Kaden #2
“Melody!” Mom calls, and my bride turns to her. “Are you okay?”
“Wonderful,” my sister snaps as she takes in the enforcers with drawn weapons.
“You don’t have to do this,” Dad says softly.
I roll my shoulders easily. “She wants to. Don’t you, baby?”
Melody’s eyes pierce me as they narrow. There’s a tense pause between us, an unspoken conversation flowing.
Refuse me, and they all die.
Her face falls. She knows she has no choice. I think she’s going to surrender, accept her fate, before joining me at my side, where she belongs.
Until her face screws up and she launches herself at me with a fierce cry. She bats wildly at my face as I hold her at arm’s length. Ivan’s men stand quickly at the attack, reaching for their weapons before I glare out at the crowd.
I point at the man closest to me in warning. “Don’t. I’m right where I want to be.”
Melody lands a fist to my jaw before I collar her throat and drag her so close our noses almost touch. My lips pull over my teeth as I growl. “You’re one hit away from a bloodbath, little sister.”
She grabs my wrist, her nails digging into my flesh. “I’m going to kill you, Kaden.”
I hum, nipping at her plump bottom lip. “As long as it’s by your hand, I’ll die a happy man.”
“Fuck you,” she spits.
“In time,” I croon. “Now, you can either come willingly, or they’ll start dropping bodies. The choice is yours.”
Her bravado slips, fear flickering in her eyes as she assesses the situation.
She knows there’s no escape, and I think seeing the realization in her is the sweetest thing about this scene.
She looks so hopeless and cornered—like frantic prey who has just given itself willingly to the hungry predator.
“Okay,” she whispers.
I nod. “Get on the altar, Melody.”
She swallows, her throat working beneath my palm. “You have to let me go…”
My nose brushes against hers in a tender touch. “Never, pretty girl.”
Her eyes flutter against her better judgment. She wants to refuse this—to fight—but she can’t. Not when we’ve been promised to each other since the very beginning. I know she feels it deep inside of her, the invisible tether that binds us.
I release her neck before holding out my hand.
It’s an olive branch as I offer to escort her.
She stares at my calloused palm, the breath rushing past her parted lips, before she delicately places her fingers over mine.
Our contrast is so interesting. Thin, long fingers that seem too pure and untainted to be placed against my larger, rougher palm.
I guide her up to our designated spots before taking her other hand. My expression softens for the first time today as I observe the vision that is my sister. Her soft, curved features, the dusky, plump lips with a pronounced cupid’s bow, and her pulse that’s fluttering in her slender neck.
She’s radiant—a gem that shines in any environment. She’s wrapped in white, her golden hair braided into a crown on top of her head. As her veil settles around her, there’s a halo of warmth that surrounds her.
“You’re staring,” she whispers.
“Yeah…” I trail fondly. “I am, aren’t I?”
Her cheeks twinge pink as she looks away from me.
“You’re so beautiful,” I whisper with conviction.
She gasps, her eyes snapping to mine as the air becomes electric. Tendrils zap between us as the warmth of her palms soaks into mine. We’re caught in each other like old times, our connection rekindling and starting a small ember once again.
She’s so fucking strong.
I’m proud of the woman she grew into when I wasn’t around to help her. I hope she does give me hell. I deserve it for all the years I missed.
Saint steps up as our justice of the peace, clearing his throat as he crosses his hands in front of him.
Melody’s head whips around to him as she scowls. “Traitor.”
He smirks. “I got ordained online just for this special occasion.”
“I’m going to bite you again,” my bride hisses with venom.
Saint snickers as he addresses the room. “We are gathered here today to celebrate the union of Kaden Wilder and Melody Love…”
“Sweet mother of God,” Kodi remarks quietly, shaking her head in disbelief.
As my friend runs through the formalities of our marriage, I can’t look away from Melody. She’s stolen the breath from my lungs and what little sanity I had left. She’s everything, and in time, she’ll forgive me.
She has to.
“Have you prepared vows?” Saint asks before he catches himself, and his lips pull over his teeth in a wince.
“No,” Melody remarks as she tilts her head and her lips thin. “I didn’t know I was marrying my brother until last night.”
“Stepbrother,” I correct. “And I have vows.”
My bride’s head rears slightly as her light brows draw close. She wasn’t expecting me to have anything ready for this occasion.
I clear my throat, a room full of eyes on us, some in distaste and others in fear, as I recite what I’ve been harboring since the very beginning.
