Chapter 183
Elara’s POV
Marcus drove them to Central Park and Elara was starting to get genuinely confused.
“Why are we going to the park at ten-thirty at night? Marcus, seriously, what’s happening?”
“You’ll see in approximately three minutes. Just be patient.”
“I’m not a patient person. You know this about me.”
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Marcus smiled and kept driving until they reached Bow Bridge, which was somehow lit up with what looked like a thousand candles. Elara’s breath caught.
“Marcus, what did you do?”
“Just come with me.”
He helped her out of the car and led her toward the bridge. As they got closer Elara could see people waiting. Mimi and Dante holding the twins. Richard standing beside Elara’s mother who was beaming. And there, leaning against the railing looking effortlessly gorgeous in a suit that probably cost more than Elara’s first car, was Emeka.
“Emeka!” Elara rushed forward to hug her friend. “What are you doing here?”
“Your husband called me three days ago and said I needed to be in New York tonight for something important. He flew me in first class and put me up at the Four Seasons so obviously I came.” Emeka pulled back and looked her up and down. “You look stunning by the way. That dress is everything.”
“I’m so confused right now.”
“Good. I love when rich people do dramatic gestures. Makes me feel like I’m living in a movie.”
Marcus appeared beside them with a gentle smile. “Everyone’s here. We should start before we lose the permit.”
“Start what?” Elara demanded.
“Our vow renewal ceremony. The real one where we actually mean the words we’re saying.”
Elara felt tears instantly flood her eyes. “You planned a vow renewal?”
“I did. Because the first time we got married it was for a contract and an inheritance. This time it’s just because I love you and I want to stand in front of the people who matter and say that out loud.”
A minister appeared from the shadows near the bridge. Elara recognized him as the same man who’d married Mimi and Dante, which meant Marcus had been coordinating this for weeks.
“Shall we begin?” the minister asked kindly.
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Chapter 183
គ
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Elara nodded, not trusting her voice to work properly. Marcus took her hands and they stood facing each other under the canopy of lights while their family gathered close.
The minister began with the traditional opening but Marcus interrupted almost immediately.
“Actually, can we skip to the vows? I’ve been practicing mine for two weeks and if I don’t say them now I’m going to forget everything.”
Everyone laughed and the minister gestured for Marcus to continue.
Marcus took a breath and looked directly into Elara’s eyes. “When I met you, I thought I was hiring someone to solve a problem. I needed to get married to claim my inheritance and you needed money for your mother’s medical bills. It was supposed to be a simple transaction that benefited us both.”
Elara’s mother made a small sound but Marcus kept going.
“But somewhere between the contract signing and now, you became the most important person in my world. You challenged me when I was being an idiot about Aurora. You stood by me through corporate sabotage and family drama and a murder trial. You gave me two incredible children and never once complained about how completely insane our lives became.”
“I complained a lot actually,” Elara said through her tears.
“Okay fine, you complained a normal amount for someone dealing with an evil stepmother and a blackmailing father. But you never gave up on us. Even when things were terrible and you had every reason to walk away, you stayed.”
Marcus squeezed her hands. “I love you, Elara. Not because we have a contract or because you’re the mother of my children. I love you because you’re brilliant and strong and you make me want to be a better man. I love you because you put hot sauce on everything and sing off-key in the shower and have absolutely no patience for bullshit. I love every single thing about you and I want to spend the rest of my life proving that every single day.”
Elara was fully crying now, mascara probably running down her face, but she didn’t care.
“Your turn,” Marcus said gently.
Elara wiped at her eyes and tried to collect herself. “I didn’t prepare anything because I had no idea this was happening. So you’re getting the unedited version straight from my heart.”
“Even better.”
“When you proposed the contract marriage, I thought you were absolutely insane. Who does that? Who marries a complete stranger for money?” Elara laughed. “But I was desperate and you were offering exactly what I needed so I said yes. And I convinced myself it would be fine because it was just business.”
She looked at their joined hands, at the ring he’d given her that had replaced the other one from their fake wedding.
“But then I got to know you. The real you, not the billionaire CEO version you show the world. I saw you be kind to my mother when you had no reason to be.
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Chapter 183
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I watched you work yourself to exhaustion trying to protect your father’s company I felt you hold me when I was scared about the pregnancy and promise me everything would be okay.”
Elara’s voice broke but she pushed through. “You became my best friend and my partner and the person I wanted to tell everything to. Falling in love with you was the easiest thing I’ve ever done and the scariest because I kept waiting for you to realize you’d made a mistake.”
“Never,” Marcus said fiercely.
“I know that now. You’ve proven it over and over by the way you show up for me and our children. By the way you believed in my dreams enough to buy me a building and launch my career. By the way you planned this entire beautiful ceremony because you wanted to marry me for real this time.”
Elara squeezed his hands. “I love you, Marcus. I love the way you make terrible dad jokes and stress-cat Chinese food and refuse to ask for directions even when we’re completely lost. I love how you hold our babies like they might break and how you cry during animated movies when you think I’m not looking. I love all of it and I choose you every single day for the rest of our lives.”
The minister smiled. “By the power vested in me, I now pronounce you husband and wife. Again. You may kiss your bride.”
Marcus pulled Elara close and kissed her while their family cheered. Catherine started crying which made Alexander start crying which made everyone laugh.
“Perfect timing,” Mimi said, bringing the twins over. “They’re celebrating.”
They spent the next hour taking photos and drinking champagne someone had magically provided. Elara couldn’t stop smiling, couldn’t stop looking at Marcus and thinking about how far they’d come from that first awkward contract signing.
“This is disgusting,” Emeka announced, appearing beside Elara with a champagne flute. “You two are so in love it’s making me nauseous. In the best way but still.”
“I missed you so much,” Elara said, hugging him again.
“I missed you too, babe. Though clearly you’ve been busy building your empire and popping out beautiful babies while I’ve been in Lagos dealing with my mother’s attempts to marry me off to various unsuitable
women.”
“How is that going?”
“Terribly. I keep telling her I’m gay and she keeps pretending she can’t hear me.” Emeka sighed dramatically. “When do I bag a billionaire like this too that’ll take care of me? God when?”
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