They stand off to the side, not prisoners, exactly, but certainly not honored guests. The message is clear to everyone watching. The Keans have fallen, and the Ifrinns have risen.
Before I can continue, the doors open again. This time, a small figure appears, and my heart nearly stops.
Brigit, my daughter, stands framed in the doorway. She's wearing a pale blue dress with a satin ribbon around her waist. Her dark hair has been curled and pinned with tiny flowers. She looks like a princess from a fairy tale, holding a small basket of rose petals.
She takes a tentative step into the ballroom, then, gaining confidence, she begins to scatter petals along the aisle, her face breaking into a radiant smile when she spots me.
When she reaches me, she leans in to whisper, though her "whisper" carries to at least the first three rows. "Aunt Jenna helped me with my flower basket and showed me how to drop the petals. She says I'm a natural."
I glance toward the doorway where Jenna stands watching, her eyes bright with tears. I mouththankyou, overwhelmed with gratitude for how quickly she's embraced Brigit, how she's helping make this moment special for my daughter.
“You’re the best flower girl ever,” I say to Brigit.
The music shifts, and Jenna, Hannah, and Lucy enter next, looking elegant in their dresses. They take their places opposite my brothers, smiling at me with genuine happiness.
And then, Keira appears.
She's breathtaking in a gown of ivory silk that flows like water around her body. Her hair falls in soft waves past her shoulders, adorned with tiny white flowers that match the bouquet in her hands. But it's her eyes that capture me. They’re clear and bright, looking directly into mine without fear or resentment for the first time since I returned.
A wave of emotion floods my body, joy so intense it's almost painful, mixed with crushing guilt at how close I came to destroying everything. I nearly lost her again. I nearly lost them both, blinded by a decade of hatred and misunderstanding.
When she reaches me, I take her hand and it almost doesn’t feel real. The officiant begins the ceremony, and when it’s time for the vows, I interrupt him.
"I'd like to say my own vows.”
He nods.
I focus on Keira's face. "Keira. Ten years ago, I made you a promise to take you away from everything that hurt you. I failed you then."
Her eyes glisten with tears, but her gaze never wavers from mine.
"Today, I make you a new promise. I will spend every day making up for the time we lost. I will be the man you fell in love with, not the monster I became. I will protect you and Brigit with everything I have, not just my strength but my heart."
I squeeze her hands gently. "I promise to listen before I judge, to understand before I act. I promise to be worthy of the second chance you've given me. Most of all, I promise to love you, fiercely, completely, honestly, for the rest of our lives."
Keira blinks rapidly, tears spilling onto her cheeks.
“Do you have vows too?” the officiant asks her.
"I didn’t know we were doing our own vows, so I didn't prepare anything," she whispers, looking momentarily flustered. “But, I do have something to say.”
She takes a steadying breath. "Phoenix, when I thought you were dead, a part of me died too. The only thing that kept me going was our daughter. I never stopped loving you, even when I believed I'd never see you again."
Her voice grows stronger. "I promise to help you heal from the past. I promise to stand beside you, not behind you, as webuild our future together. I promise to grow my trust in you again and love you completely and without reservation."
Before the officiant can continue, Brigit steps forward from her place beside Keira.
"I want to say something too!" she announces, looking up at us with determined eyes.
A ripple of affectionate laughter moves through the crowd.
“Of course. You’re a part of this too,” the officiant says with amusement in his eyes.
"I promise to be the best daughter ever," she says solemnly. "And I promise to help Daddy not be grumpy anymore, and to help Mommy smile more." She looks between us with perfect seriousness. "And I promise we'll be the happiest family in the whole world."
Then her face breaks into a wide grin. "Now you have to kiss her, Daddy! That's how weddings work!"
I laugh, filled with an unexpected lightness. "You heard her," I tell Keira. "That's how weddings work."
