Saira SwitzJefferson:

We make our way to the Warrior's Hospital Wing,my shaky feet slowing us down as I put my weight on the cane.

Zoe matches my pace and I catch up on what has been happening Underground in my absence.

"So Mom and Dad have really cooled the tension and everything's stable.The only thing that's annoying is that I keep getting paired up with Xander."

That shakes me out of any thoughts of how badly the trillionaire must be hurt and I ask out loud,
"Don't tell me you are still pretending you don't like him."

Her mouth falls open,her sparkling blue eyes wide open as she shakes her head furiously,
"I don't pretend to not like him.His mere existence is annoying."

Rolling my eyes,I give out a sigh.

"We all know how this story turns out,Zoe."

"Yeah how?"

Looking at the huge opaque entrance door of the Warriors' Hospital Wing a few feet away from us,I clutch my cane and force my trembling legs to walk faster,
"In a few months or so,Xander will ask you out and I will find you two glued together and going on car rides every weekend.
And yes,I did hear Xander call you love."

Ignoring Zoe's hysterical blabbering of denial,I make my way closer to the Hospital Wing and try not to dwell too much on how the last time I saw Ethan was basically in a bloody field full of corpses.
Where death would have surely welcomed us with open arms.

Biting down a shiver,I motion Zoe to push the doors open as all my strength is put on gripping the cane hard,while trying to simultaneously maintain my posture and not just plop down on the polished floor,like I really really want to.

We enter the Warriors' Hospital Wing and my eyes immediately scan the whole circular room to see all the beds filled with Underground Warriors.

Trying to not think of where Ethan's bed is,we first head to the closest bed,Zainab,the Leader of Underground Warriors and notice she's already sitting straight with a smile,giving off a regal aura.

Zoe slides a chair at me and I sit down grateful,my aching muscles finally being able to rest.
Leaning the cane against the wall,I turn my attention to Zainab,someone who I have worked with and fought side by side for so many years,so many heists.

Her eyes are as black as marbles,and one would think she has moonlight pooled in those eyes,because of how much it sparkles.
And I take in her bandaged arms and wrists,the blanket covering her legs,band-aid on her forehead.

Looking at her,I smile ruefully,
"How come you still manage to look good after being in the receiving end of an explosion?"

She laughs,a clear booming sound that has all the other patients glancing our way,
"Well,I guess staying beside the biggest criminal prodigy has taught me how to go all out."

Before I can say anything,Zoe bursts out,
"Zainab,are you hurt?Of course you are.I know this is like the seventeenth time I am saying this but-

With her bandaged hand coming up in the air,she stops her.
And surprisingly Zoe become quiet.

I let out a scoff,
"Only you would be able to shut Miss Zoe-always-blabbering-McDazzle up."

Zainab lets out a pleasant laugh,
"Please,no more apologies.I might get even more sick if I have to listen to one more apology."

I nod in agreement,
"We can't really change what has already happened you know.Zoe took a risk and it paid off.At least everyone made it out alive."

"Exactly my thoughts.",agrees Zainab sagely.

We both look at Zoe to see her eyes shining and she finally bursts,
"You guys-you guys really know how to make me feel better and worse at the same time."

Grinning widely,I wink at Zainab.

We soon get up after chatting with Zainab and move to have a quick talk with the other Underground Warriors,give them words of encouragement,a light thump or pat in the back since they are all still recovering,battered and bruised and make our way out of the room.

As Zoe leads me to the private sector of the Hospital Wing,she remarks,
"They really look up to you,you know.
The warriors,the common people,even the kids.You are a leader to them."

I ponder about it for a minute before replying,
"To say I didn't notice that would be a lie because I did.Well,I just hope I can keep up with actions that help them all.
No dictatorship,only democracy."

She nods,understanding exactly what I am talking about and our conversation abruptly stops as we come in front of the private cabin of Warriors' Hospital Wing.

He's there.

Zoe clears her throat,"Well,I thought it would be better for you to go there.Alone.Because I am tired of looking at his face and telling him you are okay so go and show him that you are."

I look at Zoe,eyebrows arched,
"There's nothing going on between us."

