Chapter 10 - THE VOWS
Six years and two months after the day my heart was broken, I stood at an altar again.
This time, it wasn't a massive, pretentious cathedral packed with high-society strangers. It was a quiet, sunlit garden overlooking the ocean. There were only fifty people there—my EMT crew, Sarah’s closest friends, and the doctors who had saved her life.
My mother was not there. She was serving a three-year sentence in a minimum-security federal facility for wire fraud and extortion.
The music started playing softly.
Down the aisle walked a beautiful, six-year-old girl in a white dress, carefully tossing pink rose petals onto the grass. Mia looked up at me, flashed a brilliant, toothy smile, and ran the rest of the way to jump into my arms.
"You did a great job, sweetie," I laughed, setting her down next to the best man, David.
Then, I looked up.
Sarah walked down the aisle. She didn't look scared. She didn't look like a girl running from a threat. She looked like a woman who had walked through fire and come out completely unbreakable.
When she reached the altar, she took my hands. Her fingers were warm and steady.
"I'm not going anywhere this time," she whispered, a tear slipping down her cheek.
May you like
"I know," I smiled, sliding the same gold ring onto her finger that I had carried in my pocket all those years ago. "Because we’re already home."
The officiant pronounced us husband and wife, and as I kissed the love of my life, with our daughter cheering beside us, I finally forgave the past. The detour was brutal, but the destination was entirely worth the drive.
