my ear and I smile.

"Looks like we have some damage control to do. . ." says Crystal. There's a pained expression on her face at the realization that the secret paranormal world might not be quite so secret anymore. Cal shrugs stiffly, his white shirt sleeves rolled up to his elbows and a pink bruise forming on his cheekbone. One of his hands is still curled around hers.

"It could be worse," he says. "We can deal with that tomorrow,"

Crystal looks at him, blue eyes glinting. "Seriously, who are you and what have you done to Cal?!"

He turns his head bringing their faces close together, and smiles.

"If I'd known that all I had to do to stop you from being so uptight, brother, was to get you and Crystal together I'd have done it years ago," remarks Cupid with a smirk.

Cal's eyes flash in the fuchsia lighting.

"Shut up," he snaps.

"Aaaand he's back," says Cupid.

I laugh, provoking another steely glare from Cal, before he turns back to Crystal. Cupid kisses my forehead.

"Well," says Mino clapping his hands together. "I'm going to get drinks! Any of you other third-wheels want to join me?"

He smiles, his teeth flashing white, at Charlie and Amena standing on either side of him. Amena laughs.

"Sure," she says.

Charlie grins then squeezes my arm. "I'll go get us a table."

The three of them head into the chaos and I watch with amusement as Charlie barges across the dancefloor then shuffles a group of freshmen out of our usual table in the corner. Cupid squeezes my hand, then the four of us follow.

"Lila!" Jason squeezes through the dancing students towards me. "Hey! Lila!

I look up at him, confused, as he stands in front of me. This guy has spoken to me maybe twice in our entire time at high school; one of the times being a couple of years ago when he made a remark about my mom being ill and I shoved him against a locker.

"Erm. . . hi?" I say.

Beside me Cupid tightens his grip on my hand and seems to make himself an inch taller.

Jason shuffles from one foot to another, running a hand through his mop of dark hair.

"Listen, some weird stuff has happened the past few months," he says, his voice strangely uncertain. "And a lot of weird stuff has happened these past few days. And well. . . I have a feeling you helped us. . . So. . .well. . . thank you."

"Yeah," says his friend from the football team. He gives me a gentle pat on the arm. "Thanks, Lila."

I shift awkwardly, face heating, as more students gather around me to express gratitude. Cupid relaxes beside me and smiles.

"It's true. She is pretty awesome," he says before gently leading me off the dancefloor to join the others. I slide onto a stool next to Charlie, and Mino passes us bright pink mocktails, eyes still on Jason.

"A lot of them are cupids now, aren't they?" I say, "That's how Venus got them into the Underworld."

"Yes," says Crystal, taking a sip of her drink and looking pensive. "We'll need to determine exactly who is affected. They'll need bringing into the Matchmaking Service. They'll need training. There's a lot of work to be done. Everything is going to change. And -"

"One ridiculous mythological problem at a time," says Cal, corner of his mouth quirking up.

She exhales. "Yes. And for tonight," She looks at me. "I'm just happy to be alive. Cal told me what you did, Lila. I can never thank you enough."

"It's. . . it's fine," I shift awkwardly – looking intently at the paper umbrella in my drink. "Don't mention it. . ."

Cupid touches my arm. "Want to get some air, lovebug?" he whispers.

A wave of relief fills me. I'm not good at handling all this attention.

"Yeah," I say. "Please –" Something contracts in my chest as I spot James leaning against the bar by himself. He gives me a sheepish smile. "Just give me a minute. Meet me at the fountain?"

Cupid follows my gaze, then nods – kissing my forehead. I make my way towards him.

"Lila, I'm so sorry," says James – his face pale. "I can't believe I –"

"Oh shut up," I say, throwing my arms around him.

He stiffens, then hugs me back. Our embrace is not romantic like it used to be; but I feel the shared history between us in the way that we cling to each other. There's hope in the hug too, that maybe we can be friends again. When we somewhat awkwardly detach, Charlie bounds up and puts an arm around James's shoulder.

