30. Epilogue
30
EPILOGUE
CASSIE
S ix Months Later…
I stare out at the Hawaiian beach, knowing that this is the perfect place for me and Benji to get married. Just a quiet beach with no one else on it, a private place where we can hide away from the rest of the world once more. Our favorite place ever. I don’t know what our families will think about our secretly eloping, but I’m pretty sure they will be okay about it. They know we’re adventuring and that this is likely for us, so eventually, they will just be happy that we are happy.
They have been so far, so I can’t imagine that changing this time around. Even if this is a little bit more serious.
We probably could have sold pictures of our wedding if we wanted to. I’m sure that the public would be interested in the daughter of the infamous William Jones who was kidnapped marrying her savior, but that isn’t us and it never will be. We have always wanted to remain out of the spotlight, and I definitely always will. Especially on a big day like today.
“And there he is.” I can see my gorgeous man on the other side of the golden sands, and he makes my heart skip a beat. For a second, I’m transported back to that day when I first saw him. When he risked his life to save mine. I didn’t know him then. I wasn’t even sure whether he was the good guy or not then, but there was still a weird chemistry between us. And it’s still there. “Wow.”
I glance down at myself, checking that my little white, lacy, summery dress is suitable. It might not exactly be a traditional wedding gown, but nothing about us has been traditional so far, so why not do things our way? I have a ring of flowers around my head as well, and my red hair is wavy, hanging down my back in a loose and free manner.
“Yep, this is it,” I whisper to myself. “Time for us to get married. Oh, my God, this is amazing.”
It’s only taken us this long to get around to marrying one another because we’ve been so busy seeing everything that we want to see. I honestly think that we might have been everywhere in the world now, or at least all the places we have wanted to go. Of course, there’s more I would love to see, but I’m keen to do other things as well, to expand my horizons further. I can see the size of life now, and I want to explore and experience every single part of it. I want to do and be everything.
The officiant stays behind Benji, but I barely notice him. I’m too busy staring at my husband to be and slowly walking toward him to care about anyone else. I can’t believe than any minute now, I’m actually going to be his wife. It’s phenomenal. This is something I’ve wanted for a very long time, but I didn’t know that I would actually end up here, getting it.
“Wow,” Benji gushes as soon as I get close enough to hear him. “I’ve never seen you look so beautiful.”
“Yeah? You think?” I shoot him a playful wink. “Well, I don’t think I’ve ever seen you so handsome, either.”
He hasn’t got a full suit on, but he’s looking incredibly smart. With his tight, toned body and his sun-kissed skin, he’s stunning. My God, he’s blowing my mind all over again. I must be the luckiest woman alive to have him in my life. My pulse races at the sight of him, even now after all this time, and I’m pretty sure it will always be the case.
And then it’s time for the ceremony to begin. The officiant talks about love and connection, about being together forever, about loving one another above everything else, but I can barely hear his words. I know love now. I know it more than anyone else. Our love, that is. I don’t know if it’s the same as everyone else’s, but I don’t care. I’m not trying to live anyone else’s love story. I’m just trying to exist in my own. I don’t need anything other than what I have right here.
“I’ve written my own vows,” Benji surprises me by declaring as that moment comes along. “I know that we didn’t exactly plan on that, but we always do things on a whim, don’t we? So, I hope you don’t mind, but I have something to say.”
I’m stunned by this, but I’m actually okay with it. I can get on board with whatever life throws at me. Even if it’s vows. I can do my own as well. I can simply speak from my heart in the heat of the moment, and all will be just fine.
“Okay, I’m good with this.” I grin from ear to ear. “Let’s hear it. Looking forward to it. Let’s hear what you have for me.”
“Cassie Jones, you are the best woman I’ve ever met in my life,” he begins with an edge of seriousness to his voice. “I think you know by now how much I love you, how I would do anything for you, how I want to make you happy forever. I… I don’t feel like I need to tell you that I’ll be there through sickness and health, through richer and poorer, until death do us part because I’m sure you know that already. I hope by this point, you have seen that…” I nod, because that just comes naturally by this point. You don’t go through everything that we have just to walk away. “So I’m just going to promise you that I’ll always be the very best version of myself for you. I’ll never let anything slip. You make me awesome, and I’ll keep being that.”
Wow, that was simple and straightforward, but it gets me in a bubble of emotion. A thick ball gets stuck in my throat, and I can hardly breathe. I have so much that I want to say myself, but it’s going to take me a moment to get it together.
“I… I love you, Benji,” I rasp back. “You make me the best version of myself as well. And I just… I just…”
“Oh, I’m sorry,” Benji says as he envelops me in a hug. “I didn’t mean to make you all messy. I just wanted to be sweet.”
“It isn’t just that. I… I have something that I need to say too. I was going to say it afterward, but I think now is best.” I take his hand and rest it on my stomach, trying to see if he’s going to get the hint, but he simply stares at me blankly, curiously. “I’m emotional because I found out this morning that I’m pregnant. You and I are having a baby.”
“We are?” He gasps in shock, now the one getting as emotional as me. “We’re having a baby? Are you for real?”
It’s something that we have talked about in the past and not exactly planned for directly, but we’ve certainly not protected against it for a while. It’s always been one of those ‘when it happens, it happens’ kinda things, and now it’s happened. Right at the perfect time. I’m happy for a change, and I’m pleased to try something new and settle down. I think it’s time.
When I took that pregnancy test and I learned that I’m in fact having a baby and all the signs are right, I was instantly overwhelmed with a boundless love and happiness, and that hasn’t gone anywhere. This is what I want, what I need. This is going to be phenomenal. One day, in about nine months’ time, I’ll have a baby boy or girl in my arms, and isn’t that just everything?
“Yes.” I nod encouragingly. “I know, isn’t it wonderful that we find out on our wedding day? Not only are we getting married, but we’re also going to get a bigger family as well. We’re finally going to be parents. I can’t believe it. I couldn’t be happier.”
Benji grabs me and kisses me hard, our tears meshing together as we connect over this incredible revelation. I can feel his happiness mixing in with mine, and honestly, we aren’t just getting married. We are becoming one. A united front, ready to keep on taking on the rest of the world. Together, we can do anything. Together, our future is exciting.
“This is my happily ever after,” Benji tells me as we break apart just a little bit. “A wife and a baby. I’m so happy and in love.”
“I know. For happiness to come from my worse tragedy… it’s incredible.” I smile. “And I love you too, Benji. This is just the start of our journey together, and I can’t wait to see where this new journey takes us. It’s going to be amazing.”
The officiant brings the wedding to a close with a sweet little speech about what marriage means and how love will get us through even the hardest trials of life, as if we haven’t already experienced that, but I’m too busy getting lost in my husband’s eyes. I’ve never seen this much love in him before, and it makes me feel warm and overjoyed. My man and I are going to go the distance. We’re going to live in this happily ever after forever. I can’t wait for all of it.