Chapter 184: Chapter 184

The restaurant was glowing.

Soft amber lights shimmered across glass walls, the tables dressed in white with gold accents. It wasn’t grand or loud. Jace had made sure of that. He said he wanted something that felt like us, and somehow, he always knew exactly what that meant.

I adjusted the sleeve of my dress, a soft ivory piece that flowed against my skin and looked around at the faces filling the room.

People we’d loved, lost, and found again. My brother sat near the window with a glass of champagne in hand, pretending not to smile as Tomas teased him across the table. Donna Carmela was radiant in navy blue about something that probably involved Jace’s childhood. Even Cecilia, our planner, was there, fluttering around with her ever-present clipboard and glowing pride.

For the first time in a long time, the room didn’t feel heavy with history.

It just felt... happy.

"Someone looks beautiful," Jace murmured as he came up behind me, sliding a hand around my waist. His voice always managed to find that soft spot between calm and chaos.

"Someone looks smug," I shot back with a little smile.

He leaned closer, his breath brushing my ear. "That’s because I’m standing next to my wife."

I could’ve rolled my eyes, but instead I laughed, pressing my palm lightly against his chest. "You never get tired of calling me that, do you?"

Dinner was served, laughter rolled through the air, and for the first time in a long while, I didn’t feel like I was waiting for something bad to happen. There was only warmth — the kind that settled into your chest and stayed there.

Donna raised her glass halfway through the meal. "To my son and my favorite daughter-in-law. May you finally have the quiet life you deserve."

"Finally," Tomas echoed with a grin, earning a few laughs.

I stood when it was my turn to say something, though my palms felt a little sweaty. "Four years ago," I began softly, "I didn’t think I’d ever stand in a room surrounded by love, peace, and people who became family. But Jace... you changed that for me. You made me believe again."

The room went quiet. I caught Jace’s gaze across the table, and his expression softened.

"I’m not going to say too much," I added with a shaky laugh, "because if I do, I might cry and ruin my makeup. So, thank you. For loving me through everything."

A soft murmur of "awws" filled the room, and someone, probably Tomas clapped a little too loudly. I sat down, cheeks flushed, and felt Jace’s hand find mine under the table. He didn’t say a word, just laced his fingers with mine, and that was enough.

Later, the staff cleared the tables to make room for the tiny stage where a jazz band began to play. The lights dimmed, and people started to dance slow, easy movements that looked more like memories than steps.

"Dance with me?" Jace whispered.

I nodded, rising to my feet.

When his arms came around me, the world faded.

The music became background noise, the laughter became a hum, and all that remained was the steady rhythm of his heart against mine.

He pulled me closer, his chin resting lightly on top of my head. "You nervous about tomorrow?"

I smiled. "A little. But mostly excited."

He hummed, tracing small circles on my back. "You don’t need to be nervous. You already said yes once."

I tilted my head to look at him. "That time doesn’t count."

"Oh, it counts," he said, a slow smile spreading across his lips. "I’ve got a marriage certificate that says otherwise."

I laughed softly. "This time, it’s different. It’s us choosing each other, not being forced into it."

He brushed his thumb against my jaw, his voice low. "That’s the part I’ll never get tired of."

The music slowed, and for a brief moment, I thought of everything that had led us here the pain, the heartbreak, the waiting. Every wrong turn somehow led back to this dance, to this moment, to this love.

When the song ended, he kissed me. It was not the hungry kind that set my skin on fire, but the soft kind that felt like home.

She didn’t know it, but I couldn’t stop looking at her. The source of this content ɪs Novᴇl_Fire(.)net

Not once that entire evening.

The way the light caught in her hair when she laughed. The way her hand brushed against her brother’s shoulder when she passed him another glass. The way she fit so easily into my world now and not as someone who was forced to be there, but as the heart of it.

I’d spent years fighting battles, building empires, burning bridges. But nothing ever gave me the peace I felt watching her like that.