She hmmphs,insinuating there is clearly something going on between the two of us and says in a sing-song voice as she walks backwards to the exit,
"Love is in the airrrrrrrrrrrr"

I scoff in disbelief and shout at her retreating figure,
"At least we haven't started calling each other nicknames like love!"

And before she can scream back,I twist the sleek brown knob and hold the door open with my cane as I enter.

But as I let the door close behind me,a shout reaches my ears but I brush it off.

Both Zoe and I could be at each other's throats for days without getting tired.

Taking in the dimmed soft lights glazing the whole room,I turn to the opposite side to only find a messy bed with rumpled up blanket which happens to be...empty.

Puzzled,I step closer to the corner where the bed is and just for confirmation even though I am sure he's not there,curled up like a baby,I throw the blanket away.

No trillionaire in sight.

Only a messy bed with decorated striped wallpaper on all four sides.

"Is this the wrong cabin then?",I wonder out loud.

Hearing a slight creak,I turn back to only have someone tackle me and we both fall into the bed.
Shock ringing,I move my head away from the bedsheet and notice there are arms wrapped around me.

I try to crane my head back,but this person turns out to be impressively strong even when he is hurt and I let out a surprised yelp as his arms hold me tightly.

"You are okay."

I gasp out,"I don't think I will be okay if you.keep.squeezing.me.like.this."

The hold tightens and I can finally breathe easier.

Exhaling loudly,I turn around to see Ethan sprawled on the bed,his body tilted towards me with a devilish smile on his face.

His electric blue eyes haven’t lost it's shine at all,his blonde hair looking as bedraggled and messy as the bed makes the trillionaire look ridiculously handsome.

But as my eyes travel down,I notice his legs are completely bandaged and realize the creaking sound I heard came from the wheelchair which stands erect,beside the bed.

My mouth falls open as I jab a finger at him,
"Did you just throw yourself on me while your legs are clearly not functioning?"

Ethan smirks and uses his elbows to make himself more comfortable on the bed,
"You know you liked it."

"I am glad even an explosion couldn't get rid of your upstart narcissistic ass."

A deep laugh comes out from him and I can tell from the way his eyes have gotten softer,the way his cheeks turned up,he is happy.

Opening his arms,he pats the small space beside him,
"Come here."

I grumble,slightly abashed,as I move closer,
"Today's an exception."

He gifts me with the widest grin on his face as I land beside him and carefully places his arm around me.
"You scared me for a minute there."

Making myself comfortable as I rest my head against his side,careful to not hurt him,I inquire,
"For not waking up the last few days?"

"That and the thought that you might have already woken up and didn’t think it was important to tell me."

I look up at him,peering,
"I wouldn’t do that after knowing how you looked after me."

Gauging his reaction where he happens to be slightly embarrassed,looking everywhere else but my way,I laugh out loud.
"Oh is the big powerful trillionaire feeling shy?"

He scoffs and tightens his arm around me as his other hand starts softly playing with my fingers,
"I am going to kill Zoe once I fully recover."

Closing my eyes for a second,I rest against him,content with being by his side.
"This feels... surprisingly natural.",I remark,my eyes peacefully closed.

He rests his head slowly against mine and says,
"Almost like we have been doing this for years."

My eyes fly open at the sudden thought formed in my mind and I stare at him in amusement,
"Did you know I hated you at first?No,it was before we even met."

Seeing his outrageous face,I proceed,clearly enjoying the effect,
"It was way before we met.Zoe showed me a magazine with you in it.And you wrote some really stupid sexist stuff that pissed me off."

He gazes at me with confused eyes for a few seconds before it dawns on him.
"Ah,that interview."

I look at him now,with crossed arms and a somewhat stern expression even though I have stopped being mad about it because I have seen him,how he truly is.

And he sighs now defeatedly,noticing my expectant look,
"I was a jackass.There's just no other words.And no apology would make up for how much of an idiot I was but I will say this though."

He looks at me again,his eyes intense and serious,
"Staying with you would probably help me be less of an asshole."

