The day had arrived.
After everything they'd been through — the late-night arguments, the tearful misunderstandings, the aching silences and desperate reunions — Ava was finally going to walk down the aisle toward the one man who had always found her, even when she was lost.
Damien.
She stood before the mirror in her soft lace gown, her hair cascading down her back in gentle waves, delicate pearls pinned into the curls. Chloe stood behind her, eyes shimmering.
"You're glowing," Chloe whispered.
Ava turned slowly, hands trembling slightly. "I'm terrified."
Chloe smiled. "Then it must be real."
Downstairs, Damien stood at the altar on a private garden terrace. Fairy lights sparkled like stars above them, white roses lining the aisle, and Ezra beside him — for once, quiet and serious.
When the music shifted and Ava stepped into view, Damien forgot how to breathe.
She was ethereal. A vision he thought he didn't deserve—but had somehow earned by loving her, even when it hurt.
As she walked closer, his eyes locked with hers. There was no one else. Just her. Just them. Always.
When she reached him, he took her hand, gently lifting her veil.
"You look like every prayer I never knew I said," he whispered.
She smiled through her tears. "You found me. Again and again."
The officiant began to speak, but the world had already faded for both of them. They saw only each other.
"Damien," Ava began, her voice steady despite the emotion trembling in her chest, "I once thought love had to be safe, quiet, easy. But you taught me that real love is messy, it's wild, and sometimes it breaks you before it builds you. But it's worth it. You were always worth it."
Damien swallowed hard. "Ava, I spent years building walls to keep the world out. But then you walked in and made me want to tear them down. I've never needed anything more than I need you. You're not just the love of my life, you are my life."
"You may kiss your bride."
He didn't wait.
His lips met hers in a kiss that said everything words couldn't. Fierce, soft, infinite. She was home in his arms, and he in hers.
As cheers erupted around them, Damien leaned in again, brushing his forehead against hers.
"You're mine," he murmured. "In every lifetime."
"And you're mine," she whispered back. "No matter what."
That night, as the stars blinked above their wedding suite, they laid in each other's arms, the world quiet around them. Not because it was finally peaceful—but because they had found peace in each other.
Not an ending.
A beginning.