His voice cracked slightly.
"I couldn’t make a promise to you that I couldn’t deliver. But you were patient with me. You gave me time to figure out what I was feeling. And somewhere between feeding you lunch on our first date and being here today, I fell completely, irrevocably in love with you."
Tears were streaming down my face now.
"So I'm making you new promises today that I know I can keep," Dez continued. "I promise to choose you even when it's hard. I promise to protect you, cherish you, and never take for granted the gift of your trust. I promise to be your partner in all things business, in life, in raising our children. And I promise to love you, openly, honestly, without fear, for as long as we both shall live." He pulled out a wedding band that matched my engagement ring perfectly, and slid it onto my finger.
"Your turn," he whispered.
I took a shaky breath and pulled out the vows I'd written that night in bed, edited a hundred times since, but still essentially the same.
"Dez," I began, my voice trembling. "I'm not good at vulnerability. I spent most of my life believing that showing weakness was dangerous. That needing someone meant giving them power to hurt me. That love was a luxury I couldn't afford."
I looked up at him, into eyes that saw everything.
"And then I met you. And you showed me that surrender isn't weakness, it's trust. That needing someone isn't dangerous when they're worthy of that need. That love isn't a luxury. It's the whole point."
My voice strengthened.
"You saw me at my worst—scared and willing to escape. And instead of judging me or taking advantage, you offered me partnership. Respect. A future I was too afraid to imagine."
I pulled out his ring, a simple platinum band that had taken me weeks to choose.
"I promise to be worthy of the trust you're placing in me," I said, sliding it onto his finger. "I promise to stand beside you, not behind you. I promise to challenge you when you need it and support you when you don't. I promise to build our life together with honesty and courage and all the love I have to give. And I promise to choose you, every single day, for the rest of my life."
Dez's eyes were streaming now, and he didn't bother wiping the tears away.
"I now pronounce you husband and wife," the priest said, smiling. "You may kiss your bride."
Dez pulled me to him and kissed me like we were the only two people in the room. The church erupted in applause. But that didn’t stop us from indulging. I gave in to him and trusted that he wouldn’t take things too far. I also allowed my husbandto take whatever he needed from me in the moment. Claiming me in this way would ground us both and I knew only he could lead us there to make it happen. He claimed me slowly, letting his tongue explore my mouth as if it was the first time we’d ever kissed. He sparked a flame, stoke it until it roared, and contained it inside me.
When we finally broke apart, both of us were breathing heavy and I could tell that he was ready to leave. We still had the reception, but there was no reason why I could steal him away for some alone time.
"Mrs. Moretti," Dez murmured.
"Mr. Moretti," I replied.
"Let's get through this reception and then I'm taking you home."
"We have to dance and cut the cake…"
"I know." His smile was wicked. "But I'm spending the entire time thinking about all the ways I'm going to make you scream my name tonight."
Heat flooded through me. "Please…" I whispered.
"Come on." He took my hand. "Let's go celebrate."
We walked back down the aisle together, husband and wife, while our friends and family cheered and snickered. I blushed, knowing that they had just witnessed my husband making a promise that was obvious that he was going to cash in on.
We passed Vincent and you could see the defeat in his features. I wasn't just Angelina Castellano anymore. I was a Moretti. And that name came with protection he couldn't touch. He was safe until the honeymoon was over, after that, he was in deep shit.
I squeezed Dez's hand and let him lead me toward our reception. I giggled like a bashful girl, but my reality was much more serious than that. I was officially married and everymoment from now on was about keeping our promises to one another.
When Dez led me through the hall to change clothes, I stopped him with a single tug and he pulled me into his embrace.
“Yes, sweetheart?”
“I have so much that I want to say. So much that I’m feeling.” I admitted.
