Light In The Darkness

Epilogue

One year later,

"You look beautiful dear." Dad told me with a smile.

Over the past year I've grown really close with my in-laws. Mike and Stephanie were nothing but amazing and even took over taking care of Levi from Lola.

Lola had wanted to expand her business by opening a second bar and this had been the perfect chance for that.

"You think he'll like it?" I asked him as I looked at myself in the mirror. My white wedding dress was flowy and light. I didn't want a poufy dress or something that would be too tight so I ended up with a lace dress that loosely hugged my body. It had lace sleeves that reached my elbows, a sweetheart neckline and it just made me feel beautiful.

"He'll love it. But he loves you so I'm pretty sure he'd marry you if you were wearing a trash bag." He chuckled.

"That would have been much cheaper though." I joked.

"So, are you ready to get married?" He asked me.

"Definitely." I nodded and we went to meet with the bridal party.

"You look beautiful" Taylor told me. Windham had chosen him as his best man considering that he was his brother. His other groomsmen were of course Adam, Jon and Joseph.

"Thanks Tay." I smiled back at him. He and I had also become good friends and it made me glad to know that I had such a good relationship with all my in-laws.

"I'm so proud of you." My sister said as she hugged me. Camilla had taken her maid of honor duties very seriously and had been in contact with the wedding planner every step of the way.

Lola and Abby had helped as well and they were still extremely happy to be my bridesmaids.

Stephanie had offered to be my last bridesmaid to even things out. It was a bit odd, having your mother-in-law as a bridesmaid but honestly to me it felt perfect.

Levi was of course our ring bearer.

Last but not least there was Mike, my father-in-law, who had become more of a father to me than anyone before in my life. He would be the one to walk me down the aisle.

"Okay." I smiled as I looked at everyone. "Let's do this."

-

I hooked my arm in Mike's as the grooms and bridesmaids made their way down the aisle. I took a deep breath and soon enough we started to walk as well.

We rounded the corner and entered the room. My eyes locked on Windham and I saw him look at me in a way that said that he was looking at the most beautiful thing he had ever seen.

Already tears welled up in my eyes as I smiled at him. In that moment nothing really mattered to us except each other.

Once we reached the end of the isle Mike handed me over to his son.

"You truly are a vision my love." Windham whispered as we went to stand in front of the vicar.

"Dearly beloved, we are gathered here today to witness the union of Harmony Catherine Jones and Windham Lawrence Rotunda." The vicar started to speak. "They have chosen each other above anyone else to take this journey with..."

I blocked him out, focusing completely on Windham until it was time for our vows.

"The bride and groom have prepared their own vows to each other and will be reciting those now."

Windham had wanted to go first and I had agreed as that had been his one and only request about this wedding.

"Well if I want to do this right then we need one more person up here." Windham smiled softly before looking at Levi. "Come here son."

Levi joined us and took my hand with a smile. I just beamed and wondered what my husband to be wanted to say.

"Harmony, I remember the day that we met like it was yesterday. It was like my life only really started when I met you. Sometimes it seems like everyone only sees this world in black and white yet you seemed to bring every color in existence back into mine. When you met me, you didn't judge me just because of what people see on the outside. Instead, you looked further and saw the real me. You are kind and caring and so, so beautiful. Your selflessness and unjudgmental nature allow you to be a beacon of hope and love. It's the light within you that drew me in. It's a light that could terrify the darkness. It's the light that I will hold on to for the rest of my days.

Today you are not just letting me into your life as your husband, you are letting me into the life of your son as his father as well. So, my vows aren't just to you, they are to our son as well."

Windham stopped for a moment to take one of my hands and one of Levi's into his own. "I vow to protect you both with my life. I vow to love you both with all my heart and to cherish our family for all days yet to come. I vow to be the person you both can lean on and in the rough times in life to be the anchor that keeps our family grounded and steady. Neither of you will ever be alone if I can help it. I love you both and I can't wait for us to be a family."

I wiped away my tears. Silently and jokingly cursing this man for always making me cry.

Now it was my turn. I took a deep breath and started to speak.

"When I took that job offer, I never expected to fall in love. I did though and I fell quickly. I put up a tough façade in front of others when actually I was scared of a lot of things. Telling you how I felt was one of these things. I thought that I wouldn't be good enough and that it would make you walk away from the friendship we had started to build. I never thought you'd feel the same but I am so glad that you do. I don't know what I did to deserve someone as special as you and yet here I stand. You make me believe that I deserve it. You make me feel special, beautiful and most importantly, seen.

I also was scared of things like letting people know the real me and scared someone would take Levi away. You never judged me for any of my fears. Instead, every time I fell apart, you held on to me and build me right back up afterwards.

A year ago, you actually caught a bullet for me. I thank you for it every day but I also beg you to never do that again. The thought of losing you scared me like nothing else ever had. My life is not meant to be lived if you are not in it. I was never meant to live my life on my own, I was meant to live it with you.

I vow to guide you and support you in any way you need. I vow to love you as you are because you are perfect for me. I vow to believe in you and trust you with my life completely. Most importantly I vow to be you light forevermore.

I love you and can't wait to grow old with you."

Luckily for me I did not have to wait for long. We soon exchanged rings and then Windham was told to kiss the bride.

I smiled into the kiss, knowing he would be my forever.

I knew that all of this wasn't exactly a fairytale but I didn't mind that one bit. I had something much better. Fairytales were perfectly fake. Our love was as real as could get in a world that wasn't always great.

I know that there would always be darkness in life. Life isn't perfect for anyone and there are bound to be some dark days down the road. There was one more thing my heart vowed to him right then and there. In those days, I would be his light in the darkness for he had been mine since the day we met.