Chapter 21
Chapter Twenty-One
Isla
Today is the day.
My wedding day.
The ceremony starts in forty-five minutes, and by noon, I’ll be Isla Vale.
The bridal suite of Oheka Castle glitters in the morning light, with gold mirrors catching the sun and silk ivory walls gleaming like pearls. It’s a room built for fairytales.
The mirror before me doesn’t lie, but it doesn’t tell the whole truth, either.
The woman staring back looks like she belongs here. Flawless. Polished. A picture-perfect bride wrapped in a one-of-a-kind Vera Wang gown.
But behind the veil and the perfect curls, my reflection feels like a stranger.
“Sweetheart,” Mom says softly from behind me. “You look… perfect.”
She steps beside me, her gaze sweeping over the dress with quiet awe.
It is beautiful. The most beautiful thing I’ve ever worn.
The gown is strapless, the satin bodice sculpted to flatter my shoulders and neckline before melting into a voluminous skirt of layered chiffon.
The fabric is soft and weightless, shifting like mist every time I move.
The dress is effortlessly romantic, dreamlike even. Except I don’t feel like the dream. I feel like the lie underneath it.
I force a smile. “Thanks, Mom.” My voice sounds distant even to me. “You look perfect, too.”
Mom’s in a pale lavender gown with delicate beadwork along the sleeves, elegant enough for the cameras but still undeniably her. This week has been hard on her. She even had to take a few days off. But today, she looks like she went all out for me.
“Oh, honey.” She gives me a wistful smile. “I did my best.”
“You always do.”
She reaches out to fix a strand of hair that doesn’t need fixing. “How are you feeling?”
“I’m… not sure.” I press my palms flat against my skirt and breathe deeply. “Between worrying about marrying Knox and wondering if Chad is going to crash my wedding, I’m not sure how I’m supposed to feel.”
I told Mom and Mia the latest with Chad. But I kept the Knox parts to myself.
“Try not to worry about Knox.”
“Really, Mom?” I sigh, my shoulders drooping. “I haven’t even seen him.”
People say it’s bad luck for the groom to see the bride before the wedding, but I haven’t seen Knox since last week. Not since that morning when I caught him watching me paint. That’s exactly one week and one day.
I was told he was busy. Either working late, starting early, or just away, whatever that meant.
I’m certain he’s been avoiding me. We’re flying to Tuscany tomorrow for our honeymoon for a week. He’ll probably avoid me then, too.
Heck, there’s also tonight, when we go back to his house. I most likely won’t see him after the celebrations today. Maybe just for the occasional appearance when the press come sniffing around.
I guess it’s understandable. We almost crossed the line that night. At least, I think we did. Sometimes I wonder if I imagined it. Like maybe I saw more in what happened than what was really there.
But he’s here now.
Somewhere beyond these walls, cameras are flashing, guests are arriving, and Knox Vale is waiting. Waiting to put the next phase of his grand plan in motion when we say, ‘I do.’ The clock starts ticking then.
“Maybe he’s just been busy, like Sheila said.” Mom tilts her head and arches her brows. “But really, did you want to see him in the run-up to today?”
I lift my shoulders in a light shrug. “I guess not.”
“Thought so. Chad, on the other hand…” She inhales a slow, thoughtful breath. “He’s just too late, sweetheart. It’s sad that he didn’t try to sort things out between you two before now. But from what you’ve told me, he would have always been too late.”
“I hope you don’t think I told him the wrong thing. I know how much you liked him, but I wouldn’t have taken him back, no matter the situation.”
She smiles at my words. “And that’s exactly the right answer. I’m proud of you for knowing your worth.”
“Thank you.”
“I also don’t think you have to worry about Chad crashing the wedding.”
I frown and glance out the window. “You didn’t see him, Mom. I’ve never seen him look so… determined.”
“Maybe so, but I don’t think he’ll embarrass himself in such a way.” She rolls her eyes. “Imagine him coming here, to this amazing place, and making a fool of himself by trying to stop Knox Vale’s wedding.”
Mia would call that the perfect grand gesture in a movie—but only if I wanted Chad back. She was proud, too, that I set him straight.
Both she and Mom watched me fall apart when he left. They helped me put myself together again. Then I became something else. Not unbreakable, but stronger.
“I hope he has the good sense to stay away.”
“I think he will.”
