I shoved him and got up, grabbing the dress off the floor and heading to the bathroom to fix the damage he’d done. In the mirror, my hair was wrecked, my lipstick was smeared across my chin, and I had a fresh hickey blooming on my collarbone that no amount of concealer was going to cover.
I looked like a mess.
I looked like a woman who was loved.
Same thing.
EPILOGUE
Zainab
I almost didn’t make it down the aisle because I couldn’t stop crying long enough to see where I was going.
The waterfront was transformed. White and gold everything. Thousands of flowers lining the aisle, candles flickering in glass votives along every row, a custom arch draped in cascading roses and peonies framing the Potomac behind it. The sun was setting and the sky looked like God painted it on purpose, all peach and amber and pink, like even He wanted this day to be beautiful.
And then there was Prime. Standing at the end of the aisle in a black Tom Ford tuxedo with a white rose pinned to his lapel. Hands clasped in front of him. Jaw tight. Eyes already wet.
I almost lost it right there.
But then I felt a tug on my arm.
“You good, Z?”
I looked down at my Yusef. My nephew in his custom suit with his fresh haircut and his serious face. Yusef had both hands on my arm, steady, grounding me.
“I’m good, baby.”
“Then stop crying. You’re gonna mess up your makeup.”
I laughed. Because he was right. I didn’t want to be a smudged mess for the photoshoot.
“Okay,” I said, squeezing his arm. “Let’s go.”
He walked me down that aisle with his chin up and his shoulders back and I swear every person in that audience was crying. Three hundred guests and not a dry eye. Because everybody knew what it took to get here. Everybody knew what this family had survived to make it to this moment.
I saw Grandma Rita in the front row, dabbing her eyes with a handkerchief, her hat enormous and fabulous because Rita didn’t do anything understated. Next to her, Prime’s aunts Jesse and May each held one of the twins. Kheris was knocked out in Jesse’s arms, sleeping through her parents’ wedding like it was a regular day. Idris was wide awake in May’s lap, fists balled up, looking around with those big eyes like he was already judging everybody. Storie and Dream sat beside them, both girls in matching lavender dresses, Dream bouncing in her seat and Storie pretending she wasn’t emotional but failing.
Creed and Sloane were a few rows back. Sloane had her hand over her heart and Creed had his arm around her, stoic as always, but I caught him swallow hard when Yusef and I passed. Cannon and Queen were beside them, Queen already crying into a tissue while Cannon rubbed her back. Riot and Allure were across the aisle looking like they belonged on the cover of something, Allure’s head resting on Riot’s shoulder.
Serenity was in the bridal party, standing on my side in her champagne gown, glowing. She’d been through her own hell, but tonight she looked like she was finally coming out the other side.
And Mehar. My Mehar, my maid of honor. Standing right next to Serenity, dark hair pinned up, tears streaming down her face. She mouthed “I love you” when I passed, and I mouthed it back and almost started sobbing again.
Quest was standing next to Prime as his best man. Looking sharp in his tux, that cocky smirk on his face, but his eyes were soft. He gave me a nod when I reached the front. Respect. Welcome. Justice stood with him too, smiling proudly at his baby brother.
Yusef placed my hand in Prime’s. Looked up at him with those big brown eyes.
“Take care of her,” he said.
Prime’s voice cracked when he answered. “Always.”
Yusef nodded once, satisfied, then took his seat next to Rita, who immediately pulled him into her side and kissed the top of his head.
The ceremony was everything. The vows were everything. I cried through mine, and Prime was brave through his. When the officiant said “you may kiss the bride” he grabbed my face with both hands and kissed me so deep and so long that Quest yelled “Aight, damn, save some for the honeymoon” and the whole place erupted.
The reception was chaos in the best way.
Banks Reserve flowed like water. The food was catered by three different restaurants because Prime and I couldn’t pick one. There was a Zinnamon Roll dessert bar that Mehar designed herself, every flavor we’d ever created lined up in towers of gold and white. We also had a custom 5-tiered wedding cake; each tier a different flavor. The DJ had the floor packed from the first song.
