Epilogue
Elara
A month later
The sand was the color of bone dust and warm between my bare toes. Today was my wedding day.
There was no arch draped in flowers. No string quartet.
No guest list of powerful names. There was just Julian in a simple linen shirt and trousers, standing ankle-deep in the clear blue water, waiting for me.
And me, in and ivory silk maxi dress that felt like water against my skin, my hair loose and full.
The officiant told us to say our peace, not piece..
We’d written our own vows. Julian went first, his voice was roughened by emotion, his eyes holding mine with an intensity that was still possessive, but now also protective and affectionate.
“I choose you, Elara Vance. Not to only own, but to belong to. Not to shelter, but to stand beside. Every day, I choose you.”
My turn. The words came easily, welling up from a place that was finally, unshakably sure.
"There were times when I thought I would never make it to this moment," I began, my voice steady despite the tears blurring my vision.
"But you gave me a home, Julian; you gave me the space to find myself.
I want you—not because I need a savior, but because I want a partner.
I promise to be your sanctuary, your equal, and your greatest challenge.
I pinky promise. I am yours, completely, for as long as we both shall breathe. "
The officiant pronounced us husband and wife. Julian didn’t wait for permission. He framed my face with his hands and kissed me, a kiss that tasted of salt.
Later, we sat on a blanket in the dunes, sharing a bottle of champagne The rings on our fingers—simple bands, platinum. I watched him, his face relaxed
This was the perfect moment...
I took a slow breath, letting the ocean air filling my lungs. “So, I’m pregnant.”
The words hung in the air. “Your mother knows, by the way. She guessed. The woman is a witch.” I reached out and took his hand, placing it flat on the silk over my yet-to-change stomach.
For a long moment, he just stared at where his hand rested. I felt a slight tremor go through him. When he looked up, his eyes were sheened with tears, but his mouth was curving into the most breathtaking smile I’d ever seen.
I leaned my head against his shoulder, watching the tide pull the edge of the Atlantic back into the deep.
I exhaled.
I had survived my parents’ death. I survived the Ashworth’s. I walked through fire with Julian and came out not just unburned, but forged. I had found a man who was bigger, greater than me but also capable of standing beside me without trying to eclipse me.
The girl who had been treated like a commodity was gone. The woman on this beach was a wife, a soon-to-be mother, and the architect of her own destiny.
Suddenly he nodded and started laughing. " You're pregnant. I've got you, you're stuck" Julian whispered, his hand tightening over mine. "I've finally got you for good."