I laugh outrightly and shake my head as I lean back against him,
"You really need to touch up on good pick-up lines."

"You could teach me."

Smiling,I open my mouth to reply but it's so comfortable and so warm here and the walk has made my legs oh so tired that all I can think of is how my eyes are drooping and......

___________________________________________

Someone is snoring.

Loudly.

I squirm a bit,feeling drunkenly sleepy and move my arms to feel...

An ear?

My eyes fly open and I try to clear my grogginess off as my vision gets clearer.

Wait..that's Ethan.

Oh right,I fell asleep beside him.

Shaking off any lingering drowsiness,I slowly sit up,trying not to wake Ethan and his godzilla-like snores.

There isn't even any clocks in sight.
But I am guessing it's already crossed an hour or two.
I need to go.

Very lightly,I get away and crawl out of the bed,trying my best not to make a sound and nimbly leap onto the floor.

Tiptoeing out of the room,I take one last glance at the adorably sleeping trillionaire,with his mouth open as the snores keep coming like a quickly brewing storm.

And an involuntary smile forms as I whisper,
"I will be back soon,Ethan."

___________________________________________

Walking out of the Hospital Wing with the cane in tow,I notice the lights have been shed and it's gotten darker.

This means I really slept for a long time.

Well,what can I say,Ethan makes a perfect substitute for a pillow bolster.

After walking through all the tunnels of the East Side of the Underground,I finally reach Zoe's office,as slow as the sloth in Zootopia.

Maybe even slower.

I type in the passcode quickly and as the door opens automatically,I enter,my cane thumping the floor hard.

I don't even have to say anything before Zoe emerges from behind her pale white desk,takes her phone and clutch and nods her head at the direction of the door,
"Let's go."

Without having to say much,I head back outside from her office when she stops me with one arm.

"You don't need rest,do you?"

"No,I slept already."

Now she bats her eyelashes and rewards me with a foxy smile,
"With your big stupid trillionaire?"

I look around pretentiously before replying,
"And where is your Romeo,may I ask?You know,"I ask suggestively,"the one who serenades you and calls you love."

Narrowing her eyebrows,she flashes an annoyed smile,
"Let's just go to the dungeon,shall we?"

Stifling a snort,I say,
"And we shall."

In compatible silence,we make our way down the wooden staircases,greeting our fellow Underground ladies and men who all seem very excited to talk to us.

Zoe politely refuses to the third time a Sergeant of the West Side asks us to join in their party and I wonder if they think we are rude or if we are too entitled.

But the truth is,there's just much more that needs our attention than splurging in champagne pools and ending up in a stranger's bed.

I am already out of breath as we finally come to a halt in the heavily guarded cells in the Underground.

Noticing my bitter expression,Zoe asks,
"I am guessing landing up on a prison isn't a ride,is it?"

"As someone who's landed up in jail twice,trust me,when I say,it's not an experience you would necessarily come to enjoy."

She lets out an undignified snort.

"I should be thankful that I always get jobs that are the furthest from a prison cell."

I tilt my head down at her waistband,where there is a sleek black gun holster attached coolly,

"How come you have a gun and I don't?"

"Well,I thought it would be nice for a change if we swapped roles.I will protect you and you make sure no one finds out there are criminals walking around like a common man."

"Fair enough."

We move forward and as soon as the guards notice us,they come alert and give a firm salute to both of us.

It's times like these,where I really wish I had a huge black hat which I could tip over and bow my head slowly.

Wouldn’t that be cool?

The guards move aside and only Shahid,the Head Guard comes with us as we dive deeper into the dungeon,straight to the deepest corner.

And there it is.

A long dark corridor with only one prison cell at the end.
That's where the dictator is kept.

As Shahid places the key and turns it in the completely black door and places his fingertip in the small screen for identification,the door clings.

It's unlocked now.

I look at Zoe and then at Shahid,
"Will you excuse us for a minute,Shahid?We won't take much time."

He agrees readily and leaves,his military boots being a solid sonical presence.

The sound fills up the eery and grim atmosphere for a minute and then it fades away.

Signaling to Zoe to enter with me,I sigh,
"This is giving me flashbacks."

