Chapter 25
Cleo POV - A year later.
It still didn’t feel real sometimes, a year of building something I once thought I’d never have again. A year of learning what it meant to be loved without conditions.
The clubhouse looked different today, softer, transformed with flowers everywhere. White fabric draped across beams and railings, fairy lights woven through the structure outside, catching the afternoon sun. The yard had been cleared and prepared for something none of us had ever thought would happen here.
A wedding, our wedding. Gabe and I had decided it together, to have the wedding, where it all began, where everything changed, where he stopped being Chains and started being home.
I stood in the clubhouse room as Mia adjusted my dress. Mom stood behind me, hands resting gently on my shoulders. “You alright, sweetheart?” she asked softly. I nodded, “I think so.”
I wasn’t nerves, not really. It was disbelief, a good kind, full kind. A healed kind.
Skylar and Lola were already dressed. Matching light blue dresses that made them look like they belonged in a moment far too big for their age and yet, they were calm, happy, and steady.
Skylar caught my eye in the mirror and smiled. “Ready, Mom?” My throat tightened at that. “Yes,” I whispered. “I think I am.”
The music started outside, the clubhouse doors opened and I stepped into my future.
******
Chains POV
I thought I knew what today would feel like, I didn't, not even close.
The clubhouse had been transformed for the wedding, but beneath the flowers, decorations and laughter, I could still see the place I'd called home for years.
The place where everything changed, where Cleo walked into my life without asking permission. Where every wall I'd spent years building started to crumble. Where I stopped running without even realising it. Where I became the man I'd never believed I could be. A man who belonged to someone, a man with a family.
The yard was full with family, friends. Everyone who mattered was here. Yet I only searched for one person.
Cleo.
The moment she stepped outside, the noise around me faded into nothing, the conversations, laughter, music, it all disappeared. There was only her, she looked breathtaking, not because of the dress, although it suited her perfectly.
Because she was smiling, the kind of smile that reached her eyes, that told me she was just as certain about this as I was.
Graves stood proudly beside her, his arm linked with hers, and for the first time, I understood exactly what he was trusting me with.
Everything.
******
Cleo POV
“You look beautiful,” Gabe murmured as I reached him, his voice was rough, emotional, and honest. “So do you,” I whispered back. A soft laugh left him. “Let’s hope the club agrees.” I smiled, “They don’t get a vote." That made him smile.
The ceremony began, simple, intimate. Perfect. We wrote our own vows. I went first.
“I didn’t think I’d ever stand here again,” I said softly. Gabe’s eyes never left mine. “But you didn’t ask me to start over. You just walked into our lives and stayed.” My voice shook slightly. “You didn’t fix us. You joined us.” A pause. “And that changed everything.” Gabe swallowed hard. I smiled through it. “I choose you. Every version of you. Chains. Gabe. The man who stayed when it mattered.” A breath.
“I love you.”
*****
Chains POV
Her words hit harder than anything I expected, I took her hands, steadying myself. “I spent a long time thinking I wasn’t built for this,” I said. A few quiet laughs from the crowd but I didn’t look away from her. “Then I met you.” Cleo’s breath caught slightly. “And suddenly I wasn’t just surviving anymore.” I squeezed her hands. “I was living.” My voice lowered. “I don’t need perfect. I just need you.” A beat. “And I choose you. Every day. Every version. Every moment.”
Her eyes filled instantly. “I love you, Cleo.”
The crowd faded out completely, only she remained.
“You may kiss the bride.” I didn’t hesitate. I pulled her into me and kissed her like it was the only thing I’d ever been meant to do.
The world erupted around us but I barely heard it because she was laughing against my mouth and for once, everything was right.
*****
Cleo POV
We turned to the crowd as husband and wife, Mr and Mrs. Gabriel Mercer, but before I could even breathe, Skylar and Tommy stepped forward.
Holding a folded piece of paper. Skylar looked nervous, Tommy looked excited. “Dad—uh—Gabe,” Tommy corrected quickly. I smiled. Gabe didn’t move, just looked at them.
Skylar held out the paper. “We have something for you." she said quietly. Gabe opened it carefully. I saw his face change instantly, with confusion, then understanding, then something that broke him completely.
Tears, real ones. Falling before he could stop them. Skylar’s voice was soft. “We asked Mom if it was okay.”
I turned to look at Gabe, he nodded, slowly, gently. “Yes,” I said.
Skylar continued. “We wanted to add your name.” A pause. “We are not replacing Dad.” Tommy nodded quickly. “Never that.” Skylar smiled. “But we are adding you.”
Gabe’s hands shook slightly, he looked down at the paper again, then back at them. “What did you do?” he whispered.
Skylar stepped closer. “I'm Skylar Hart-Mercer.”
Tommy grinned. “And I'm Tommy Hart-Mercer.”
Silence. Then Gabe broke, he pulled them both into him at once. Holding them tightly, with his eyes shut, and letting his tears fall freely now.
“Thank you,” he said quietly. Over and over. “Thank you.”
Skylar hugged him back just as tightly. Tommy too and for the first time, Gabe wasn’t holding on carefully, he was holding on like he never intended to let go.
******
Chains POV
The night blurred into something I never wanted to end, laughter, music, and family. Cleo never left my side, neither did the kids. At some point, I noticed she wasn’t drinking. I frowned slightly. “You alright?”
She smiled at me, soft, different. “I was going to wait until tomorrow,” she said. My brow furrowed. “What?”
She reached for my hand, held it against her stomach and smiled wider. “You’re going to be a daddy.”
Everything stopped, completely. My mind went blank, my breath left me all at once.
“Say that again,” I whispered.
Her smile turned brighter. “I’m pregnant.”
Silence. Then everything inside me shattered and rebuilt itself at once. I pulled her into me instantly, kissing her, hard, pouring my everything into the kiss. When I finally pulled back, my forehead rested against hers. My voice broke slightly.
“I will love and protect all of you.” A breath. “All four of you.”
Cleo’s eyes filled, So did mine and for the first time in my life, Cleo and I weren't just two people trying survive.
No, We had everything.