When we finally slipped outside for a breath of fresh air, the night was cool and quiet. The city lights shimmered below, and she leaned against the railing, arms folded.

"Everything feels so unreal," she whispered. "Tomorrow, we do it all over again."

I stepped behind her, resting my hands on her hips. "This time, I’ll make sure you remember every second."

She turned her head slightly, a small smile tugging at her lips. "You think you can top the first one?"

"I can try," I murmured, kissing her shoulder. "But I don’t need grand gestures. Just you walking toward me in that dress...that’s enough."

Her eyes softened, and she placed a hand over mine. "You really mean that?"

I nodded. "I meant it the first time, even when I didn’t deserve you."

She didn’t say anything for a while. Just leaned back against me, silent, breathing with the rhythm of the night. And for a man who once thought he’d never know peace, this — her, us — was everything I hadn’t known I needed.

When she finally spoke again, her voice was quiet. "We made it, didn’t we?"

I smiled against her hair. "We did. And tomorrow, we start all over again."

She turned in my arms and kissed me. It was slow and certain, the kind of kiss that made promises without words.

Tomorrow, she’d walk down the aisle again.

And this time, she’d be walking toward forever.

Roberto found me at the bar toward the end of the night.

He wasn’t smiling, but at least he wasn’t scowling either. That, in our unspoken language, was progress.

"Mind if I join you?" he asked, nodding toward the empty stool beside me.

I gestured toward it. "Be my guest."

For a few minutes, silence hung between us. It was the kind of silence that felt both uneasy and honest. He nursed his drink, eyes flicking toward where Mira laughed with Donna inside. Her laughter carried across the room. It was light, unrestrained and everything I’d once thought I’d destroyed.

"She looks happy," Roberto said quietly.

"She is," I replied evenly.

He took another slow sip. "She deserves it."

That, I couldn’t argue with. "Yeah," I said softly. "She does."

He turned to look at me then but not with anger this time, but with the cautious curiosity of a man trying to figure out whether to keep hating me or let it go.

"I never thought I’d say this," he muttered, "but... you’ve done right by her. I see that now."

I met his gaze. "It took me a while to figure out how."

He huffed a little laugh. "You mean after screwing it up completely first?"

I smirked. "Something like that."

Another stretch of quiet followed, but this time it wasn’t uncomfortable. We both watched Mira from across the room as she bent to fix something on Donna’s dress, her voice soft and affectionate.

Roberto finally sighed, rubbing the back of his neck. "You know, when she told me she was marrying you again, I wanted to tell her she was insane."

My lips lifted slightly. "I’m sure you did."

He gave me a look. "But... seeing her now, seeing this... maybe I was the one who didn’t understand her. She’s stronger than I thought."

"She’s the strongest person I know," I said truthfully. "I just needed to stop being the reason she had to prove it."

That made him pause. His expression shifted, softer this time, less guarded. "So what now? You two finally get your fairytale ending?"

"Fairytales aren’t our thing," I said with a faint grin. "But... I do have something planned."

He raised a brow. "What kind of something?"

"The kind she’ll never see coming."

He leaned forward slightly, suspicious. "Should I be worried?"

"Not this time." I smirked. "It’s a surprise — a good one."

He studied me for a moment before giving a small nod. "Then make it count."

After he left, I pulled out my phone and opened the message thread I’d been keeping with one of my project managers.

The final permits had just cleared that morning right on schedule. Construction had already started downtown, hidden under another business name to keep it secret.

La Luna Bakery — Los Angeles.

Mira’s second flagship store. Her dream, rebuilt from the ground up.

I stared at the photo of the blueprint for a moment , the big open windows, the little garden patio she’d once mentioned wanting.

I closed my phone, glancing back toward the room where she was still laughing.

She’d think tomorrow’s wedding was the surprise but this, this was the real one.

Because this time, it wasn’t about what I could buy her.

It was about giving her something she built something that would outlast every shadow we had ever outrun.

I couldn’t wait to see her reaction.