Epilogue
Shay
Two Years Later
“How are you holding up?” Mom asked as she peeked her head into my fitting room.
My heart raced as I stared into the mirror. The dress that lay against my body was everything I’d ever dreamed of. It was the first wedding gown I’d tried on, and I knew instantly it was the dress for me. Still, Raine and Eleanor pushed for me to try on a few more options.
“You never go with your first option, because there’s always something better around the corner,” Raine had explained. “Plus, this is the first day I’ve had away from Jameson in the past two years, so I need you to take longer so I can get drunk on the free champagne.”
After the seventh dress, Raine had found herself a nice champagne buzz, and I returned to the original dress that I’d instantly fallen in love with.
Sometimes in life, the first option was always the best one.
That went for the dress and for the man I would be marrying in a few months.
Over the past two years, Landon and I had put in the work to make our love story grow.
We’d learned more about each other’s highs and lows.
Even though I didn’t personally suffer from depression like Landon, I did have days, weeks, and months where I’d feel completely off.
I’d go through waves of self-doubt, and whenever those days came, Landon stood by my side.
It took a long time to build up my trust in our relationship.
I suffered from so many old beliefs that polluted my mind, and fear sometimes leaked into my heart, making me believe that things were too good to be true.
That someday, Landon would realize he was better off without me. That I wasn’t enough.
On those days, weeks, and months, Landon moved closer to me. His love became a weapon against my self-doubts, and he slayed them by reminding me of our truths. That our love was strong. That our love was real. That no matter the storms, the sun would always shine on our story.
When he asked me to marry him, it was the easiest yes of my life.
“I think this is it.” I turned to my mother with tears in my eyes. “This is the dress I want to marry Landon in.”
Her eyes beamed. “It’s perfect. Simply perfect.”
I’d never seen my mother happier. David did as he promised and went above and beyond to show the amount of love he had for Mom. They’d been happily married for over a year now, and never in my life did I know love could be so whole.
It turned out not all men were evil—some wanted nothing but happiness for the loves of their lives. That was one of the best truths I’d ever learned. Maybe, just maybe, the Martínez family curse had officially been broken.
Mima popped her head into the fitting room, and her eyes swelled up with tears as she looked my way. “My gosh, that’s it, isn’t it? I knew it the first time I saw you in it.”
“Yes. This is the one.” I nodded as I ran my fingers against the beautiful cream fabric. It was a princess gown, covered in lace and crystals throughout the dress.
Mima walked toward me with a large envelope in her hands and held it out to me. “I was instructed to give this to you once you’ve made your final choice. Come on, Camila. Let’s give her some time alone with the package.”
The two left the fitting room, and I ripped the package open.
Inside was a notebook and a few pieces of candy.
Banana Laffy Taffys.
My lips curved into a grin as I opened the notebook and began reading the words on the page.
Chick,
Today is the day the woman of my dreams has found the dress of her dreams. You’ve discovered the dress you’ll wear when you walk down the aisle to give me my happily ever after.
I never believed in love stories before you entered my life.
I didn’t believe in romance or happy endings or anything with an ounce of life.
You changed all of that for me. You brought me into a new realm of beliefs. You’ve made me a believer in true love, and I cannot thank you enough for that.
I wanted to share a few words with you about how you’ve changed my life for the better—how without you, there is no home.
You’re the definition of strength and love.
Not only for others but for yourself. It’s been an honor to watch how you’ve grown into the strong woman that you are today.
You fight for your happiness in all aspects of your life, and you inspire me to be better.
You push me to chase my dreams without concern for the opinions of others.
You calm the storm inside my head. When I am in the depths of a war zone, you still my mind.
You are my soulmate, my heartbeats, and I cannot say enough how much you’ve shaped me into a better person.
When you walk down the aisle toward me in that beautiful gown, know that I am promising you my forever. I am promising you my ups and downs. I am promising you I’ll put in the work to make you happy. To make myself happy. To make us happy.
There was a point in my life when I never thought I’d make it to my thirties.
I’d lived with a cloud of darkness hovering over me that I thought would never clear, then you came into my life and shone your light on me.
You brought me to a place where I learned to make peace with my demons, not by enabling me, but by pushing me to want more for myself. To give myself the best chance at life.
You’ve saved me.
Day in and day out, you save my life.
I love you times two. From now until forever. I cannot wait for you to be my wife.
Here’s to our story. Our struggles and our light.
Thank you for the beautiful words you’ve given me throughout the years.
I am the man I am today because of your love.
—Satan
P.S. You look so beautiful today. Don’t worry, I’m not around the corner sneaking a peek. I just know that no matter what’s on your body, you always glow.
My lips curved up into the biggest smile as my heart pounded against my chest. Once upon a time, I fell in love with a boy. A beautiful, broken boy who had his own world of struggles. He fought his demons. He went to battle each day and came back stronger than before, and he was mine.
All his bumps, all his bruises, and all his battle scars were mine, and I loved every single one.
* * *
Landon
Six Years Later
“And the winner for best screenplay goes to”—the announcer took his time opening the envelope as my hand stayed wrapped tightly in Shay’s grip—“Steven Kane for Beyond.”
The room cheered loudly for Steven as he walked up the steps of the stage to accept his Oscar for the night. Shay and I applauded for him as he delivered his speech. The guy even cried, which was expected. He’d been up for ten Oscars in the past and had never won one in his life.
Still, I felt as if my wife had been robbed of the award.
