Epilogue One
You Make It Easy
Sophia
Five months later, July
The day after our joint welcome home-slash-engagement party, we asked Evie and Elena to make all the arrangements for us to get married in July.
Yes, July this year, we confirmed when they looked at us like we had lost our minds.
There was no point in a long engagement.
We’d already lost enough time in the years apart, and deep down we both knew we were soulmates.
There was no question when we were discussing dates and the type of ceremony we wanted that we would have a destination wedding away from the glitz and glamour of New York.
Instead, we wanted a love-filled few weeks to reconnect to our roots and make new memories together with our family and friends.
Our only request was that the venue be the same luxury Sicilian estate where the unshakable ties between our families were first formed.
We hired out the whole property exclusively with space for all guests to stay in the lead up and after the big day in one big celebration of love, family, and friendship.
Even if Marco didn’t know his biological father or that he even existed for his whole life, it felt important to symbolically include Roberto as part of this big life milestone as a way to honor the part he played in the sacrifice he made for Marco and Elena.
Chiara, Evie, and Stella are my bridesmaids, and Sebastian, Raf, and Luca are groomsmen.
Unfortunately, Arabella couldn’t be here.
Arty’s trial and the fallout with her family as a result has led to some big life changes for her.
Ones that include putting space between her old life and the new one she’s trying to build.
It’s a topic completely off-limits with Luca right now.
But I can’t help but think that if their love is meant to be, they’ll find their way back to each other.
Call me a hopeless romantic, but I do think perhaps our soulmates are written in the stars.
Although Marco and I haven’t followed tradition a day in our relationship, we did agree to follow the tradition of spending the night before and the day of the wedding apart.
Our friends constantly make fun of how obsessed we are with each other, so they made sure to keep us occupied so we stuck to our plan.
The boys went racing around a famous F1 track, while us girls enjoyed hours of pampering.
What can I say? Marco is my best friend.
My person. The thing I would pack if I could only take one thing to a deserted island.
The first time we will see each other is in a few minutes when I walk towards him to become his wife. The excitement flutters in my belly with such ferocity I’m certain I’m just floating around the room at this point.
“You look absolutely stunning, darling,” my mom gushes, staring at my reflection in the full-length mirror.
After trying on a few different dresses Evie called in from various designers, I settled on a stunning fitted lace gown with spaghetti straps, shimmering details, and strategically placed sheer cutouts by Galia Lahav.
It felt like the perfect mix of simplicity and show-stopping appeal with the way the sparkle of the small details offset the boldness of the structure.
In a lot of ways, it was the perfect representation of me.
A woman of many facets, as confident with the bold parts of myself as I am with the captivating soft, shimmering parts that don’t need to be loud to feel validated.
My hair is down in soft waves, and my makeup is natural and soft.
“Thank you, Mom. I love you.”
“Are you ready to marry the man of your dreams?” calls Evie from across the room, where she stands with Stella and Chiara. They’re wearing elegant peach-colored heavy silk slip dresses, simple gold heels, and gold floral motif statement earrings.
“She’s been ready since the day she was born,” laughs Stella.
“I think the same could be said for my cousin,” quips Chiara, smiling proudly. “He’s blowing up my phone with messages. The last one was a demand, ‘Get my wife out here now.’”
Laughing, we move out of the room and make our way towards the ceremony spot. “Let’s get me my husband.”