Epilogue
After
Five Years Later
“Holly—for the hundredth time—I’m going to be late.”
“Don’t be needy. Men don’t like needy.” She was rifling through the rack of clothes in what had to be the millionth store we’d visited today.
“That’s where you’re wrong. My man likes needy—loves it, even. Otherwise, he would’ve dumped me a long time ago.”
She shrugged. “Fair point.” She giggled as I poked her ribs.
“Come on, Hols. I said I’d be there on time. It’s a fifteen-minute drive. If we don’t leave now, we won’t make it. I will abandon you.”
She wasn’t listening. Grinning at her phone, she typed furiously.
“For fuck’s sake, are you listening to me or flirting?” I tried to snatch the phone.
She jerked it away and narrowed her eyes. “Fine, we can go. And I know a shortcut, so stop whining.”
I let out a relieved sigh as we finally made our way out.
I wasn’t exactly known for punctuality, but Atty had made dinner reservations for us and a few friends to celebrate finishing the album.
It was sweet. Really sweet. Even though I hadn’t seen him all week, and I’d kind of been looking forward to a night alone—not including our friends—for a very different kind of celebration, but sure. This was better.
Holly linked her arm through mine and yanked.
“That can come off, you know.” I tried to shake her loose.
“I thought you didn’t want to be late. Come on—this way,” she sing-songed.
“I thought you didn’t give a fuck,” I grumbled, letting her manhandle me down the street.
My phone buzzed. A text from Atty.
Atty Love-of-My-Life King
are you on your way?
Me
yup
Holly’s being weird but we’ll be there on time
Atty Love-of-My-Life King
ok
I frowned at the screen. That “ok” felt a little…flat. Robotic. I was about to text back something wildly inappropriate in emojis when Holly yanked me in another direction.
“Ouch! Jesus fuck, can you not?” I snapped, pulling at my arm.
“No can do. We’re almost there.” She glanced around—distracted, or maybe focused?
“How are we almost there? The restaurant is near the music hall. Is there a portal behind that building?” I paused. “Oh—that’s a good song.”
“Isn’t it?” Her smile was starting to look unhinged.
“Where the hell are we going?” I asked as she led me through a curtain of flowers.
“Just this way.”
The music grew louder. Like a Prayer thumped around us, echoing through what looked like a goddamn enchanted garden.
Golden light spilled across a small pond, the surface shimmering like glass under the setting sun.
A narrow wooden bridge arched over the water, illuminated by tiny bulbs woven along its railings.
Curved brick paths wound between beds overflowing with lilies—white, pale-pink, star-shaped petals catching the last of the light.
Fairy lights blinked above us like scattered constellations, strung through the trees like some kind of dream.
I slowed, my steps faltering. “Hols, this is not the way. This is, like…a wedding. Or a private event. Or a magical forest that’s definitely not open to the public. Are you sure we’re allowed in here?”
She didn’t even flinch. Just kept tugging me forward with that maddening little smile. “I’m sure.”
She led me straight to the center of the pond, onto the glowing bridge. The soft wood creaked beneath our feet, and for a second, it felt like we were floating.
“I’m really fucking sure we’re not supposed to be here,” I whispered, half panicked, half in awe.
Then her hand came up to my cheek. Her eyes locked onto mine, and something about her expression—warm and trembling and knowing—made my heart stutter.
“Trust me,” she said. “This is exactly where you’re supposed to be.”
She pulled me into a tight hug. Her arms lingered. Then she stepped back, her eyes shining. “Stay here, okay? Don’t move.”
And then she was gone.
I stared after her, utterly baffled. My chest was tight, breath shallow, nerves fraying at the edges. What the hell is happening?
The song swelled again, and my gaze darted across the space—then stopped cold.
The flowers weren’t random. They were lilies. All lilies. My favorite. And not just thrown together—they were planted with care, clustered in color gradients, blooming like they’d waited for this exact moment.
I turned in place. There was a little stage all the way on the other side of the pond, a microphone standing at its center. And it was a fucking Madonna song playing in the background. That couldn’t be a coincidence, could it?
Then came the movement.
People began to filter in, slowly, quietly, like they’d been cued. They gathered around the water, staying on the paths and grassy edges, careful not to cross the bridge.
And they weren’t just any people.
They were my people.
Holly. Colin. Ezra. Paxton, Brice, Jaden.
Holy shit.
