Chapter 42
I stand at the altar, shifting my weight from one foot to the other. The church is packed with people. Feretti associates, business partners, and what feels like half of New York's elite. Not exactly the crowd I'm used to blending into.
My collar feels too tight. I resist the urge to check my weapon for the fifth time.
"Stop fidgeting," Matteo whispers from beside me. "You look like you're about to take down a target, not marry the woman you love."
I give him a sideways glance. "There are too many people."
"Focus on Lu," he says. "Forget everyone else."
Easier said than done. I scan the crowd automatically, cataloging faces, identifying potential threats. The security team I personally vetted stands at strategic points throughout the cathedral. Noah catches my eye from his position near the side entrance and gives me a subtle nod. All clear.
Damiano sits in the front row. Beside him, Zoe smiles encouragingly. It took months for Damiano to accept me as family.
The organ music shifts, signaling the procession is about to begin.
Lu's voice echoes in my memory from last night: "You don't have to be perfect tomorrow. Just be you. But maybe try a small smile now and then? Let people see what I see."
I make a conscious effort to relax my face, managing what probably looks like a grimace. A woman in the second row flinches slightly. I tone it down.
The bridesmaids enter one by one. Hazel, then Sienna, followed by Bella and Scarlett. Each wearing the midnight blue that Lu loves. Each smiling at me as they take their places.
The music changes. Everyone stands.
And then she's there.
Lu appears at the entrance on Enzo's arm, and everything else fades away. Her dress is simple, elegant. Her hair falls in loose waves around her shoulders, tiny white flowers woven through the curls.
But it's her eyes that hold me. Clear, certain, fixed on mine as if no one else exists.
I feel my face soften into a genuine smile.
Lu's answering smile is radiant.
Enzo places Lu's hand in mine when they reach the altar. His eyes hold a warning and acceptance all at once.
"You got this, Hayes," he says quietly, then steps back.
I feel Lu's hand squeeze mine, her smile so bright it's like she's squeezing my heart too.
The priest begins speaking, but his words blur together. All I can focus on is Lu's face, the way she's looking at me like I'm her whole world. Part of me wants to grab her hand and run. Find some quiet place where it's just the two of us.
Marriage. If someone had told me a year ago I'd be standing at an altar, I would've laughed in their face. Or possibly broken their nose, depending on my mood that day. Men like me don't get happy endings. We don't get the girl. We stand in the shadows, we protect, we serve, and we die alone.
That was the plan, anyway.
I remember the night I decided to propose. Sitting alone in my apartment, turning the ring over and over in my hands for hours. Wondering if I was making the biggest mistake of my life.
What if she said no?
What if she looked at me with pity in those beautiful eyes?
What if she finally realized what everyone else could see? That she deserved better than me?
I almost talked myself out of it a dozen times. Kept thinking she'd wake up one day from whatever spell she was under and see me for what I really am. Not the hero she thinks I am, but the damaged man I've always been.
The priest asks for the rings. Matteo steps forward, handing them over with a subtle wink in my direction.
Lu's eyes never leave mine. There's no hesitation there, no doubt. Just certainty.
And somehow, that scares me more than anything.
Because I know what I am. What I've done. The darkness I carry.
But when Lu looks at me like this I almost believe it myself.
The priest's voice cuts through my thoughts. "Daniel, please repeat after me..."
I take a breath, steadying myself. Lu's fingers tighten around mine, grounding me to this moment.
This is real. This is happening.
And despite every instinct that's kept me alive all these years I'm choosing to believe in this.
In her.
In us.
I stand before Daniel. His eyes hold mine with such certainty that I almost forget to breathe.
The priest turns to Daniel. "Daniel, please repeat after me..."
Daniel takes a deep breath, but instead of repeating the traditional vows, he reaches into his pocket and pulls out a folded piece of paper.
"I wrote these myself," he says, his voice rough with emotion. "If that's okay."
The priest nods, stepping back slightly.