She nudges softly against my shoulder,
"We will be out in no time."

Stepping into the cell,I try not to notice the untouched bowl of soup laying on the floor or the bed with very neat plain bedsheet,no sign that a person has slept in it.

The room is as dull and dark,no windows or shutter.
There is no access to sunlight but the man facing the wall,with his head bent and his body leaning completely against another wall makes the cell seem ten times more colder,more inhuman.

I mouth at Zoe to sit down.

As we take a seat on the cold hard floor,I am slightly shaken and taken aback at how unhinged and insane the dictator looks right now.

Stripped of his cloaks,his masks as his disguises,all the weaknesses show,one by  one.

Balding hair,shaky hands,the too frail body of an old man who had sacrificed too much for an unnatural dream.

I finally ask,still feeling unsettled at seeing the dicator this vulnerable,
"Why haven’t you been eating,Lavinco?"

He looks at me slowly and it sickens me how even his face sags,it seems the blood has been leeched off of him.

But it's when he starts speaking,do I realize that the man has really fallen,
"Saira darling."

His voice is like a phantom,a wisp of what he used to be.
Blow once and he will fade away like a dandelion.

"You and your uptown modern filth of criminals took it away.My hopes.My men."

"Your men were slaves.Men that deserve a shot at a normal life.Men that were robbed from their families."

He smiles creepily now,showing his tooth gap and disgustingly black gums,
"Of course,like I said before,you are mistaken,my dear.I just wanted to live my dream.We could have all thrived.I could-I could make our Underworld the biggest and most powerful kingdom in the world."

Zoe says,"If it's done by using slavery and ruining thousands of people's lives,than we don't want it."

He turns to me slowly,his glassed up bloodshot eyes piercing me uncomfortably,
"You did it.You destroyed me.My dream.My hopes.I didn’t grow up like you privileged pampered kids!I didn’t have a family.I wanted it.Yes,I wanted it."

With disbelieving eyes,I look at Zoe and we come to the same conclusion.

The dictator has completely lost his mind.

And we get up silently,realizing there is no use talking to a fifty-year old man,who blames a girl in her twenties for his downfall.

As he continues to glare at us with those scary orb-like eyes,I say one last thing that was in my mind.

"You call us pampered and privileged but I think you have forgotten it was because of your actions that I lost my parents when I was a kid,not to mention hundreds of pampered privileged children who became orphans because of your greed and corruption.
Lastly,I want to say you will rot in this prison cell for the rest of your life.You will get life imprisonment.So ponder where you went wrong with your demonic deeds."

As we turn back to head out of the prison cell,I am still seeing red,still hearing the news of the mass killing that took my parents away from me when I hear a scream of shock.

Snapping back to reality,I flip around to see Lavinco Ruth,once a legend,now a frail weak shadow holds the gun with trembling fingers and I frantically look at Zoe's waistbelt to see the holster is empty.

My best friend's shocked eyes reflect my feelings as she sputters,
"He just snatched it..I had no idea.."

I take one step closer but freeze when I realize Lavinco has the gun plastered against his forehead,
"Don't,"he pleads,his eyes full of unhinged insanity,"Let me go in peace."

Before Zoe and I can take a step,make a movement or call for the guards,Lavinco Ruth,the terrorizing dictator,has already pressed the trigger.

And I watch in shock and growing numbness as the sound of gunshot echoes around until there are guards crowding in,Zoe's screaming for medics while I stand there,trying to take it in.

Trying to take in how desolate and lonely he seemed.

Even in his last moments,he was alone.

___________________________________________

Two week pass after Lavinco's death and I make sure he gets a proper burial service even though no one shows up.

That's okay too.
People ask me why I am even doing this,but I can't erase that look of desperation and hopelessness from my mind.
This feels like the right thing to do for someone who has lived his whole life like an outcast.
Even if he was a villain,at the end,he was just another person,gone crazy by the hunger and inhumaneness power brought.

As I walk back to my car and notice how the sunset has the sky looking the most pretty with a beautiful shade of pink spread out with tufts of cloud,I am reminded again by the thought that both my parents would be proud of what I have done.

