Chapter 12 - THE VOWS
We didn't have a grand ballroom. We didn't have crystal chandeliers, hundreds of fearful guests, or men standing guard with weapons.
We had a small, sunlit chapel on the outskirts of Paris.
My mother walked me down the aisle. She wore a beautiful floral dress, her head held high, looking more radiant and at peace than I had ever seen her.
Anthony stood at the altar beside his father, proudly holding the rings.
Vincent wore a simple grey suit. No expensive watch. No hidden weapons. Just the man I loved.
As I reached the altar, my mother kissed my cheek and stepped back.
The priest spoke in gentle, rolling French, but Vincent and I had written our own vows.
Vincent took my hands.
"Seventeen years ago, I promised to protect you," Vincent said, his voice thick with emotion. "But I failed to realize that the thing you needed protecting from the most was the life I had chosen. I spent years in the dark, trying to find a way to the light for you. But Evelyn, you were the light. You have always been my light. I vow to spend the rest of my days walking in the sun with you."
Tears spilled over my eyelashes.
I squeezed his hands, looking into the deep, warm brown eyes of the man who had sacrificed his entire empire just to keep us safe.
"Vincent," I whispered, my voice trembling but sure. "For years, I believed that love meant standing by blindly. But you taught me that true love is fierce. It is fighting for the truth, even when it hurts. We lost everything, but we found each other. I vow to stand by you, in this honest, beautiful life, forever."
Anthony handed us the rings.
Vincent slipped the simple diamond band onto my finger. It fit perfectly alongside the silver bracelet my mother had given me.
"Je vous déclare mari et femme," the priest smiled.
Vincent pulled me in and kissed me.
It wasn't a desperate kiss born of fear or secrets. It was soft, sweet, and filled with a profound, unbreakable peace.
When we broke apart, Anthony was cheering, and my mother was wiping her eyes with a lace handkerchief.
We walked out of the chapel hand in hand, stepping into the bright, warm Parisian afternoon.
May you like
No looking over our shoulders. No ghosts of the past.
Just a husband, a wife, a son, and a mother, walking forward into a future entirely our own.
