Chapter 26 - THE WEDDING THAT MATTERED
Two years later, Clara and I married.
There was no grand ballroom.
No press.
No hundred-thousand-dollar floral arrangement.
Just the garden.
A small group of friends.
A quiet afternoon.
And Emma carrying flowers down the aisle.
She was five now.
She walked confidently.
When she reached me, she grinned.
“You're nervous.”
“I am not.”
“Yes, you are.”
Everyone laughed.
Clara appeared at the end of the garden.
I forgot how to breathe.
Not because she looked perfect.
Because she looked free.
She reached me.
I took her hands.
“I spent years believing love meant finding the person who would never leave.”
Clara's eyes filled.
“What changed?”
“I learned love means building a life where neither person is afraid to stay.”
She smiled.
“I like that.”
So did Emma.
After the ceremony, she ran through the grass with her rabbit.
Clara leaned against me.
“Are you happy?”
I watched Emma laugh.
“Yes.”
“Really?”
“For the first time in a long time.”
She kissed me.
May you like
And I realized I wasn't replacing what I had lost.
I was finally making room for what remained.
