A/N: And the conclusion….

Six months have passed since my marriage ended. I have never been happier. I moved in with Johnny, much to my mother's chagrin, and we have only grown in our love for one another. Franklin is with us and he keeps me on my toes. He immediately took to Johnny and the two have become best friends. I watched them at this moment. We were in the park, Johnny threw a ball and Franklin ran off to catch it. Johnny would sometimes look over at me and smile and sometimes just concentrate on our dog. It was the sweetest thing to watch.

Johnny told me that he used to go to the park all the time when he was younger, but had stopped when he started gambling. He said that I was the reason he returned to the park. "After our second visit, I returned. You had inspired me and I wanted to just sit and recollect on stuff. I had a lot of thinking to do, as I was already aware I was falling in love with you. I went to the park that day to make sense of everything."

Johnny changed his whole life for me. He quit gambling, returned to his music and even helped his uncle take over a company. All for me.

The VanDerMan company was now thriving under the direction of Johnny's uncle. He had managed to take this company, which had been so mismanaged that it was no wonder Edward had been embezzling from it, and turn it around in only four months. As Johnny helped his uncle, he received residual checks once a month. These checks were enough that neither of us had to work again.

But both of us still did.

I still taught horticulture. I had received my Bachelor's from home when I was 22. So I was eligible to teach. A month ago, I had enrolled in school to receive my Master's degree. I wanted to do so much more with horticulture. Teach, yes, but also just work with plants. It was my dream to own a greenhouse someday.

Johnny still had his music and he played a lot. He was gone almost every night for a few hours as a local night club had hired him. He was thrilled to be making more than he ever did in his previous gigs, and as this was continuous, he received a steady paycheck. Combined with my teaching salary, neither of us needed the residual money, but we both took it and put it into savings. We were planning on getting a house in a year and that money would definitely help us.

I looked up from my textbook and smiled. Franklin was running back with the ball in his mouth, happy as a lark. Johnny laughed at the sight and looked at me.

"How's the studying, Pen?"

He caught my smile and smiled back.

"It's fine," I said as I closed my book. "I'm actually quitting for the day. I need to have some time with my boyfriend." I put the book on the bench and stood up, walking over to him.

He immediately put his arms around me. "This is important. You want your Master's degree. I will always be here."

I silenced him with a kiss. "I know. But you're more important. And right now, I want to share in our little family."

Franklin reached up and jumped up against my leg. I laughed and bent down to pet him. I felt Johnny kiss the top of my head.

"Oh, I almost forgot," I said. I straightened up and looked into Johnny's eyes. "I wanted to visit Edward tomorrow."

Johnny didn't say anything. Ever since the annulment, I have been visiting Edward. I wanted to be his friend, to let him know there were no hard feelings. The first time, Johnny went with me. It did not end well. The two of them got into a shouting match about how they were both lying to me at first. I knew all of this. Before I could separate them, the guards did.

So since then, I have gone alone. Johnny has never been happy about it, but he has never prevented me from going. I told him that with Edward currently behind bars, nothing could happen.

He was being released tomorrow and that was why I wanted to see him. I knew he would start his life anew, and that was okay. And what Johnny didn't know was that I was going to give Edward some money. His family had all but disowned him after his arrest and I felt sorry. So I was going to give him some money so he could start a new life.

The vanity curse had started to take effect. He looked older. Instead of his handsome self, he had aged overnight. The handsomeness was still there, but he looked about forty now. I did feel a pang of guilt because I was the reason that he looked like that. If I had just waited a few more hours, I could have ended the marriage and the curse would have been null and void.

He brought it on himself.

We walked back to the apartment, both lost in our thoughts. Johnny opened the door and then turned and placed a kiss on my lips.

"What was that for?"

He smiled and we entered the apartment.

Annie and Jack were there, along with my parents. Everyone turned and smiled at us.

"What's going on?"

Johnny looked sheepish and then dropped to one knee. My jaw was slack.

"Pen, I know you love going to the park. I do too. But I had an ulterior motive today. While we were gone, your parents and your friends came in and decorated because they knew what I was going to say."

He took my hand. I drew in a breath. His eyes held fear.

"Penelope Wilhern, I love you with all of my heart and soul. I loved you from the first time I 'met' you through the glass at your parents' home. You invaded my thoughts and because of you, I became a better man. And if you'll have me, I will continue to love and honor you and work to be the best man I can be for you."

He lifted up the ring box. The light hit the beautiful diamond just right. The reflection danced off of my face. "Penelope, will you marry me?"

It was dead silent in the apartment. Even Franklin was quiet. It was as though he knew what was going on.

I thought for a moment. The last time someone proposed to me, I ended up in a sham marriage and my "husband" tried to take advantage of me. We were using each other all because of stupid curses that our families had put us through. Marriage did not work out too well for me.

But this was different. This was Johnny Martin. He did turn me down when I proposed to him oh-so-long ago, but that was because he loved me. He wanted to break the curse and he thought he wouldn't be able to do so. Silly boy. I would have been happy with him and could have lived with the pig-face. Looking into his eyes now, I knew that I would be loved for the rest of my life.

His eyes grew wider with fear as he waited for me to speak.

"Penelope?" he asked hesitantly.

I smiled. Then I firmly said the one word that caused heartache before; but I knew would cause a lifetime of happiness now. I squeezed his hand gently.

"Yes."

A/N: I may add an epilogue from Johnny's POV; I feel that there should be one more chapter with him. However, this story is now complete.

I am thinking of writing another one where Penelope once again marries Edward, but the curse does not break. We would then see the disastrous results.

Anyways, feel free to send some love if you liked or enjoyed the story. Your reviews help spur me on.

Thanks for reading!