Chapter 208
Three months later.
The sea shimmers like silk beneath the Parisian sun, pale blue stretching endlessly behind the delicate arch of the ceremony canopy.
A gentle breeze carries the scent of midsummer–salt and roses drifting through the air.
Lara fusses with my veil, pretending she’s not tearing up even as she blinks rapidly.
Eliza’s not as subtle, dabbing her eyes with a crumpled tissue.
June, my tiny, radiant maid of honor in soft lilac, beams up at me like she’s never been prouder. Her hand has been tangled with mine all morning, and neither of us has any plans of letting go.
“You good, baby?” I ask.
She nods, her eyes brimming, too. “You look so beautiful, Spring.”
I laugh softly. “You all need to keep your emotions in check, or I’ll lose it myself.”
Behind them, rows of white chairs sit on the sand, filled with everyone who made it through to this day with us. Old and new friends alike, but most especially: Penny and the twins, Lou and Malik, and Julian–and his new girlfriend, Blake.
Lily Ellington stands near the altar, hands clasped in front of her, her expression a blend of serenity and pride.
She designed my dress–crafted it herself, actually–as a gift. Layers of hand–stitched silk tulle, delicate pearl embroidery, and a train that floats when I walk. It’s the most perfect thing in existence.
The moment the music starts, the sheer curtains part, and I forget how to breathe.
Nathan stands beneath the canopy on a raised dais, sunlight gilding his brown hair, his suit as crisp as the day we met again, but his smile infinitely softer.
But it’s the look he gives me that holds me in place, long after Eliza, Peter, and Lara have walked the aisle–like the entire world has disappeared, narrowed to just the two of us.
June tugs at my hand gently and smiles up at me. “You actually have to walk, Spring.”
I blink, laughing softly, “Right.” I squeeze her hand. “What would I do without you, Summer?”
She swipes her hand under her eye and then taps the S pendant resting against her throat. “You’ll never have to find out.”
And with my sister’s hand in mine, I walk to my future husband, the gentle breeze blowing my veil behind me.
My heart pounds with every step, but it’s not nerves. It’s awe. It’s love.
When we join hands, the world hushes.
I’m grateful I let Lara splurge on a videographer, because I’m so overwhelmed, it feels like the whole thing passes in a blur.
But then Lily asks us to read our vows, and everything comes into focus.
Nathan nods. “I’ll go first,” he says, voice already thick.
He takes a breath, and then-
“April,” he says, his thumb brushing over my engagement ring, “you came into my life like sunshine on a gloomy day. Even better, you gave me the courage I needed to change my life–you made me want to be better so I could be the kind of man who deserves to stand
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beside you.
“You showed me what love and light are when all I knew was hate and darkness. You saw me in a way no one ever has, and you didn’t run. You planted your feet and stayed even when I gave you every reason not to.
“So, I promise you, my love, that I will never, ever leave your side. I vow to carry your dreams like they’re mine. To protect your fire, your beauty, your brilliance. I vow to love you, all of you, for the rest of my life, knowing that my love for you will only cease when my breath
does.
I blink rapidly, losing the fight against my tears. My turn.
“Nathan,” I say, my voice shaking, “At sixteen, you were my first everything–I loved you before I even knew what love really was. When we found each other again, it wasn’t by chance. It was life bringing me back to where I belonged. Through every high and low, every heartbreak, every moment that tested us–we chose each other again and again.
“Every day I wake up, sure that this delicate, beautiful dream will fall apart—and every day, you assure me that this is real. This is true.
This is our life.
“And so, I promise this: I’ll stay too. Through seasons and change, through joy and uncertainty. Darkness and light. I promise to choose you every day. Because I need you, because I want you. Because I love you. And because with you, I’ve found home.”
It’s another giddy blur after that. I barely register the cool slide of my wedding band onto my finger, I barely hear the tremor in Lily’s voice as she pronounces us husband and wife.
But the kiss–it imprints itself on my heart.
It feels like everything we’ve survived, everything we’ve become, melting into one perfect, breathless moment.
The reception takes place beneath a white marquee strung with fairy lights, laughter and music echoing beneath the canopy as the sun sinks low behind the
horizon.
Later, as the music fades, Nathan takes my hand and pulls me to the beach. The stars blink to life above us, and the sea kisses the shore in a soft, steady rhythm.
It feels like we’re the only two people in the vast, endless world.
“You’re mine now,” he murmurs, his lips warm on the back of my hand.
“I always was,” I whisper back.
He brushes his nose against mine. “Ready for forever, Mrs. Ashford?”
:
I smile. “You know I used to doodle that name on the edges of my notes back in high school.”
He laughs. “Look at you, manifesting all your dreams.”
I shake my head. “Seriously, this all still feels like-”
“It’s not,” Nathan assures me, kissing my forehead, then takes my hand and presses it to his chest. His heart beats beneath my palm- steady, warm, true. “This is real, my love. I promise.”
I close my eyes. It’s real.
Just like the tragedies were real–the heartaches, the challenges, the obstacles we faced and the battles we fought to get here.
All of it was as real as this magical moment.
And as we walk back toward the lights and the people who love us–with the sound of waves behind us and forever at our feet–I know with absolute certainty: This isn’t the end of our story.
It’s the beginning of our forever.
We won.
Sara Lili is a daring romance writer who turns icy landscapes into scenes of fiery passion. She loves crafting hot love stories while embracing the chill of Iceland’s breathtaking cold.
