Temptress

Epilogue

*Wedding song included*

2  Y E A R S  L A T E R

S E R E I A

"I think I'm gonna puke," I nervously said as I stood between Elliot's mother and mine.

"No, you won't, baby," my mother said as she fixed my crooked veil.

She's been clean since she left the facility and even opened a small flower shop.

"I get sick all the time," I told them. "What if I puke on him?"

My soon-to-be mother-in-law laughed. "You'll be fine and I've asked the priest to keep it short."

I inhaled deeply as my hand rested on the small baby bump.

He doesn't know.

My lips began to quiver as I felt tears in my mind.

"Oh no," my mother started. "She's starting to cry again. We need to start this wedding now."

"Agreed," Elizabeth said as she motioned to the usher to open the doors.

I sucked in my tears as the doors opened and we began to walk into the dimly lit cathedral.

As the music began to play, everyone stood up to watch me.

I began to breathe heavily and my mother nudged my arm as she gave me a kiss on the cheek.

Since she got sober, she's been trying to be more supportive and be in my life.

Have lunch two a week, and she never cancels even if she's busy.

And if I'm busy, she would come to my office and wait until I'm available.

As I took my first step down the aisle, everything around me seemed to fade into the background.

The guests, the flowers, the soft music—all of it blurred into a gentle hum as my focus locked onto him, standing at the end of the aisle.

My heart pounded in rhythm with each step, but there was a lightness in my stride, as if I was being carried by the love that filled the room.

Tears welled up in my eyes, and as I moved closer to him, they began to spill over, trailing down my cheeks. But I didn't care—I couldn't stop them if I tried.

We had taken our relationship very slow after we made up in his office.

It took time to earn back each other's trust and that was fine because good things take time.

We started off with a few simple dates to get to know each other better.

Then, a month later he asked me to be his co-CEO. He said things weren't the same without me at work.

I gladly accepted it of course.

At six months, we began to sleep over at each other's place, at eight months we fully moved into each other's, and at a year and a half, he proposed.

He was hesitant about marriage, considering his marriage with Olivia didn't end well.

I didn't expect him to until I saw him kneeling in front of me.

It was on the Paris trip he took me on for my birthday, right in front of the Eiffel Tower under the stars.

The whole scene felt like it was straight out of a romcom—unbelievably perfect, almost like a dream.

His eyes stayed glued to me as a bright, welcoming smile appeared on his face.

All the nerves that I was feeling before instantly vanished as my comforter smiled at me.