Epilogue
IRIS
One Year Later
San Isidro smells like jasmine and salt and rain-warmed stone, and of course, the earthy fragrance from the surrounding jungle.
It reaches me through the open window, from which I look down onto the terrace where the ceremony is being held.
There are white flowers woven through the wooden arches under which we’ll say our vows.
Dusk has just fallen, and hung lanterns emit a warm, golden light around the perimeter of the terrace and the house.
Lush greenery surrounds the lawn extending from the terrace, where chairs are placed in two columns of rows for the guests.
The air hums with the familiar jungle sounds, with life, with promise as the guests mill around, choosing their seats with welcome drinks held in their hands.
A year ago, this place was chaos.
A year ago, I ran for my life with a broken heart.
Now I’m here to get married, again, sort of, but this time, on purpose.
Julian and I are renewing our vows, verbally this time.
April is circling me like a general preparing for battle, hands busy with my gown, smoothing fabric, adjusting straps that don’t need adjusting. She’s vibrating with excitement.
“You are not allowed to cry before the ceremony,” she warns me, pointing a finger. “I did not spend forty-five minutes on your eyeliner for you to ruin it.”
“I’ll try,” I say, my voice already a little thick.
Charlotte, Nick’s wife, laughs softly as she fastens the last row of buttons down my back. She’s calm where April is energy incarnate. Her touch steady and affectionate.
“You look perfect,” she says. “He’s going to lose his mind.”
I smile.
Julian already lost his mind for me once.
He found it again somewhere between groveling in Fir Hollows and learning how to make waffles without setting off the smoke alarm.
This version of him, the one waiting who will soon wait for me at the end of the aisle, is softer. Happier. Still dangerous, but grounded.
Loved.
I glance at my reflection in the tall mirror on the wall.
The gown is simple and elegant, ivory silk that moves when I breathe. No corset. No armor. Just me.
A woman who survived a coup, an accidental marriage, a heartbreak that nearly hollowed her out, and chose love anyway. I’m so happy I was brave enough to give Julian a second chance.
“You okay?” April asks quietly, suddenly all softness.
I nod. “I’ve never been more okay.”
She pulls me into a quick, fierce hug. “You deserve this.”
So does he, I think.
We make our way down the stairs and out a side door where a golf cart waits to pick us up. The same young man who served me dinner a year ago grins as we all get in, holding up long skirts and stepping on the toes of our shoes so they don’t sink into the soft grass.
April mutters about my dress getting wrinkled as I sit down. Charlotte calmly takes my flowers so I can adjust the folds of my gown. And then we’re whisked down a side road to the edge of the jungle at the end of the lawn, where we get out.
The music begins.
My heart stutters.
Charlotte gives me my bouquet back and squeezes my hand once before stepping back.
April wipes under her eyes, then grins at me like she’s sending me into the best battle of my life.
She arranges my gown unnecessarily. It doesn’t have a train, but she wants the skirt to fall just so.
Both women are gorgeous in their dresses, which are of different designs but the same color.
Charlotte’s is a sleeveless, elegant sheet.
April’s is longer and off-the-shoulder, tight bodice and full skirt. My bridesmaids.
Jay appears, holding out his both arms, which April and Charlotte grab. Jay gives me a quick wink, and then the three of them walk down the aisle together.
Nick steps forward. He’s going to walk me down the aisle.
When I protested, he insisted, and now I swallow the tears April won’t let me shed.
I never had a family. My childhood wasn’t bad.
I grew up in various group homes that always provided for me.
But the grownups there were caretakers, never family.
Today, my family, Nick, Jay, April, and Charlotte, are all here to celebrate my union with my husband.
“You okay,” Nick asks, a frown between his eyes.
I nod.
“Because you don’t have to go through with this.” He leans closer. “Jay and I can make Julian disappear and nobody will ask questions.”
I laugh, but then lean back to look at him when he doesn’t smile. “You’re serious.”
He shrugs.
Before I can say another word, the music changes and the guests stand up, looking back toward us.
It’s a small crowd of friends and San Isidran dignitaries.
I don’t know all of them, but they are all smiling.
Lucien added people to the list he said needed to be there.
In other words, it’s good for Lucien if they’re here.
