the life of ariel winters - jim chapman

Epilogue

Ariel's POV

"Louise, please stop trying to fix my hair. It's done." I smile at her as I take her hands. "It looks beautiful."

"Oh fishy, I can't believe it. You are actually getting married. The day is finally here." Louise starts to tear up and I laugh and wrap her into a big hug.

"Hey, you can't forget about me!" Zoe comes and wraps her arms around the both of us, squeezing me so hard I cough.

"God, I can't believe it. It's here. To think that I would be standing here, with you guys, on my wedding day is so surreal." I sigh, feeling tears starting to form.

I've come a long way and to think I would be standing here, knowing that I will remember this day for the rest of my life was filling me with pure joy. I am finally going to get my happy ending. The one that I deserve.

~•~•~

"Please state your vows."

I smile at Jim, clearing my throat to start saying my vows.

"James Alfred Chapman, the love of my life. I vow to never give up on us, even when we hate each other because I know that we will get past it. We have been through so much together that it would be insane to think that I would be standing here with someone else. I don't want to be standing here with someone else. I can't wait to spend the rest of my life with you. I can't wait to see your soul, your embodiment in full detail. Because that's what I believe marriage is. Getting to know another person's soul like no other. I can't wait to discover happiness with you. I love you."

~•~•~

"The wedding was beautiful Ariel. You really outdid yourselves must I say." Dan laughs as we sway back and forth to the music.

"Thank you for coming Dan. It means so much to have you and Phil here with me on my special day." I smile, letting him spin me around as the song ends. "I wouldn't miss it for the world." He smiles, letting go of me to hand me off to Caspar.

"I'm so happy for you Ariel. You finally did it. You officially got married, to my best friend nonetheless. I can't express how much pride I feel right now." Caspar gloats, pretending to fake weep.

I shove him jokingly, telling him to piss off.

"You've done it now Ariel." Caspar says warningly, chasing me around the dance floor. This reminds me of something...

~Flashback~

"You've done it now Ariel." Chad seethes, throwing the remote at my head, me barely dodging it. He gets off the couch, drunk off his ass.

"What did I do wrong Chad? What have I done?" I look at him desperately, wanting him to see what he was doing to me. Just wishing he would snap back to reality and become the Chad that I loved. "Please baby, just tell me what I did wrong." I grab his hands, thinking that my words are getting to him. He flinches, making me back up. He starts to chase me, yelling vulgar threats at me. Horrible slurs that should never be repeated. I run and get in my car, driving to a park in the middle of nowhere.

Why is this place my safe haven? Shouldn't my home be the place where I feel safe? Why do I have to drive to god knows where to be safe? I'm sure drug deals go down here. It's that sketchy. But why does it feel secure? Because it's away from Chad.

That thought makes tears form and fall down my face, blinding my vision. Am I happy with Chad? Of course I'm not. But who else would take me? No one. That's why I stay with him. Jim won't even talk to me. That's understandable. I've treated him and the others so badly. God, it's amazing how much regret one person can feel.

Our one year anniversary is coming up, maybe that will change things. Maybe he will start to treat me better. If I make that night extra special, oh I bet that will definitely change his ways!

I feel better now but I don't want to go home. It's still not safe. So I will sleep in my car and go home and face the consequences in the morning. For now, sleep is the only solution.

~End of Flashback~

I sigh, recollecting myself from that so very vivid memory. I don't have to worry about things like that anymore. Chad is in jail for a very long time. And I now have a beautiful husband that I know will take very good care of me.

"Hey beautiful." Jim whispers in my ear. "Hey handsome." I smile, leaning up to kiss my new husband on the lips.

Things will be okay now, hopefully.

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A/N

oh wow okay so it's over (((: I'm really sad but it's okay because I'm really proud of this book!!! Please keep voting, commenting, and sharing my book because it would mean the world to me :) I really hope you enjoyed reading it as much as I enjoyed writing it.

this is the last author's note of this book. Thank you so much to the people who have supported me through this journey. I really appreciate it.

thank you.