“Melody Love,” I begin, taking a breath as her anger cracks and melts into a softness that bleeds her curiosity and apprehension.
She tries to glance away from me, but I grab her elbow, drawing her back as I hold her eyes.
“Look at me,” I instruct low. “It’s just us. ”
She swallows before nodding.
“Melody Love,” I breathe, “from the moment you stepped into my life, everything else lost its meaning. What began at the creek and grew into those long, silent nights as I watched you study to achieve your goals became something permanent. I don’t love the way others do.
My feelings aren’t soft and careless. What I feel for you is deliberate and unbreakable.
I’m not perfect. But for you, I’ll better myself every day.
I’ll stand beside you without hesitation.
I’ll protect what’s mine because, pretty girl, your heart has been broken by me before, and I never want that to happen again.
I choose you, not just now or when it’s easy, but always. ”
A single tear slips, rolling down her cheek as her breath skates past her parted lips. So many emotions swell in her gaze, battling as she stares at me like I’m someone entirely new. I don’t expect her to say anything in return, which is why it surprises me so much when she finally speaks.
“Kaden,” she whispers, gulping back her fear as she remains solely focused on me.
“All my life I searched for something, but never knew what it was that I was looking for. Until I met you. You weren’t kind or gentle at first, but you were so true.
You showed me that no matter what was thrown my way, I could conquer it all.
When I’m with you, I feel like you see me.
Even beyond the missed years and time, my heart still aches for you in a way that will never heal.
You’ve been my beginning and my end. My everything. ”
Breathing feels impossible. This woman holds my heart in the palm of her hands.
There isn’t a tether that connects us. No.
It’s a fucking chain, and she holds the end of it.
If she would only utter the words, I would burn this world to the ground at her feet, forever at her mercy.
She holds the power to make me just as well as break.
She could shatter me in two, and I would thank the universe for giving me someone so divine to seal my fate.
“Is that how you feel, Sunny?” I whisper as I brush her cheek with the back of my hand.
Her eyes flutter at my touch. “I’ve always felt like this…”
She’s speaking from her heart, and something twinges inside of me—it’s a deep tug that I can’t place. Knowing she still loves me is far more generous than I deserve after the heartbreak I’ve caused her.
Saint clears his throat, causing us both to shift back to reality. He’s smirking like a damn fool as his eyes bounce between us. “Kaden, do you take Melody as your lawfully wedded wife, to have and to hold, even when she threatens bodily harm to your friends?”
My bride finally cracks a smile. It’s small and tremulous, but it warms my chest to see.
“I do,” I say with conviction.
Melody sobers as a fondness passes over her eyes. She’s still mad, but this is our moment, and she’s allowing us to have it.
“Melody, do you take Kaden to be your lawfully wedded husband, even though his ego is ten times bigger than his dick and he can be an asshole?”
She chuckles, her cheeks turning red before she sucks in and nods. “I do.”
“The rings,” Saint motions for Ivan to step forward.
My best man produces a velvet box, his eyes flickering to Melody. “I had no part in this.”
“Mhmm,” she hums before making a chomping gesture at him as her teeth click loudly.
He winces before shoving the box into my hands. “Keep her far away from me.” He whispers before returning to his spot.
I open it, and the rose gold princess-cut diamond is sparkling under the lights. It’s a dainty piece with leaves curling around the sides.
Melody gasps, her eyes wide as she takes in the floral design.
“It reminded me of you,” I say softly as I hold it up to her. “Mine is engraved with roses.”
“Kaden…” She trails breathlessly.
I take her hand, slipping it on her finger as I appreciate it. “Do you like it?”
She gapes at the ring. “Oh, this is criminal. Of course, I love it.”
I smile. “Good. I’m glad.”
She flexes her hand before grabbing my tie and dragging me down to her. “Don’t think you’re getting off easy because I like the ring.”
“Wouldn’t dream of it,” I muse.
“With the power vested in me by the state of New York, I now pronounce you husband and wife. You may kiss the bride.” Saint announces loudly.
I grab Melody’s waist, tugging her close to me as the air becomes thick. “Kiss me, Sunny.”
My lips crash over hers as her hands curl into my hair. It’s slow and sweet, bleeding all the missed years and time. It’s a new chapter, and I let her feel just how desperate I am to begin it.
“Oh, my god,” Mom mumbles before the sound of a body hitting the floor makes us break apart.
Our mother has just fainted.