Chapter 11 - THE EVER AFTER
The summer wedding was everything the first one wasn’t.
It was held in the lush gardens of the compound, bathed in golden afternoon sunlight. There were no press, no hostile family members—just a small group of genuine friends, and two flower girls who took their jobs incredibly seriously.
Hazel and Iris, dressed in matching lavender gowns, scattered petals down the aisle with fierce concentration.
Sloan walked down the aisle feeling something she hadn’t felt in ten years: completely and utterly safe. She wore a simple, elegant silk gown, her dark curls pinned up, a quiet confidence radiating from her.
Waiting for her at the altar was Griffin. He looked devastatingly handsome in his tuxedo, but it was the look in his eyes that made Sloan’s heart pound. It was a look of absolute worship.
As they exchanged their vows, reading words they had written themselves, there wasn’t a dry eye in the garden.
“Ten years ago, I thought I lost the best thing that ever happened to me,” Griffin said, holding both of her hands. “But the universe gave me a second chance. It gave me you, and it gave me our beautiful daughters. I promise to spend every single day of the rest of my life proving that I am worthy of that miracle.”
Sloan smiled through her tears. “I ran to protect them, Griffin. But I stopped running because I realized that the safest place in the world for all of us… is right here with you.”
When the officiant finally pronounced them husband and wife, the cheers from the small crowd were deafening. But the loudest cheers came from the two little girls in the front row.
Griffin kissed his wife, then bent down to scoop up both Hazel and Iris, lifting them into his arms.
They weren't just a secret anymore. They were a family. And for the first time in her life, Sloan Callaway knew exactly what happily ever after looked like.
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