Chapter 55 Obey
obey
Sariah
“And do you, Sariah Ocotea, take Cian Murphy to be your husband, to love, honor, and obey, all the days of your life?”
Obey? Oh, hell no.
Only Liam would throw that into the vows. I slice my eyes to my soon-to-be brother-in-law who officiates, watching him squeeze his lips to fight a grin. His long red beard dances in the breeze and under the pressure of his lips.
“I take you, Cian, as my husband,” I say in reply to the man holding my hand.
“May you have a beautiful life,” Liam says quietly, before adding, “I now pronounce you husband and wife.”
The cheer is quiet but perfect as Cian wraps me in his arms and kisses me, bending me back in a dip worthy of Hollywood.
We’re outside of Aspen, standing among the fall Aspens, their yellows almost at their peak.
Rosie and Janie stand together holding hands. Rosie beams with a smile so wide and so settled, I can feel its pride. Janie’s is more reserved and, while she loves her son, sadness mars her eyes.
Christian waits to the side as Ayla snaps pictures of us. He hovers around his wife, like a moon orbiting a planet. It’s sweet, all the while being possessive and hot.
Renée stands at my side… at our sides. Her cast is gone, and her belly button ring is hidden under that slip of a dress. I gave in. I shouldn’t have. She’s fourteen, but I could give on it without it costing anything.
Looking around at my family, at the man I love making me his in every way possible, everything in me settles. In my wildest dreams, I never thought this would be my life. I always wanted it, but I never thought I could have it. Always running, never settling down, never giving roots to a life.
I would walk through the fires of hell to have this, and I have. But I’m kind of glad I didn’t know how hot they’d get or how badly they’d burn.
The scars Jonas inflected aren’t in my thoughts today.
The hitmen hired by the Connect2Coach owners that tracked and kidnapped me and Renée were arrested. The owners who were facing federal charges now also face kidnapping and murder-for-hire.
My daughter is safe and so am I.
Cian pops the cork from a bottle of champagne and pours it into flutes passing them around. “To my wife. To my daughter. To new beginnings.”
We all lift our glasses.
Ayla doesn’t sip hers.
I only notice because I don’t either.
“To new beginnings.”