He’s the best man tonight. Julian grudgingly agreed that if it wasn’t for our enigmatic host, we’d never have gotten together.
I take Nick’s arm and we step forward.
The aisle is lined with white petals and greenery. I’m glad for Nick’s arm because I’m not altogether steady as I walk toward the terrace where Julian waits.
He looks unreal in his suit, dark hair neatly styled, shoulders straight, jaw tight like he’s holding himself together through sheer will. When his eyes meet mine, everything else fades.
The way he looks at me, open, reverent, undone, takes my breath away.
We reach him, and Nick gives him a glare before letting go of my hand.
Julian ignores him and instead takes my hands. “You’re real,” he murmurs under his breath.
I smile. “Still am.”
“You look amazing.”
The officiant begins, voice warm, measured, speaking about choice and commitment and love freely given. After that, we exchange vows we wrote ourselves.
Julian goes first. “Iris,” he says, voice steady but eyes shining, “I fell in love with you the moment I met you. And it was the scariest thing I’ve ever experienced, because you saw me, past the lies, past the walls, and you stayed curious instead of running.
” A soft laugh ripples through the guests, and he glares at them, but then continues.
“I promise to never choose fear over you again. To be honest, even when it’s hard.
To protect you, but also to trust you to protect yourself.
To love you fiercely, openly, and for the rest of my life. ”
My chest aches and I have to blink hard to keep my promise about tears to April.
“Julian,” I say, “you taught me that love isn’t safe, but it’s worth it.
You challenged me to be brave, to demand truth, to believe I could have both passion and partnership.
” I swallow. “I promise to choose you every day. To argue with you when you’re being stubborn.
” The guests laugh again, a few of them sniffle.
I give them a quick smile and then take a breath so I can finish my vow.
“To remind you that you’re human. And to love you, always. ”
We exchange rings, and then Julian kisses me. His lips are warm and firm as he dips me, and it goes on so long that we get a few whistles from the crowd.
Finally, Nick taps him on the shoulder. “Save it for the wedding night,” he says.
April and Charlotte laughs through their tears and, once Julian releases me, I got and hug them.
We take pictures while the staff removes the chairs and instead transforms the lawn into a wonderful natural dining room with a long head table and smaller tables in front.
More lanterns on stands are brought out, and there’s even a dance floor off to the side and a DJ setting up on the terrace.
The reception spills into the evening, lanterns glowing, music drifting through the air. The guests dance, talk, and dance.
San Isidro is different now.
The rebels are gone, overthrown by the people, who then elected a democratic government that worked with Lucien to protect the land. The rare earth minerals and biopharma compounds belong to the people. No foreign interests can touch them. Lucien and a team of lawyers made sure of that.
With some outside help.
Nick and Jay’s company, which Julian now also works for, handled security and oversight, ensuring transparency and protection.
Princess Ximena never married the American billionaire. She found out he needed the connection to exploit the country’s natural resources. And when she exposed him, the public rallied behind her.
She’s here tonight, looking radiant in a blue silk gown. But there are so many people clustered around her I’ve only briefly met her. I catch a glimpse of Lucien watching the princess from across the lawn, something wistful in his gaze.
Julian follows my look and murmurs, “Don’t let him see you noticing how hung up on her he still is.”
I raise an eyebrow. “They have history?”
Before he can answer, Nick claps him on the shoulder. “You screw this up, again, we’ll find you. No matter how far you run.”
I laugh, threading my fingers through Julian’s and pull him away from the frowning Nick. “You don’t have to hunt him down for me,” I say over my shoulder. “I’ll find him myself and exact my revenge.”
Nick laughs, and Julian pretends to shudder. “There’s no way I’ll ever run from you,” he says and pulls me closer. We sway together under the lantern light, San Isidro alive around us.
“I’m happy,” I whisper.
“So am I,” he replies. “Terrifyingly so.”
I smile against his chest.
A year ago, I thought love was something that happened to you.
Now I know it’s something you choose. Something you fight for. Something you build, brick by brick, truth by truth.
Julian kisses my hair, and I take a deep breath as I snuggle into his embrace. We’ve already been married a year and yet we just now have our wedding. But somehow this feels right for our unconventional story.
I feel safe and cherished here in the arms of my husband, my love.
My family.
Thank you for reading this book!
-Maria