And somehow,knowing that really does easy this storm of a heart.

It's been a very hectic and busy week,I would say.
The Underground Lab team did extensive research to figure out which is the best way for the drugged Red Ravens to recover and they are slowly but surely making that antidote and I see the Ravens have already started acting more human than they did when they were in Lavinco's den.
So that's a start.

And Zoe and her tech team are trying their best to identify where their families are,their pasts and everything.
It's all very secretive and brushed under a rug but if there's anyone who can find data that doesn’t want to be found,it's Miss Zoe McDazzle.

And what have I been doing?

Well,I am busy with my own business ventures,I recently bought a stake in Ethan's company,only because he threatened to hand a portion of company shares to me for free.
He says that would keep us closer.

Ugh,how cheesy.

But I did buy the shares,I could never be a freeloader.
(Let's not think about the countless times I robbed museums or banks)

And I am handling all the other organisations that I have and making sure the activities pick up it's usual pace.

But today is a special day.

Because the King and Queen of the Underworld are throwing a celebration parry at the Valley of Hopes,a magically beautiful place with nature.

And let's be honest,nature always helps one forget any problems that kept prickling them.

So as I reach my destination,my heart leaps at the sight of the sprawled up valley,with makeshift circular tables and crackling campfires around as fairy lanterns adorn the whole place,making it look spectacular.

I park the car in the parking spot and hop out excitedly.
It's been quite a long time that I get to enjoy spending time with nature and loved ones and I am just fascinated to see how the sky changes it's colors from lighter shades to darker as the stars come up to say hello to us.

I practically skip to the gates and run into the valley as I bump into knowing faces,greet the now healed Underground Warriors and the King and Queen of Underworld with a hug,watch how Mac flirts with an impressive number of girls and finally grin as I see Zoe and Xander,arm in arm,coming to see me.

Before I can conjure a taunt,Zoe clasps me in her arms and whispers,
"Please don't say anything about us dating.He's awfully sensitive and shy."

"I can hear you,Zoe love."Xander's voice comes out,highly amused and resigned to the fact that somehow,he ended up having a crazy girlfriend.

But the best one,for sure.

I am still grinning as I ask,
"How do I look?"

Zoe starts rambling,
"Oh man!I want you to do a twirl for me right now.You look insanely hot in that maroon dress and those black heels,gurrrrrl.Not to mention that red lipstick and those magnificent curls got you looking sooo good."

Chuckling at how I expected her to compliment me like this,I look around and eventually ask the question that has been on my mind from the time I stepped out of the car,
"Did Ethan not come?"

Zoe's eyes signal to my back but before I can move,someone drapes his arm around me and comes closer.

I look up at my right to see the trillionaire,looking absolutely royal in his black velvet suit with his slicked back hair and as per tradition,strands of his blonde hair has to cover his forehead and sometimes his eyes.

My fingers move in it's own accord,to gently push the hair away from his eyes and I smile at him.

He smiles back and gestures at the beautiful place,
"Walk with me?"

Taking his hand in mine,we start walking aimlessly or that's what I thought when I sense Ethan pulling me in a corner,under the home of a huge oak tree.

Slightly bewildered,I look around and then at him,
"Ethan,what is i-?

But whatever I was about to say vanishes and becomes forgotten as he bends down to one knee and my heart speeds up when I blink and crane my head down to see...to see he is tying his shoe laces?

Trying not to let out the biggest scream,I move away from him,clearly annoyed by this stupid prank or whatever you call it.

He stands up again,his shoulders shaking as he laughs like a hyena but noticing my stony expression as I intentionally look the other way,he stops right away.

Reaching his arm out,he gently tries to pull me closer but I don't budge and shake off his touch.

This stupid,annoying man.

"Okay,I am sorry.That was mean."

Looking right at him with my full force of a glare,
"A bit too mean but I am glad to see that the the first thing you do after your legs have completely recovered is prank me.Wow,Ethan."

Now he's abashed but still chuckling shamelessly.

As he runs a finger through his hair,Ethan says smiling,
"I am glad to see that you have long term plans for the both of us,if seeing your reaction says anything."