"Hi, fellow cupid!" she says with a grin. He smiles sheepishly back as she catches my eye then leads him away. "I have so much to tell you. There's this agency called the Cupids Matchmaking Service -"

I smile to myself as they get lost in the crowd. Then I head to the exit of the Love Shack to meet Cupid outside. I stop in the doorway, my eyes widening. Dad, and his girlfriend Sarah, are talking to Eric.

"Lila!" says dad. His face looks a little drawn, and his suit is crumpled. He sweeps me into a big bear hug as I step into the cool night air. "We caught a flight back as soon as we heard about the incident at the high school. It was on the news. There was a big fight or something? We were so worried."

He pulls back and gently runs his thumb along my cheek. I wince, remembering the cut I obtained when Venus through a glass table at me. "Who did this to you?" he demands.

"I got caught up in the fight, dad. But I'm fine. Promise."

"We tried calling you," says Sarah. Her suit is crumpled too, and her blonde hair is messy. Guilt swells inside me at the look of pinched concern on her face. I hadn't realized that any of our paranormal dramas would have reached them all the way at their conference in New York.

"I'm so sorry," I say. "I should have called."

"Yes, well, luckily Eric told us that most of you kids had come here to the Love Shack," says dad. "– and he'd seen you were alright - so I thought, if you're not going to answer your phone we'd come and embarrass you in person with a bit of dad dancing." He hugs me tightly again. "By the way, you are so grounded," he whispers in my ear.

I groan. "Isn't the dad dancing punishment enough?"

He chuckles. "Now we're going to go inside and get coffee. It's been a long evening." He pulls away. "You may want to make the most of your last night of freedom."

He looks pointedly at the end of the alley, a faux stern expression on his face. I follow his gaze. Past the flower shop a figure is visible sitting on the edge of the fountain. I smile as Sarah takes dad's hand.

"Join us for a drink, Eric?" says dad.

"Don't mind if I do," he replies.

The three of them head inside.

I walk down the alley and perch on the stone next to Cupid. The cobbled square is quiet – the diner, thrift store, and grocery shop all closed for the night hours ago. The stone cherubs in the fountain dribble water into the basin behind us.

Cupid doesn't say anything – just puts his hand over mine. I sigh. I'm glad of the peace after everything that happened. But it gives me space to properly think about everything that happened, and that scares me a little.

Valentine sacrificed himself to save my life – and now he's gone forever. I didn't expect him to do it. It weighs heavily inside me; and worse still is the fact I don't know how I'm supposed to feel about it.

He was trying to turn me into someone else, and I wanted to get rid of him. Yet when the moment came - he gave his life willingly so that I could survive.

"You know I always thought I'd kill him myself," says Cupid suddenly – as though reading my thoughts. His eyes are fixed on the dark window of Romeo's. "I wanted him dead more than anything. And yet. . . now he's gone. . . I feel his loss more than I thought I would."

I turn to him. "Really?"

"Yeah," he says. "I mean, he tried to take you from me. And then – just when I thought you were gone forever – he did something to bring you back. I don't know if it makes up for everything he did. But I can't help but be thankful for that."

"I think I feel the same," I say.

We fall into a contemplative silence as my mind reels over everything that happened. My feelings for him are complicated. They always have been. Cupid was right earlier when he said I had a connection to him - both as Psyche, and Lila. 

He wasn't a good person. But I still found myself liking him. 

I hope that he has found peace in Olympus - where he will finally go to rest.

"Do you still remember anything from Psyche's past life?" says Cupid, after a while. "You may have given up her memories, but you still share a life thread."

I shake my head. "No. I think it'll go back to how it was before I opened the pyxis. I still feel like I have some of her potential godless power, though; like I could catch an arrow midair. Or kick your butt in a fight."

Cupid's face cracks into a grin. "Well, that's pretty awesome. Although we'll have to see about the whole butt kicking thing. . . "

The cool breeze brings faint music from the Love Shack towards us. He sighs.

