Epilogue #2
Everyone leaned forward as Julian carefully tore the paper. He stared for a beat, blinking. Then burst out laughing.
Inside was a brand new copy of Cooking for Dummies: 101 Recipes Even You Can’t Burn—the same dumb book we’d teased about at the bookstore all that time ago.
I grinned. “Thought you could finally graduate to toast that isn’t charcoal.”
The room erupted in quiet laughter. Even Mom snorted into her tea.
Julian shook his head, giggling, before pulling out something else hidden beneath the book—a small silver whisk charm on a chain.
His fingers curled around it gently, his face going soft. “Miles...”
“A little reminder that you don’t have to be perfect in the kitchen,” I murmured, leaning close. “Or anywhere else. I like you just the way you are. Burnt toast and all.”
His eyes shimmered and I saw it—just for a moment—the weight lifted from his shoulders.
“I love it,” he whispered. “I really do.”
God, this man was gonna kill me. Soft, bright, perfect without even trying.
I squeezed his knee under the blanket, grinning. “Your turn to give a gift, babe.”
He stiffened slightly, that nervous little flicker again. Like he was holding a secret in his throat. His hand dipped into the pocket of his sweater as he glanced at Mom—who smiled knowingly—and then at me.
But he didn’t move yet.
Just breathed. Waiting.
And I could feel it—that something big was coming.
“Miles...”
His voice was barely a whisper, but the weight behind it shook the quiet room. I watched him, fingers trembling as they gripped the little box, eyes shimmering with tears that blurred everything around him—except me.
He smiled through the haze, that vulnerable, breathtaking smile I’d come to cherish.
“You walked into my life with that ridiculous sunshine personality of yours... like you had no idea the kind of darkness you were stepping into.”
I felt my chest tighten. Yeah, that was me—clueless but stubborn, and somehow he let me in anyway.
“But somehow... with just one look, you knew. You knew I was struggling—even when I didn’t want to admit it to myself.”
His words landed deep, raw and honest, and I could feel the weight of every hidden battle he’d fought.
“You saw me. Really saw me.”
Tears pricked my eyes now, and I gulped. I saw him, all of him, and I loved every messy, broken piece.
“I’ve spent so long believing I wasn’t meant for this. For something good. For something real.” He paused, his voice cracking, fighting the tears he didn’t want to let go.
“I thought people like me didn’t get this kind of happiness... not after everything I went through. After everything I let happen to me.”
My heart shattered in slow motion, the pain he’d carried so silently finally spoken aloud. “I thought I was too broken. Too far gone.”
Then came the turning point.
“But then there was you.”
I reached for him instinctively, needing to hold him, remind him I was here.
“When I flinched, you reached. When I ran, you stayed. When I pushed, you pulled.”
His voice broke, raw and trembling as fresh tears spilled down his cheeks. I fought to keep it together for him, but I was drowning in how much this meant.
“And when I truly believed no one could ever love me—this ruined, terrified, messy person—you proved me wrong every single time.”
He chuckled, a wet, shaky sound that filled the room with aching beauty.
“You made me feel like I was enough. Even when I couldn’t stand to look at myself... you looked at me like I was something worth holding onto. And not once did you make me feel like a burden. Like I was too much. Too broken.”
I brushed a tear from his face, my hands trembling. “You made me feel like I could be more. And I owe you everything for that.”
His voice was so fragile, yet fierce.
“You gave me patience when I deserved anger. You gave me softness when all I knew was fear and hardness.”
And then the words I’d waited for, the ones I’d dreamed about but never dared to hope.
“And you loved me. God, you loved me—when I couldn’t even say the word without choking on it.”
My throat tightened, but I smiled through the lump, squeezing his hands. “You proved me wrong, Miles. And you continue to do so. Every time. And I owe you everything for that.”
He took a shaky breath, and my heart exploded in that moment.
“So if you’ll let me... will you let me spend the rest of my life trying to give back half of what you’ve given me? I’ll wake up every day trying to deserve you. Trying to love you the way you loved me—completely, endlessly, and without fear.”
His eyes locked with mine, shining with hope and love and fear all at once.
“Miles Bennett... my sun, my anchor, my everything.”
Julian’s voice trembled as he smiled through his tears, his hand clutching that little velvet box like it meant the world.
My breath caught. My chest tightened so painfully it was almost hard to breathe. God, he was beautiful. Sitting there—strong, brave, finally believing he was worthy of love. Worthy of me.
Then Julian paused, his watery eyes never leaving mine as he slowly dropped down on one knee.
I heard the soft gasp from behind me—my mom, my sisters, holding their breath, their hands pressed to their chests in quiet awe. But I couldn’t look away from him. My world. My everything.
I’ve waited for this moment since the day he finally let me in. When he first smiled for real. When he first stopped flinching at my touch. When he finally believed he deserved love. This is everything.
“Will you marry me?” Julian whispered.
And it hit me like a freight train.
Tears burned in my eyes, blurring the edges of his face, but I smiled. God, I smiled so wide it hurt. My heart felt like it could explode, too full to hold everything I felt for him.
He chose me. After everything. After all the hell he survived.
He chose me.
“Yes,” I choked, my voice cracking, the tears finally slipping free down my cheeks. “A thousand times yes.”
I didn’t wait.
I tackled him, laughing through my tears, knocking him flat onto the living room floor as he let out a surprised grunt that turned into a breathless laugh of his own.
The box flew from his hand and landed somewhere on the carpet, but neither of us cared.
I buried my face in his neck, holding him so tight I thought I’d never let go.
Julian laughed beneath me, breathless and beautiful, his fingers clutching my back like I was his lifeline.
Suddenly, paws scrambled on the floor—Sunny bounded over first, barking happily as she licked Julian’s cheek like she wanted to be part of the celebration.
Then came Benny, huffing and wagging his tail as he climbed awkwardly over my leg.
And last, delicate little Ivy—Julian’s soft-eyed whippet—gently nosing Julian’s hand, whining like she was checking to make sure her human was okay.
We were a mess—laughing on the floor, covered in fur and wet kisses—but I’d never been happier. Not in my whole life.
As the dogs finally settled—Sunny curling up against Julian’s side, Benny flopping right across my foot, and Ivy delicately sitting by Julian’s knee—I sat up, grinning like a fool, wiping the tears from my face.
Julian chuckled breathlessly as he grabbed the velvet box from the carpet and gently pulled the ring free. “Give me your hand, sunshine,” he teased, holding out the ring.
I gave him my left hand, still smiling like a lovesick idiot as he slid the ring onto my finger—slow, careful, like he wanted to savor every second.
I glanced down at the band, then back at him. His cheeks were pink, his eyes shining, his smile pure and real.
“So this is why you were acting all weird when we got here,” I said, raising a teasing eyebrow. “I thought you were gonna confess to breaking my favorite coffee mug or something.”
Julian laughed, breathless and light, wiping at his eyes. “Please, I’d let Sunny take the blame for that before I confessed.”
I snorted. “I knew that was you.”
“Shut up and kiss me, fiancé,” he whispered.
I leaned in, catching his mouth with mine—soft, deep, perfect—while the dogs crowded closer like they couldn’t stand to be left out of the moment.
Yeah. I smiled against his lips.
This is exactly how forever’s supposed to start.
The End