That really is the last straw.

Letting out a scream of frustration,I shove Ethan away and proceed to walk back to the party,preferably to Zoe where I can complain about this egotistical moron when again,his arms wrap around me and I fight off for a few seconds until he leans his head against me and whispers quickly,

"This time,I really am sorry.
Sairs darling,come on,I have something to show to you."

Turning around in his arms,I jab a finger at his hard chest and keep pushing him until we are both covered by the humongous oak tree and I wrap my arms around his neck lovingly before tightening my hold.

He gasps out,
"Saira-I actually can't.."

Taking my hands off of him,I cross my arms challengingly,
"What?"

Massaging his neck,Ethan peers at me like I am a business contract he can't understand,
"My goodness,woman,you really are something else."

Flashing a smile laced with poison,
I exclaim,
"Oh I know!Now pray proceed with whatever you were actually going to say."

He clears his throat now and his hand disappears under his suit only to appear with a box.
That is the perfect size to hold a...ring.

What insane joke is this now?

Sensing my disbelief and suspicion,the trillionaire quickly amends,
"Don't get me wrong.This isn't..I mean.."

Looking at my incredulous expression,he laughs,looking down at the ground and I wish I could say he looked perfectly ugly while doing that,but no,he just has to look gorgeous no matter what he does.

"I am really bad at this but I wil start now.So you remember Rosie right?My niece who's crazy about you?"

Even her name is enough for me to smile involuntarily and he knows it.

"So she wants to have you as an official member of the Moretz family and Rosie went out the other day and specifically picked this ring for you."

I am touched and at the same time,terrified.
Does that mean what I think it is?

My feelings probably show in my face and Ethan quickly backpedals,
"Don't get me wrong.There's no pressure.But she did spend a lot of time choosing this ring and specifically told me to make you wear it so...would you do it for her maybe?"

Staring at his eyes full of hope and that small tinge of anxiety,I wonder if I could have ever expected this,for us to grow this much.

Smiling widely,I say,
"For Rosie,I could do anything.This is making me want to run to her and pick her up for being the sweetest kid."

He lets out a relieved sigh,
"I am sure that can be arranged."

And under the shade of the tree and the shining stars of the vast velvety sky as witnesses,I watch as Ethan bends down and fidgets while opening the box.

Seeing his shaky fingers,I softly laugh,
"Someone seems nervous."

"Completely nerve-racking."

But he places the box downs and holds the ring out,the most beautiful pink sapphire ring with cluster of diamonds around it,with his hand and I am feeling quite jumpy as well and my palms are probably sweaty because this moment seems so real and too beautiful to keep.

But he slides the ring on my finger as Ethan stares at me with softness and what can only be love and his head dips as he places the lightest kiss on my hand and whispers,what seems like a vow made for eternity,one that rings with raw and honest truth,

"Here's to forever with you."

***************************************

AUTHOR'S NOTE:
Yall WE DID ITTT
I FINISHED THE LAST CHAPTER OF MR.TRILLIONAIRE AND MISS RUNAWAY CONVICT
OH MY GOODDKDKDNDNDMDMDMXMXMFNDJXJXNXNXMXKXKCMFJJJDJSKXXLXLEKSLLSKCJRJJDJXKZLDLRKFKDJSKLS

WE DID IT.

THIS IS THE LAST CHAPTER

AND YES,THERE WILL BE AN EPILOGUE

PLEASE LET ME KNOW IF YOU ENJOYED IT,YOUR THOUGHTS.

DON'T IGNORE ME POTATOES ZEBRAS AND ALIENS

no i am genuinely so nostalgic rn,
Cause we did ittt.
Man,its,Crazy Crazy
I couldn’t have done it,couldn’t have finished it,would have absolutely lost motivation if it wasn’t for my wonderful fairy like readers.

Thank youuu for inspiring me to write.

And again,feel free to share my form of art,comment if you want to,vote tooo
I love yalll for making this possible.

And to nakadiia for being an absolute sweetheart to me and this book,you have motivated me to write and i am grateful.