Shay had been nominated for her first-ever Oscar, and she’d taken the loss the way she’d taken every moment in her life: with grace and humility.
She clapped for Steven with a true, genuine smile against her lips, and that was the reason I loved her the most. Because she knew how to be happy for others.
She understood that Steven’s success didn’t make her a failure.
She knew that no matter what, she was good enough—with or without others telling her so.
She never took me up on my offer to pass on her name in order to get her work seen to the world, though, oddly enough, Sarah Sims helped her out on that front.
All those years ago, after Sarah blasted Shay’s story on Good Morning America, a few agents reached out to Shay, asking her if she was in need of representation.
It was funny how the universe worked—what seemed like the end of Shay’s dreams coming true was truly just the beginning.
Did I tell the world that the manuscript was Shay’s to begin with and Sarah stole it from her?
Hell yeah, I did. No one could attack my lady without me standing up for her.
Sarah tried to ruin Shay’s life; instead, she ended up launching Shay’s career.
From there, Shay worked hard with her new agent, Maggie Estate, to reach her goals.
The first time we watched her film in the movie theater, I cried like a fucking baby because I was so proud of her.
She was the definition of perseverance. Throughout the years, Shay had been told no dozens of times, but she never gave up on her dreams because her belief in herself was bigger than any other person’s no.
“Someday, someone will have to say yes,” she’d always say. “So now’s not the time to quit.”
I loved that about her—her unwillingness to give up on anything. Thankfully she never gave up on me. Even through our darkest days, she still kept a part of her heart open for our love.
I was never as good as she was at not drowning in self-doubts, but she taught me how to breathe through the hard times.
She taught me that every second was a chance to begin again.
Whenever I fell, I’d remember that I could stand up and begin again.
When I fell, Shay was there, reaching out toward me with her love, helping me back to my feet.
I wished I could’ve said I cured myself of my depression, but that wasn’t the case.
I did, however, learn to honor my darkness.
To not push it to the side and to have truthful conversations with my despair.
I’d allowed myself to feel what I had to feel sometimes to work through my issues.
Day in and day out, I’d unpacked my boxes, and the beautiful thing about unpacking was that I was able to make room for the beautiful things coming into my world.
Three things, to be exact.
Three good things.
1. Shannon Sofia Harrison
2. Ava Maria Harrison
3. Lance James Harrison
The three loves of my life.
When Shay and I learned that we were having twins, we were overjoyed. Ava and Lance both turned five last weekend, and they were the happiest children known to mankind. They were just like their mother—the lighthouse that led me home each night.
After the award show, Shay and I decided to skip out on the Vanity Fair Oscar Party. There was our own celebration waiting for us back at home.
When we arrived at our Los Angeles home, a smile crept on my face as Shay’s eyes widened with joy.
“You didn’t,” she breathed out, stunned.
“I did.”
Standing on the front porch were all of our loved ones holding up a sign that said, “You’re Our Oscar-Winning Lady.” Everyone flew out for the big event. All of our friends and families showed up to cheer on our leading lady.
Tears formed in Shay’s eyes as our little ones held handmade Oscars in their hands.
When we stepped out of the car, they rushed to their mother and wrapped their arms around her. “Here’s your real Oscars, Mama,” Ava said, handing the crafts over to her. “The ones on TV looked really fake.”
“Yeah, Mama. You get two here, unlike on that stupid show,” Lance said, handing his over, too.
Tears rolled down her face, and she kissed the cheeks of our children. “These are the best awards I’ve ever won.”
We hugged everyone who’d shown up that night and popped bottles of champagne in honor of Shay’s huge accomplishment.
The night went on and on with laughter, joy, and love.
As I looked around my home, I realized that everything I’d ever dreamed of had come true.
It wasn’t about fame, money, or success.
It was about family, love, and happiness.
I had all three of those things overflowing into my life.
I was the luckiest man alive—scars and all.
As the night faded to a close, everyone agreed to meet up the next day for a big brunch celebration.
Shay headed off to our room to take a shower and get ready for bed as I took on the task of putting the little ones to bed.
“Can you read another?” Lance yawned as he lay in bed.
“Yeah, Daddy, another,” Ava said, echoing Lance’s yawn. Even though they could’ve easily had their own bedrooms, the twins were convinced they wanted to share a room until they were 104. We’d see how they felt about that when the teenage years came swinging by.
I walked over to them and kissed each of their foreheads. “Not tonight. We’ve already read four books, and it’s way past your bedtime.”
They both pouted, but I wasn’t going to give in. The night before, I ended up reading them six books. Shay called me a pushover. I agreed times a million. It wasn’t a surprise that the kids loved stories so much, seeing as how their mother was one of the most amazing storytellers of all time.
Good enough for an Oscar.
Again, if you asked me, she was robbed.
I turned off the kids’ bedroom light and headed to my room to fall into bed with a very exhausted wife.
She was already half asleep as I crawled into bed beside her. I kissed her forehead as I pulled her body against mine. She melted into me as if her heartbeats were made to solely fit against mine.
“I’m so happy,” she whispered, brushing her lips against mine.
“Me too.” So damn happy.
She yawned and snuggled in closer. Her eyes were closed as sleepiness began to pull her in for the remainder of the night, but her lips parted as she softly asked me the most important question of my life: “How’s your heart?”
“Completely full,” I replied.
That heart of mine? That damaged, battered, and bruised heart that sat inside of my chest? It would always be beating for her.
I meant that.
I meant always.