Daniel unfolds the paper, but then looks directly at me instead of reading from it.
"Lu," he begins, his voice steady despite the emotion in his eyes. "For thirty-six years, I lived in darkness. I existed, I survived, but I wasn't truly alive. I built walls so high that I forgot what it felt like to let anyone in."
My vision blurs as tears threaten to spill. I blink rapidly, determined to see every moment of this.
"Then you happened," he continues. "Not all at once. Slowly. A smile here. A moment of courage there. The way you fought to reclaim yourself after everything you'd been through."
His thumb brushes across my knuckles, a gentle caress that says more than words ever could.
"You taught me that broken doesn't mean destroyed. That damaged doesn't mean beyond repair." His voice catches slightly. "You showed me that even a man like me could still be worthy of holding something as precious as your heart."
A tear escapes despite my efforts, sliding down my cheek. Daniel reaches up and gently wipes it away with his thumb.
"I'm not good with words," he says, a hint of a smile touching his lips. "But I'm good at promises. And these are mine to you."
He takes my hands in his, holding them against his chest where I can feel his heartbeat.
"I promise to protect you, not because you need protection, but because it's how I show love. I promise to stand beside you, not in front of you. I promise to be your shelter when you need one, and your freedom when you don't."
More tears fall. I don't try to stop them anymore.
"I promise to love all of you. I promise to be honest, even when it's hard. I promise to choose you, every day, for the rest of my life."
His voice drops lower, meant only for me despite our audience.
"I promise to be the man you believe I am, even on days when I don't believe it myself."
The church is completely silent. I can feel everyone watching us, but all I see is Daniel.
"You saved me, Lu," he says simply. "And I'll spend the rest of my life making sure you never regret it."
I'm crying openly now, tears streaming down my face. Daniel's eyes shine with unshed tears of his own.
"I love you," he finishes.
The silence in the church feels reverent. I reach up to touch his face, my fingers tracing the strong line of his jaw.
"Your turn," he whispers, a hint of vulnerability in his eyes.
My hands tremble slightly as I reach for the small folded paper in Bella's outstretched hand. But after hearing Daniel speak from his heart, I tuck the paper away. Those carefully crafted words suddenly feel inadequate.
"I didn't think I'd ever stand here," I begin, my voice soft but steady. "After what happened to me, I thought that part of my life was over. I believed I was too broken, too damaged for anyone to truly love."
Daniel's grip on my hands tightens, grounding me.
I take a shaky breath, feeling tears slide down my cheeks.
"You never looked at me with pity. You never treated me like I was fragile. You just... waited. Patient and steady, until I was ready to be seen again."
My thumb brushes over his knuckles, tracing the scars there.
"You taught me that strength isn't about never breaking. It's about how you piece yourself back together." My voice cracks slightly. "And sometimes, it's about letting someone else help you with the pieces."
Daniel's eyes never leave mine, intense and full of emotion.
"I used to think love was this grand, sweeping thing from fairy tales. But with you, I learned it's in the quiet moments. It's in how you hold my hand during nightmares. How you stand guard while I sleep. How you know exactly when to push and when to wait."
I reach up to touch his face, my fingers tracing the strong line of his jaw.
"You call yourself damaged, but to me, you're perfect. Not because you don't have scars—we both know you do—but because your scars tell the story of a man who survived. A man who protected. A man who never stopped trying to be better."
The tears come faster now, but I don't try to stop them.
"I love how you check under the bed in every hotel room." A small laugh escapes through my tears. "I love how you always position yourself between me and the door. I love how you look at me like I'm the most precious thing you've ever seen."
Daniel's eyes shine with unshed tears.
"I promise to be your safe place, just as you've been mine. I promise to stand beside you through whatever comes. I promise to remind you of your worth on days when you forget."
My voice drops to almost a whisper, meant only for him despite our audience.
"I promise to love all of you—the soldier, the protector, the man who thinks he doesn't deserve happiness but deserves it more than anyone I know."