Tears streamed down my face. I didn't care.
"You're my life. My heart. My home. And I am choosing you every single day for the rest of our lives."
Father Benedetto turned to Aria. "Aria,your vows."
She was crying too. Happy tears. Her hands squeezed mine, she glanced at me and smiled for a second before she spoke.
"When my parents died, I thought I'd lost everything that mattered. I thought I was alone in a world that didn't care if I survived or not. I thought my future was darkness and control and pain. Then I met you and discovered I hadn't lost everything. I'd just been waiting to find the right person to build something new with."
Her voice was strong despite the tears, she peeked at Lia who gave her a smile and a nod and her eyes trailed back to mine and we met each other's gaze.
"You saved me, Kai. Not just from your father. From despair. From giving up. From believing I didn't deserve happiness. You showed me what real love looks like. Not the fairy tale version. The real thing. Complicated and messy and sometimes terrifying but also beautiful and worth fighting for. You protected me when I couldn't protect myself. You fought for me when I'd stopped believing anyone would. You gave me hope when I'd stopped looking for it."
She smiled through her tears.
"You're my partner. My protector. My best friend. The father of my child. And I am choosing you. Not because I have to. Not because of some arrangement. But because my life is better with you in it. Because you make me want to be brave. Because loving you is the easiest and hardest thing I've ever done and I wouldn't change it for anything. I promise to stand beside you. To build our family with you. To love you through everything. The good days and the bad days and all the days in between. You're mine and I'm yours and nothing will ever change that."
Father Benedetto's voice was gentle. "The rings?"
Marco handed me Aria's ring. Simple gold band. Nothing ostentatious. Just beautiful.
I slid it onto her finger. "With this ring, I thee wed."
Lia handed Aria my ring. She slid it on. "With this ring, I thee wed."
"By the power vested in me and in witness of these gathered here, I pronounce you husband and wife." Father Benedetto smiled. "Kai, you may—"
I didn't wait for him to finish. Pulled Aria against me. Brought my mouth to hers.
This was different from every other time. This was me claiming my wife. Not my girlfriend. Not my father's intended bride. My wife. My choice. My partner in everything.
She was mine. Legally. Spiritually. Completely.
And I was hers. Forever.
"I do." I whispered against her lips.
"I do." She whispered back.
Chapter Twenty-Eight
KAI
Our wedding night.
The words felt surreal. Like something from a dream I'd never dared to have.
We'd returned to the beach house after the ceremony. The sun was setting, Lia had hugged us both goodbye, promised to visit tomorrow. Marco had clapped me on the shoulder, told me I'd done good and whispered something about taking it easy tonight that I had a lifetime to go. Mrs. Rossi had cried and blessed us both.
And now it was just us. Husband and wife. In every legal and meaningful way.
Aria stood by the window in our bedroom, still wearing her wedding dress. Simple white fabric that hugged her body, showed the slight curve of her belly where our baby grew. Her dark hair loose around her shoulders. Barefoot. Beautiful in a way that made my chest ache.
My wife.
The word settled in my soul. Felt right in a way nothing else ever had.
I was still in my tuxedo. Had loosened the tie but not removed it. Couldn't take my eyes off her long enough to focus on undressing.