"I thought I'd lost you," he says – his voice suddenly raw, his eyes boring into mine. "I couldn't imagine a world without you."

Something tightens in my chest as I voice something that's been on my mind for a while. "Cupid. . . you're immortal. And I'm not. One day you will lose me. And one day I'll be all. . . old. And you'll just be the same."

He smiles. "I've been thinking about that," he says. "Valentine said that after he moved my life thread from the immortal loom onto the mortal one that it had started to fray. He said that I could be killed."

My eyes widen. "You're not killing yourself," I say.

Amusement glints in his eyes at my horror. "I'm not saying that, lovebug. I'm saying if my thread is fraying, and it's no longer on the immortal loom, then maybe it's not quite so durable anymore. Maybe -"

"You're becoming mortal." I say softly.

"At least in a way. I think I'll always be a cupid based on who my mother is. But I think my lifespan will be human. I feel different. My wounds are taking longer to heal for one." He points at the pink bruise on his cheek that Cal gave him back in the Underworld. "My little brother doesn't have that good of a right hook."

"You wouldn't mind being mortal?"

"Mind?!" He takes my hands in his, and smiles. "We could live a normal life!"

"Normal?"

He grins. "Well, our kind of normal, anyway; with my grumpy immortal brother, our mythological friends, and your new super powers."

I laugh. "That would be nice."

"Although immortal or mortal, I'll still love you," his expression becomes serious. "I'll always love you."

His eyes bore into mine, shining with emotion, and I press my lips to his. He parts his mouth and kisses me back gently, moving a hand to my cheek to pull me close.

We share a smile, then – tired of serious talk - we chat nonsense for what feels like hours. Dad and Sarah stumble by at some point - giggling like teenagers having clearly enjoyed a few alcoholic drinks – and tell me to make sure I get home safe. Dawn is approaching by the time Cal, Crystal, Charlie, and Mino join us by the fountain; Crystal with Cal's tux jacket draped over her shoulders.

As the sky turns pink. Cal clings to Crystal's hand, and Cupid pulls me close. A smile broadens on Mino's face as he looks up. Beside him Charlie rubs a tear from her eye.

I know what they're all thinking, because I'm thinking it too. We didn't think that all of us would live to see the morning. Yet here we are.

Together we watch the sun rise over Forever Falls town square.

A U T H O R . N O T E

OMG! Here we are at the end!!!! I can't believe it! 

Thank you so much for coming on this journey with me and the cupids! I started this series back in 2015 and I still remember how nervous and excited I was when I posted the first chapter of Cupid's Match on Wattpad. I never imagined that a few years on there would be 3 books, 2 spin-offs, and I'd have talked to so many awesome readers here on Wattpad!

I have so much I want to say, so I'll post a proper author note at some point this week where I can talk about the book, and try answer any questions! For now I just really want to press the 'publish' button so you guys can read the ending!!!

I'm planning on doing an Instagram live (@LaurenPalphreyman) this week or next for us to chat cupids - I'll let you know the details when I post my proper author note! So keep an eye out for that!

Let me know here if you have any questions! I'll add an FAQ to the author note when I post it, and we can go over them in the Instagram live as well :)

Lastly - come find me on social media! 

With the re-written version of Cupid's Match is coming out as an actual book October 1st (it has LOADS of new scenes that I can't wait to share with you) and I'll be sharing things like the book cover, snippets of new content, and some behind the scenes glimpses!

Instagram: @LaurenPalphreyman

Twitter | Facebook | Wattpad : LEPalphreyman

Facebook (the cupids): @CupidsMatchmakingService

(Links to all are in my Wattpad bio)

Also - if you like my stories - make sure you're following me on Wattpad (click here---> LEPalphreyman)! I have written lots of other books on here, and I'll be starting a new project soon!

Lots and lot of love,

Lauren 

(and the cupids)

xxx


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