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We exchange rings beneath the afternoon sun, and when the words are spoken and sealed and his mouth finds mine, the entire garden seems to exhale with us.

The reception flows in golden light and easy laughter. Sophie dances barefoot in the grass with Cassie twirling her around, and Drew pulls Blair close for a slow dance, his hand splayed over her small bump. Mason slips away after dinner to take a call but returns with that quiet satisfaction that tells me whatever case he’s working on is going well.

And as for Daniel Holt… he remains exactly where he belongs. Behind bars. The trial was swift, the evidence airtight. Harassment, witness tampering, financial fraud, and a handful of sealed charges that Ethan and Mason never spoke to me about but I know involved other victims who found their courage because I found mine. He wasn’t even allowed to speak at his sentencing. Just one final look at the back of his head as he was escorted out of the courtroom in shackles.

I never looked back after that.

Tonight, the stars are out early, scattered across the darkening sky as Ethan wraps an arm around my waist and pulls me against his chest. Sophie has fallen asleep in Cassie’s lap near the firepit, her little fists curled under her chin, her curls haloed in firelight.

“You still with me, Ivy Dawson?” Ethan whispers, pressing his lips to my hair.

I smile up at him, heart full. “Everywhere you go.”

He bends to kiss me, slow and sweet this time, no rush, no ache. Just home. Just us.

And in the stillness of the evening, in the garden where our forever began, I let myself believe that everything we survived brought us to this moment—whole, healed, and entirely in love.