Today, I have a new family. A family I chose.
And at the end of the aisle, waiting for me, is the man who will make it official.
Misha.
He stands beneath an arch of white roses, wearing a dark suit that fits him like it was made for this moment—which it probably was. His hands are clasped in front of him, his posture military-straight, his expression carefully controlled.
Then he sees me.
The control cracks. His eyes widen, his lips part, and I watch him swallow hard as emotion floods his features. He's looked at me a thousand ways over the months we've been together—with desire, with tenderness, with protective fury. But I've never seen him look at me like this.
Like I'm everything. Like I'm his whole world.
Anna squeezes my arm and steps away to take her place as my attendant. I barely notice. My entire focus has narrowed to the man at the end of the aisle, the man who killed for me, bled for me, rebuilt his entire life around me.
The man I love.
I start walking.
The ceremony is simple.
We wrote our own vows—Misha's idea, surprisingly. I expected him to want something traditional, something formal. Instead, he insisted on words that meant something. Words that were ours.
He goes first, his voice low and steady, his eyes never leaving mine.
"Bianca. I spent seventeen years building walls. Convincing myself that I didn't need anyone, that caring for someone was weakness, that I was better off alone." He pauses, his jaw tightening. "You proved me wrong. You broke through every barrier I built, saw through every mask I wore. You showed me that strength isn't about shutting people out—it's about letting them in."
His hand finds mine, his fingers intertwining with my own.
"I can't promise you a perfect life. I can't promise you safety or peace or any of the things you deserve. But I canpromise you this: I will love you with everything I am. I will protect you with everything I have. And I will spend the rest of my days trying to be the man you see when you look at me."
My eyes are burning. I blink rapidly, trying to hold back the tears.
"I love you," he says simply. "Today. Tomorrow. Always."
The officiant—a judge who owes Dmitri a favor—nods to me. My turn.
I take a breath.
"Misha. Six months ago, I stood on an auction stage, waiting to be sold to the highest bidder. I thought my life was over. I thought I would never be free again." I squeeze his hand. "I was wrong. You didn't just buy me that night—you saved me. And then you did something even harder. You let me save myself."
His grip tightens.
"You gave me space to grieve the life I lost. You gave me tools to build a new one. You treated me like a partner, not a possession. You loved me even when I didn't know how to love you back." The tears spill over now, but I don't try to stop them. "I never expected to find happiness in your world. I never expected to find home in the arms of a man everyone else calls a monster. But here I am. Here we are."
I lift our joined hands, pressing them to my heart.
"I love you. Not despite what you are, but because of who you are. The man who kills for his family. The man who rebuilt a greenhouse because I asked him to. The man who held my hand while we listened to our baby's heartbeat for the first time." I smile through my tears. "That's the man I'm marrying today. That's the man I'll love for the rest of my life."
The officiant says something—the traditional words, the legal formalities. I barely hear them. All I can see is Misha's face, the emotion he's no longer trying to hide, the love that transforms his features from cold to breathtaking.
"I now pronounce you husband and wife."
He kisses me before the officiant finishes speaking.
The greenhouse erupts in applause—restrained, tasteful applause, befitting a gathering of criminals and their associates. But I can hear Anna's whoop of joy above it all, can see Dmitri's rare smile from the corner of my eye. Baby Alexander lets out a delighted shriek, and Kira laughs, bouncing him gently on her hip.
When Misha pulls back, he rests his forehead against mine.
