KEIFER'S POV
The world around us blurred. The crowd, the music, the scent of a thousand lilies—it all vanished.
There was only Jay.
I took her hands in mine, my fingers trembling slightly. I had written these vows a dozen times, but looking into her eyes, I realized no piece of paper could hold the weight of what I felt.
"Jay," I began, my voice thick and raw.
"For seven years, I lived in a world that was technically full, but felt entirely empty. I had the money, the power, the empire—and none of it meant a damn thing because the only person who ever truly saw me was gone. I spent those years haunted by the man I was when I lost you. I hated that version of myself, but I used that hate to fuel a promise: that if I ever got you back, I would spend every waking breath ensuring you never felt a moment of doubt again."
I stepped closer, my forehead almost touching hers.
"You are my strength, my conscience, and my absolute greatest love. You didn't just forgive me; you taught me how to forgive myself. You are the light that broke through the darkest years of my life. I don't just promise to love you; I promise to honor you, to protect your peace, and to cherish every single version of you—the lawyer, the brat, the woman who makes me weak in the knees. My heart has always belonged to you, Jay. It was just waiting for you to come home and claim it."
JAY'S POV
I couldn't stop the tears. They streamed down my face, blurring the ivory of my dress, but I didn't care.
I looked at Keifer—
My Keifer
—and felt a wave of love so powerful it felt like it was physically lifting me off the ground.
"Keifer," I whispered, my voice shaking.
"I spent a long time trying to convince myself that I hated you. I built walls of anger and pride because it was easier than admitting that no matter where I went—New York, London, anywhere in the world—I was always looking for you in every crowd. I thought the pain was all we had left, but you showed me that our love was louder than the silence of seven years."
I squeezed his hands, feeling the warmth that had always been my safe harbor.
"Thank you for not giving up on me. Thank you for the flowers, the coffee, and for chasing me until I was brave enough to stop running. You are the only person who knows the deepest parts of my soul and still loves me without reservation. I choose you. Today, tomorrow, and in every lifetime that follows. I don't want a perfect life; I just want a life with you, in all our beautiful, messy chaos. I love you,Mark Keifer Watson. Forever."
The priest cleared his throat, a small smile on his face. "Mark Keifer Watson, do you take Jasper Jean Mariano to be your lawfully wedded wife, to have and to hold, in sickness and in health, for richer or for poorer, as long as you both shall live?"
"I do," Keifer answered instantly, his voice booming with absolute certainty.
"Jasper Jean Mariano, do you take Keifer to be your lawfully wedded husband to have and to hold, in sickness and in health, for richer or for poorer, as long as you both shall live..?"
"I do!" I sobbed out, a laugh escaping me.
"Then by the power vested in me, I now pronounce you husband and wife. You may kiss the bride."
Keifer didn't wait.
He reached out, his hand sliding behind my neck to pull me in with a possessive, hungry intensity.
The kiss was everything—it was a seal, a promise, and a release. It tasted of salt from our tears and a desperate, burning passion that had been simmering for nearly a decade.
The room erupted in cheers, but I only felt the press of his lips and the way he held me, as if he were finally anchoring me to his soul.
The after wedding party was absolute madness. The Section E boys had effectively hijacked the dance floor, turning a sophisticated reception into a high-energy frat party. Cin and felix were leading a chaotic dance-off, while Rory was trying (and failing) to convince Tita Gema to do a shot of tequila.
Elena was running circles around the tables, her little flower-girl dress stained with cake, while Angelo and Ion watched with fond exhaustion.
Every time Keifer and I tried to have a quiet moment, we were pulled back into a group hug or dragged into another dance.
By the time the last song played, I was exhausted, my feet were aching, and all I could think about was the look in Keifer's eyes every time he looked at me—a look that said he was counting down the seconds until we were alone.
The moment the door to our honeymoon suite clicked shut, the "gentleman" version of Keifer vanished.
He didn't even let me speak. He spun me around, pinning me against the heavy oak door with a groan that sounded like a prayer. His mouth crashed onto mine, not with the tenderness of the altar, but with a starving, predatory hunger.
"Finally," he growled against my lips, his hands sliding down to grip my thighs and hoist me up.
I wrapped my legs around his waist, my fingers clawing into his hair, pulling him closer. "I thought you'd never get me alone," I gasped.
He didn't waste another second. With a single, violent tug, he ripped the zipper of my gown, the expensive lace tearing—but neither of us cared.
He stripped himself with a frantic urgency, his eyes dark with a possessive fire that made my blood boil.
When he dropped me onto the massive silk sheets, he followed me down, his body a heavy, burning weight that I craved.
He worshipped every inch of me, his tongue tracing paths of fire from my jawline down to the valley of my breasts, leaving me arching and sobbing his name.
"You're mine," he whispered, his voice a low, dangerous rumble against my skin. "Every single piece of you is mine."
When he finally entered me, it wasn't gentle. It was hard, deep, and demanding—a collision of seven years of longing and desperation.
He drove into me with a rhythm that felt like he was trying to merge our very souls, each thrust punctuating the fact that we were no longer separate.
I clung to his shoulders, my nails digging into his back, my voice breaking as I screamed his name into the quiet of the room.
The pleasure was overwhelming, a crashing wave that pulled us both under.
He gripped my hips, locking me against him, his pace becoming frantic, desperate, as we both climbed toward a peak that felt like an explosion.
As we finally shattered together, Keifer collapsed against me, his heart hammering against mine in a wild, syncopated beat.
He buried his face in my neck, breathing me in as if I were the only air left in the world.
"I love you," he whispered, his voice shattered and raw. "I love you until scientists find the end of the universe"
I held him tight, feeling the warmth of our joined bodies and the peace of a love that had survived the storm.
We had finally come home.