Page 61 of Blood and Secrets

I hated when he pulled his godly bullshit like he was still a priest, but I couldn’t deny what he said. I wasn’t a big believer in the man upstairs, but I knew Seraphina was a precious gift and I would cherish her until I was put into the dirt.

“I will.”

The violin faded into the background. I looked at her and saw every version of her I’d ever loved. The girl who challenged me. The woman who forgave me. The soul who chose me again.

“With the request of the bride and groom, I’m going to keep this short,” the priest said.

Laughs echoed around the space.

“We are gathered here today to witness and celebrate the union of Sergio Puglisi and Seraphina Blaine. Today they choose each other, fully and forever. May this moment mark a life filled with love, strength, and unwavering devotion. Sergio, your vows please.”

“I didn’t write mine down,” I said. “I wanted it to come from here.” I tapped my chest. “From the part of me that never stopped loving you.”

Her eyes shimmered, but she didn’t cry. Not yet.

“I vow to listen. I vow to fight beside you, not against you. And never forget how lucky I am to wake up next to you every day. I vow to protect what we’ve built, even when it’s hard, especially when it’s hard. And I vow to never let us get lost again. I love you.”

“Now, your vows, Seraphina,” the priest said.

She took a deep breath.

“I loved you before I even understood what love was,” she said. “And the more I’ve grown, the more I’ve realized how deeply I still do. You’ve been my anchor, my fire, my calm, and myprotector. With you, I’ve learned what it means to be chosen and to be cherished. I vow to keep choosing you every day, Sergio. In every way for the rest of our lives. I love you.”

“Sergio, do you take, Seraphina to be your wife, through the good and the bad, in sickness and in health, until death do you part?”

“I do,” I said, and the smile that crossed her face almost made my heart stop. Until I was dead in my grave, I vowed to always keep that smile on her face.

“Seraphina, do you take Sergio to be your husband, through the good and the bad, in sickness and in health, until death do you part?”

“I do.”

“Rings,” the priest said.

Finley handed me her ring and Phoenix handed her my ring.

“Sergio, repeat after me,” the priest said. “With this ring, I the wed.”

“With this ring, I the wed,” I repeated, sliding her ring onto her finger.

“Now, Seraphina, repeat after me,” the priest said. “With this ring, I the wed.”

“With this ring, I the wed,” she repeated, sliding my ring onto my finger.

I was probably smiling like a goddamn idiot, but I couldn’t help it. I’d been waiting for this moment since I was fifteen years old and it was finally here.

“What God has brought together let no man separate. I now pronounce you, husband, and wife. Sergio, you may kiss your bride.”

When I kissed her, it wasn’t just a kiss. I vowed that I’d spend every day proving she was safe, wanted, and loved. We’d taken the long road to get here. But I’d walk it a thousand times if it led me back to her.

Being without Seraphina had hollowed me out. Made me a shell of the man I was. She was my beginning, my middle, and now my forever. And I’d spend the rest of my life making sure she never doubted it.

The End!