Chapter 29:
“Madam this gown was especially designed for you, the way it shimmers in light…it is so dreamy, look absolutely beautiful.”
v.no w wonder Mr.Arrows fell
Il for you
for you, you
I used to wonder what a family looks like- the perfect fairytale..what was it?%
I thought that maybe it came wrapped in expensive gifts…and people who clicked beautiful photos together…maybe men who didn’t hurt but standing here I realized that the ruthless man I was married to..he was what a family was.
Loving and caring for me without any questions. Even when I was unaware he was always protecting me from shadows.
The cathedral was embellished with rose petals laid in the pathway for me to walk. The hush of the wind brushing against the cliffs. A hundred people standing still and silent… waiting for the girl they once ignored to take her first step toward a forever of her own choosing.
I could hear the sound of the quartet begin, low and reverent, as the wooden doors opened. My veil fluttered slightly as I stepped into view. I didn’t care that my heart was beating like war drums. I didn’t care that the train of my dress whispered behind me like it was afraid to touch the ground. All I saw was him.
Killian Arrows.
Waiting at the altar beneath the canopy of an ancient olive tree, its branches heavy with hanging glass lanterns that held tiny flickers of light. He was dressed in a deep black suit, not a thread out of place, but it was the look in his eyes that undid me.
It wasn’t awe. It wasn’t lust. It was stillness. Like he had waited his entire life for this exact second. Like the storms that had once lived inside him had made peace at last.
When our eyes met, the ache in my chest melted into something warm and frightening. He And I took it
smile. He just extended his hand.S
The world narrowed until all I could feel was the roughness of his palm against mine and the hum of something sacred between us.!! There were no priests. No grand speeches. Just the vows we whispered to each other.}
“I don’t promise you perfection,” I said, my voice steady. “I promise you truth. Loyalty. A thousand tomorrows that will never feel like leftovers. I promise to never run when it’s hard, and never let go of your hand when it’s quiet. I promise to fight beside you. And for you. Always”
His voice was low, rich, and unshakable. “I promise to love you in your silences. In your rage. In your shadows and in your light. I promise to destroy anything that dares to hurt you, even if that thing is me. I am yours, Athena. And I will never stop choosing you.“!!
The moment the sapphire ring touched my finger, the air changed. It felt like the world had been rewired. As if time recognized the gravity of what had just occurred and decided to slow down, just for us.
When he leaned in and kissed me, it wasn’t soft. It wasn’t careful. It was a claim. It was years of longing, years of restraint, years of unspoken hunger pressed into one breathless, reverent moment.
Applause thundered around us. But all I heard was his heartbeat.
The reception was a blur of candlelight, Spanish guitars, and laughter echoing beneath the stars. I remembered the scent of jasmine, the taste of champagne, the warmth of women hugging me as if they had always been my sisters.
But the only thing that burned into my memory was our first dance B
He took my hand like it was the only thing he trusted in the world and led me into the center of the marble courtyard. The music began, slow and aching, and we moved like we had always known how to do this.
Like my body had been made to fit against his.
His hand pressed gently into the small of my back, his eyes never leaving mine. We didn’t speak. We didn’t need to. Lfelt it with every turn, every step, every slow breath between us
“You’re not just my wife…” he murmured into my ear. “You’re the beginning of everything I thought I had lost.”
I closed my eyes and rested my forehead against his.
No chains. No shadows. No more begging for a place at someone’s table.
I had built my own.ll
I
And I had chosen the man who would sit beside me…not out of obligation, not because he owed me…but because we had burned in the same fire and survived.
And because together, we would never burn again.
