Epilogue 1
I'm not nervous about a lot of things.
People think I am, because I'm quiet before something matters.
It's not nerves.
It's focus.
But today is different.
Today it sits under my skin like something I can't fully control.
I adjust my tie for the third time and immediately stop myself from doing it again.
Callahan leans against the doorway of the small room I'm getting ready in, looking far too entertained for someone who was explicitly told not to "cause chaos on my wedding day."
"You look like you're about to defuse a bomb," he says.
"I'm fine."
"That's not an answer."
I glance at him.
He raises his hands.
"Alright, alright. Serious face. Got it."
He lasts about three seconds.
Then smirks again.
"Still can't believe you're the marrying type."
"I can't believe I invited you."
"Yeah, but you did."
A pause.
Then quieter, less teasing:
"Is she good?"
My chest tightens slightly.
I look down at the ring box in my pocket for a second, like I need to confirm it's still there.
"Yeah," I say. "She's good."
Callahan nods once.
"That's all that matters then."
And for once, he doesn't say anything else.
The ceremony is small.
Not because I don't want more people there.
Because Chloe doesn't.
She wanted something quiet.
Safe.
Somewhere she could breathe without feeling watched.
So it's just close family. Callahan, obviously, standing there like he somehow ended up officiating something he refuses to take seriously but absolutely will get right anyway.
Ava is asleep in the back with one of Chloe's friends watching her.
I keep checking anyway.
Habit.
Chloe walks out.
And everything else stops.
It's not dramatic in the way people expect.
No thunderbolt moment.
Just... her.
Standing there.
Looking at me like I'm the only thing in the world she's sure of.
My throat tightens instantly.
Callahan starts talking.
I don't hear most of it.
Not properly.
Because I'm watching her breathe.
That's it.
That's the thought in my head.
She's here.
When it's my turn, I don't overthink it.
I never planned to.
Because none of this was ever about perfect words.
It was about her.
"I do," I say.
Simple.
Certain.
Then she looks at me like I've just given her something she didn't think she was allowed to have.
And I know she means it when she says it back.
I don't think I realised I could feel this safe in a moment like this.
My hands are shaking a little when I walk toward him, but it's not fear.
It's everything else.
Everything that led here.
Ava asleep nearby, the soft rustle of wind through the trees, the small group of people who matter most watching quietly.
And Mason.
Standing there like he's always been waiting for me to get here.
I keep thinking I might wake up.
I don't.
Callahan is talking, and I try to listen, but my eyes keep drifting back to Mason.
He looks so steady.
Like nothing in the world could move him right now.
But I know him better now.
I see the way his jaw tightens slightly when I get closer.
The way his eyes don't leave mine.
Like, I'm the only thing holding him in place, too.
"I do," he says.
No hesitation.
Just truth.
And something in my chest breaks open in the softest way possible.
When it's my turn, my voice shakes.
But I don't stop.
"I do," I say.
And suddenly I'm crying.
Because it's not just a wedding.
It's everything before it.
Everything after it.
Mason reaches for my hands immediately.
Like he can't wait anymore.
And I don't pull away.
Not once.
When it's over, she doesn't let go of my hand.
Not even when people come up to congratulate us.
Not even when Callahan pretends to cry and then immediately ruins the moment by calling me "soft now."
Not even when Ava wakes up and reaches for both of us at once like she already knows this is permanent.
Chloe stands close to me the whole time.
Like she's still learning she doesn't have to leave.
At some point, I lean down slightly.
"You okay?" I ask quietly.
She looks up at me.
Smiles.
And nods.
"Yeah," she says. "I am."
I believe her.
For the first time, I think she does too.
And when we finally walk away together—her hand in mine, Ava in her arms—I realise something simple.
This wasn't the start of our life together.
It was the confirmation of it.