Page 314 of Blackwood

“She never said anything.”

“She didn’t have to.” Mom squeezes my hand. “She calmed when you were around. She’s always been like that with you, Cade. Even when she didn’t know why.”

I blink, jaw tight. The music swells.

“She’s loved you since she was a child,” Mom whispers. “She just didn’t realize that’s what it was then. But Iknew.”

Onstage, Josh lifts Bella again like she’s glass and air. She folds into him, then pushes away in a spin, her lavender dress trailing behind her like smoke.

“She’s always been it for you,” Mom says. “You think you’re just now falling? Baby, you’ve been gone for a long, long time.”

Lex nudges my shoulder. “Hey. Not to kill the mother-son-moment, but I’m pretty sure she just hit a turn I don’t think was anatomically possible.”

Mom laughs through her tears and rests her head against my shoulder. I feel it right in the center of my chest. Like everything I’ve ever felt for her is rising all at once, impossible to contain.

Mom squeezes my hand again, softer now. “She’s going to be your wife.” The word lands heavy. Not as a dream. As a truth.

“She already is, in all the ways that count,” she continues. “Not just yours, I know that. She’s Lex’s too. And somehow, the three of you make that work. Not just… messily, or halfway. Really work.”

I don’t say anything. Just watch Bella move like the music is being born under her feet.

“She loves him fiercely, but she leans on you in a different way. She always has. You ground her, Cade. You always have.”

“She grounds me,” I admit quietly.

Mom smiles. “That’s how I knew. Not just that she’d be part of your life, but that she’d change it. Make it deeper. Quieter. Real.”

I glance down at our hands. “It’s not traditional.”

“No, not really,” she says. “But, it is true and that is what matters most.”

Bella lifts her arms in a slow turn, the light catching the lavender of her dress like stained glass.

“She’s not just your girl,” Mom whispers. “She’s your future. Both of yours. And I’ve never seen you happier, either of you.”

I look over at her, my voice barely audible. “You’re really okay with all of it?”

“I love you, Cade. I love who you love. Lex, Bella, the family you three are creating? That’s the only part I care about.”

Lex leans over. “She’s still killing it,” he says, nudging me lightly. “Can we marry her onstage? Is that allowed, Savannah?”

Mom laughs, eyes misty. “You boys better start planning. Because when she’s ready, she’s not going to walk. She’s going to run down that aisle.”

The final notes hits like a breath held too long. Bella lands in Josh’s arms, arms still extended, her dress fanned around her like a ripple in time. The lights dim, soft and golden, catching just enough shimmer on her skin to make her look unreal.

I’m on my feet before I even realize it. Lex is right beside me, shouting something in Russian that’s probably obscene and beautiful at the same time. Knox lets out a whoop. The rest of the family follows. Callum and August with both fists in the air, Dad clapping so hard I think Mom might cry again.

Lex wipes at his cheek with the back of his hand, then immediately scowls and mutters, “Fucking allergies.”

♥♥♥

As expected, my sister took first in her solo and Josh and Bella took first in their duet. There wasn’t single person in this room who doubted it, and there sure as hell wasn’t a judge who looked remotely surprised when their names were called.

The announcer clears his throat as the cheers fade, “And now… what you’ve all been waiting for…”

The audience leans in. Lex nearly vibrates beside me.

“It’s time for the Trios.” The screen lights up again.