My mom. Lan. The whole damn crew—producers, sound guys, tour staff. One by one, they filled the space like they’d all been waiting for me to catch up. Like this moment had already been written, and I was just now stepping into it.
I didn’t even realize my hands had come up to cover my mouth. I just stood there, trembling, wide-eyed, trying to hold it all in.
My gaze found Holly again. She was crying now, openly, and smiling through it. She pointed to the stage.
So I looked.
And my knees nearly buckled.
There he was, Atticus King, standing beneath the glow of a hundred fairy lights, in a fucking tux, with that dimpled, nervous, absolutely radiant smile that had wrecked me a thousand times over.
His cheeks were flushed. His lips parted.
And then he sang.
Atticus King was standing on a stage, singing a Madonna song to me.
Right now. This was real.
His arms opened wide, face lit with something that looked like joy and reverence all at once, and he sang, “Let the choir sing.”
And they did.
A fucking honest-to-god choir stepped onto the stage behind him like magic, filing in from the shadows, their voices rising in perfect harmony. Wrapping around him, around me, around this moment like a goddamn spell.
All around the garden, people joined in—smiling, swaying, singing like they’d been rehearsing for weeks. Like this wasn’t the most surreal thing that had ever happened to me.
A choked laugh escaped my throat, fragile and breathless. My vision blurred completely, and I didn’t even try to stop it. I couldn’t look away from him.
He climbed down the steps of the stage with slow, steady steps, locking eyes with me.
His timing was perfect. Like it always was. The choir belted out, “Down on my knees,” and he dropped to one. Right there, in front of me, in the middle of this enchanted, lily-covered garden. With the whole world watching. With my whole world singing.
My lips parted to say something, anything—but I froze.
He was already reaching into his pocket, already holding out a small black box. Opening it. Showing me the single golden band inside, so simple it was stupidly perfect.
My chest cracked wide open.
I dropped to my knees, threw my arms around his neck, and held him tight.
“Yes.” The word shuddered out of me before I could stop it.
He laughed, warm and a little breathless, arms locking around my back. “Let me ask first,” he said against my shoulder.
I pulled back just enough to see his face. “It’s always going to be yes, Atty.” My voice was wrecked, raw with a love too vast to hold back.
His hands cupped my cheeks, thumbs brushing the tears I hadn’t noticed were falling. He leaned in, resting his forehead gently against mine. “Listen to me, okay?”
And I nodded, barely holding it together. Barely believing any of this was real.
“I’ve told you this once before,” Atty said, voice shaking, “but there’s nothing like being loved by you, Noah.”
His eyes, glassy and unguarded, never left mine.
“Every single day, you make me feel like the most important person in the world. You see me. You hear me. You understand me in ways I never thought were possible. You let me have my silences. You let me be myself.”
He took in a shaky breath.
“And most days, I find myself wondering how I can make you feel that love too—the kind of love you give away so freely.”
My throat tightened, a fresh wave of emotion pressing behind my ribs.
“You’ve just witnessed that singing isn’t the way,” he added with a watery laugh. “So here’s a list of everything I’ll do for you, for the rest of my life, if you let me.” His voice cracked slightly at the end, and he blinked fast, like he was trying to hold it together.
“I’ll hug you to sleep every single night,” he said, “even when it’s too hot to cuddle. I’ll hold your hand all the time, everywhere we go—we’ll be glued together, just like you like.”
A teary chuckle slipped out of me, small and broken.
“I’ll sit with you when you’re feeling down,” he went on, “and I’ll never question the weight of your sadness.
That’s yours to feel—and mine to support.
I’ll listen to you talk about anything and everything.
I’ll never judge you, even if you change your mind a hundred times.
I won’t shy away from hard conversations.
And we’ll never go to bed angry, not if I can help it. ”
His brow furrowed slightly, like the thought of letting me go to sleep hurting made his chest ache.
“If I’m the one struggling, I’ll tell you. I won’t make you guess. I’ll meet you there, wherever you are, so you won’t have to spiral into doomsday scenarios.”
He paused. Swallowed. His hands flexed nervously, like there was more in his chest than he could get out in one breath.
“But most importantly,” he whispered, “I’ll tell you every single day how much I love you. And I’ll remind you how good you are for me.”
Atty looked at me like I was the only thing that had ever made sense.
“I’ll never stop doing that. Even if it sounds repetitive. Even if people think it’s too much. Maybe we are a little too much, you and me—but I love that about us. I want that. I choose that. Every day, for the rest of our lives.”