Epilogue
Hunter
The carnival stretches down Main Street, loud and alive. I’m walking through the crowd with my fingers laced with Adaline’s, and finally, I don’t feel like I’m trespassing in someone else’s life.
Six months.
That’s how long it’s been since I stopped hiding and let her see all of me—not just the man shaped by anger, abandonment, and years of believing love was temporary.
I built walls because it was easier than risking being left behind. I wasn’t ready to open my heart to anyone.
Since then, the world has changed in quiet, steady ways. Love is morning coffee shared in the kitchen while sunlight creeps across the counters. It’s long drives into the city, Adaline studying her notes while I pretend not to watch her, even though I always do.
It’s evenings curled on the couch, her feet tucked under my thigh, her laughter smoothing edges I didn’t realize were still sharp.
Aunt Jane and Mr. Reeves are proof that it’s never too late to choose happiness. Watching them find their way to each other felt like witnessing a miracle I didn’t know I believed in anymore.
Adaline helped make that happen with gentle encouragement. I didn’t want my past or old misunderstandings to steal the life they deserved. Yesterday, they stood in the mansion’s rose garden and promised each other forever.
Today, they’re on their honeymoon, chasing a future they once thought was out of reach.
Love heals. It gives courage. It moves people forward.
I watch her now as she steps away from me to talk to Nora, one of Liam’s friends. She listens like nothing else matters, asking about dreams and plans.
She supported my technical school project without hesitation, believing in it before I fully did. I’ve watched her come home exhausted but fulfilled, shoulders back, eyes bright.
When she finishes talking, she glances around, searching for me. I step back into the crowd before she can spot me.
North: Find me where the Wind blows North.
Her reply comes almost instantly.
Wind: Haha. Brace for it. It's going to get Windy.
I smile to myself.
Moments later, I reach for her hand, our fingers fitting together like they always have. No questions. No hesitation.
She climbs onto the motorcycle behind me, arms wrapping around my waist, trusting me completely.
The carnival noise fades as we ride out of town. When we reach the ridge, I cut the engine and let the silence settle around us. The oak tree stands at the top of the hill, roots deep, steady as time itself.
We walk to it together on this clear summer afternoon and sit beneath its shade. The grass is warm beneath us. I pull her close, kiss her temple, breathe her in.
For a long moment, I don’t speak. I let myself feel everything I’ve been carrying.
“I thought you’d leave,” I finally say.
She doesn’t interrupt. She never does when it matters.
“I tried to push you, tested you. And you stayed anyway.” I turn to her fully. I finally look at her, really look at her. “I was sure the moment you knew everything—my past, who I was—you’d believe the rumors.”
“You didn’t just choose me. You fought for me.”
Her hand tightens on my knee.
“You showed me what I was missing,” I say quietly. “A life not built on anger. A future I don’t have to be afraid of.”
My heart pounds as I reach into the small pocket of my jeans. I let go of her shoulder and turn toward her, the tiny velvet box heavy in my palm.
Her breath catches when she sees it.
I open the lid.
“Adaline,” I say, steady even though everything inside me feels undone.
Tears fill her eyes, but she’s smiling.
“I want the quiet days and the hard ones,” I continue. “I want laughter, arguments, I want to build something real. With you.”
I take her hand.
“Marry me.”
The world seems to pause.
Then she laughs, softly, breathless, perfect—and nods as tears spill free.
“Yes,” she says.
I slide the ring onto her finger, my hands steady, my heart full.
She throws her arms around my neck, and we fall back into the grass together, her laughter pressed against my chest.
I hold her tight, her head resting over my heart, like this moment is the beginning of everything.
Because it is.
Under the oak tree, with the wind moving gently around us, I finally understand what love means.
It means her.
It always has.
The End.