I bring my hand to my head. “God. I never thought I’d be talking about my ex on my wedding day. But then I also hoped I’d be marrying for love.”
Sadness clouds my mother’s eyes, stealing the strength she’s trying desperately to hold on to. “My sweet girl, I wish I could put you in my car and drive far, far away from here.” She sets her hands on my shoulders and gazes at me. “Somewhere no one can find us.”
“That kind of sounds great right now.”
She smiles, but it’s without humor. “Thank you for what you’re doing for me.”
“You’ve thanked me enough. Let’s just move forward. Hopefully, we can in the next few months, no matter what happens.”
She nods in agreement, and we say no more about it.
All we can do is hope for the best. Whatever that is starts today.
I just have to remember how to breathe.
Forty minutes later, a knock sounds on the door, followed by Sheila’s soft voice. “It’s time.”
Mom’s hand finds mine, warm and trembling. The bridal suite suddenly feels smaller.
“Ready to go?” Mom asks.
I nod. “I’m ready.”
Arm in arm, we walk out to meet Sheila, then it’s like the next few minutes go by in a haze.
It feels like I blinked and suddenly I’m at the bottom of the aisle. I stand with my bouquet in hand, Mom and Mia just behind me.
The weight of a thousand eyes bores into me, but only one pair matters.
Knox’s.
He’s at the top of the aisle, waiting. For me.
He was already ridiculously handsome. Today, he looks like he stepped out of a fantasy.
Dressed in a tailored black suit that fits him like sin, Knox looks devastatingly composed.
The crisp white shirt beneath makes the black even sharper, the contrast clean and deliberate. A black silk tie and a single white rose on his lapel add to the vision of power and precision wrapped in elegance—the devil dressed for his wedding.
The music starts. My heart stumbles. And then I’m walking down the aisle
toward him through the flash of cameras.
Each step feels like walking into someone else’s story.
But, it’s mine.
When I reach Knox, our eyes lock, and I remember how he looked at me the last time I saw him. It was with fascination for my painting and me.
The same fascination lit up his eyes the night before when he devoured my resolve.
What does he think of me now?
That’s the million-dollar question I’ll never have an answer to.
He takes my hand, his fingers warm and steady against my trembling ones, and my mind goes straight back to the way he feasted on my body.
A flush of heat spreads through me like fire, warming me everywhere. I have to fight to control my wandering mind. Thinking about that night now is the worst thing possible.
Nothing is more of a reminder of what Knox and I aren’t than this moment.
He leads me to where the priest waits. The elderly man smiles at us with genuine warmth, his weathered face creased with the joy of someone who's witnessed countless love stories unfold before this altar.
But there's something in his eyes when he looks at me. A flicker of concern, or perhaps recognition of the shadows I carry. I won’t get the answer to that, either.
"Dearly beloved," the priest’s voice resonates through the hall, "we gather today in the presence of God and these witnesses to join this man and this woman in holy matrimony.
Marriage is not to be entered into lightly, but with reverence, honor, and commitment.
" His gaze settles on me for a moment too long.
"It is a covenant that binds two souls together, for better or worse, in sickness and in health, until death do them part. "
The words hang heavy in the air, weighted with meaning I'm not sure I'm ready to bear.
"Do you, Knox Alexander Vale, take Isla Elizabeth Monroe to be your lawfully wedded wife?" The priest's voice cuts through my spiral of doubt with ancient words that should feel sacred but sound hollow in the cavernous space.
“I do.” Knox sounds sure. Like there’s no question in his choice.
The priest shifts his gaze to me. "Do you, Isla Elizabeth Monroe, take Knox Alexander Vale to be your lawfully wedded husband?"
“I do.” I try to sound as confident as Knox, but a mixture of emotion knots my stomach, flooding my insides with barbed wire. I don’t know what grips me most. Maybe it’s nerves. Or maybe it’s something else. Like that fire Knox spoke of. I didn’t forget that.
The priest continues the ceremony, and we exchange rings.
Before I know it, we’re being announced as husband and wife, and I become Isla Vale.
When Knox presses his lips to mine to kiss me, the truth settles in my soul.
We just got married. It’s official now.
Knox Vale is my husband, and I am his wife.
For one breathless moment, time slows while I let that information and my new normal sink in. Then time speeds, the seconds catching up with a gut-wrenching blast, when Knox pulls out of the kiss and guides me to face our cheering guests as the newest Mr. and Mrs. Vale.