Chapter 225

Noah

I walked the aisle slowly, one steady breath at a time, Miguel at my right, Keon at my left, both of them keeping pace with me. The hush of the church felt strange against the roar of cameras outside, as if this place were sealed in glass.

There were so many people.

Impossible to process them individually—faces blurred into jewels and silk and diamonds. Rows upon rows on the main aisle, then clusters filling the side pews, every nook crammed with voices and perfume and expensive fabrics. It was a sea of strangers glowing under stained glass.

Friends I recognized were dots in a watercolor painting:

classmates, teammates, college acquaintances,

Lexie’s sorority girls with perfect curls and teary smiles,

parents of people I barely knew,

business giants with artificial laughs.

Every corner overflowed.

Every breath felt stolen.

I found my mom—eyes shining with joy, hands clutched together like she was praying for the happiness she thought I had. Emily next to her, giving me an encouraging grin. Lexie’s mother beaming with a joy that made me wonder if she had any idea of what was going on.

But then all attention shifted. Music swelled, the cathedral doors opened... And Lexie appeared.

She didn’t walk—she glided. A white satin gown with an embroidered bodice, veil flowing behind her like a waterfall of stars. Tiny crystals sparkled at her waist. Her hair was curled down her back, her eyes glossy with emotion.

Her arm linked through William’s, who stepped beside her wearing the most polished smile money could buy—the perfect, proud father walk.

As they reached me, I leaned slightly toward her and whispered, “You look… breathtaking, Lex. No fairy tale ever had a more beautiful princess.”

Her eyes warmed, and her lips trembled into a smile. “Thank you,” she whispered back. “And you look pretty princesy yourself. Charming for a football star.”

We managed a soft laugh—not forced, just… human.

The priest gave the opening blessings. Some words washed over me without landing. My hand stayed wrapped around Lexie’s, steadying her as she steadied me.

At some point the man stopped talking to give way to the vows.

“I, Noah, take thee Alexandra…”

I said the words. My lips formed them, but none were for her.

They were for the man I could never hold today.

For the heart waiting in my chest instead of standing beside me.

Every word is yours, Aiden.

Every vow, every breath, every promise—it’ll always be you.

“I swear to love, honor, and protect…”

I swear to you, Aiden.

I swear I will never betray what we have. Even if life forces us apart today, my heart will not leave you.

My voice didn’t crack—my soul did.

Lexie’s vows came next, then the priest stepped forward again, about to invite the rings.

My brain drifted—the kind of drifting that isn’t drifting at all, but reaching.

Reaching for someone who wasn’t beside me.

Aiden, please…

Be safe.

Be breathing.

Be alive.

Come back to me somehow.

Then something shifted.

The silence wasn’t silence anymore.

There was sound—faint at first. Murmurs from beyond the cathedral doors. Footsteps. Voices vibrating against the old stone walls.

The priest paused.

I turned my head slightly, ears straining.

More noise.

More movement.

Growing louder.

I could hear tension.

Urgency.

And then—

A voice.

Raw.

Desperate.

Familiar in a way nothing else in this world could ever be.

“Aiden?”

I whispered it before I could think.

Before I even turned.

Because I knew that voice in my bones.

I carried it in my bloodstream.

And I heard it.

Him.

The cathedral froze, like someone had paused time.

The wide double doors at the back were only partially open, but enough for me to see him—Aiden—stepping inside, chest heaving, hair wind-tossed, eyes wild with absolute terror.

“Aiden?” I breathed, barely above a whisper, but everyone heard it.

Gasps rippled across the benches.

He didn’t even look at the crowd. He didn’t care. He was locked on me—and on the two guards gripping his arms.

“Let go of him!” I blurted out before I even knew I was moving.

A couple of guards hesitated, recognizing me, recognizing him.

Lexie stared at Aiden, stunned, hand tightening around my arm.

William recovered first.

“SECURITY! Take him out of here! NOW!”

Two more guards rushed Aiden, grabbing him tighter, yanking him backwards. He twisted, fought, breath ragged, eyes only on me.

And something inside me snapped.

To hell with everything.

To hell with contracts and threats and arranged happiness and the façade we had built.

Aiden was here.

That was all I needed to know.

“That’s enough,” I shouted, stepping toward him, shoving at the guards’ arms. “Don’t touch him!”

William spun toward me, fury warping his face.

“What do you think you’re doing—”

“I don’t care!” I screamed back. “I don’t care anymore!”

Everything blurred.

The sound muted.

The world slowed.

I could feel every heartbeat separate in my chest, like in one of those anime where characters think for twenty minutes between punches…

Aiden was here.

Was he trying to stop this madness?

Did he find some miracle escape?

Did he come to give me a way out—even if it meant risking everything?

I had no answers.

But I walked toward him anyway.

Somewhere in the chaos—his voice cut through.

“He’s HERE!!!”

I snapped out of my mental ramblings, and suddenly, everything made sense in a twisted, gutting way.

My eyes snapped to William.

Lexie.

Her mother.

Emily.

Keon.

Miguel.

And then—rising from the side—the silhouette of a man in an impeccable black suit.

My father.

Gun raised.

Pointed straight at us.

“No—!” I tried to scream but the universe shattered before the sound reached my tongue.

The shot tore through the space like a lightning bolt ripping heaven apart.

The impact vibrated through the floor, through my bones, through my mind.

A high shrieking scream blended into another—Lexie’s and my own—both raw, both animal.

William jerked backward, his entire body seizing like strings were cut. His eyes widened, mouth frozen halfway through rage, halfway through shock.

Blood blossomed over his chest in a vivid red stain that grew impossibly fast, soaking his shirt, streaming down the fabric like spilled paint.

For one suspended heartbeat, the world held its breath.

Then chaos erupted.

Lexie sprang forth, launching toward him, her white dress pooling across the floor like a fallen swan, sobbing, screaming, clawing at him.

“Dad! Dad! Daddy—!”

William’s knees buckled, body folding into himself. He pressed a hand to his chest, eyes filling with something I never expected—not rage. Not venom.

Regret.

They say before you die, your life flashes before your eyes…

I imagine in William’s case, it wasn’t his life at all, but the weight of every sin he’d ever committed. Because when he looked up at Lexie, there was nothing in his eyes but pain and guilt.

His voice came out wet, broken, barely a rasp.

“I’m… so sorry… Lexie… please—forgive—”

His head fell against her shoulder, his body going limp.

Lexie’s arms tightened around him, her eyes wide and searching, as if she were seeing her father for the very first time.

Security swarmed my father—tackling him, guns drawn. Some guests ducked, others shrieked, some ran to hide behind pews. The cathedral erupted in mass panic.

I couldn’t move.

I couldn’t breathe.

I couldn’t think.

Then arms wrapped around me—solid, warm, anchoring me before I could collapse.

Aiden.

He hauled me into him, holding me so tight the world stopped spinning.

“My baby boy… oh God… it’s over… it’s over,” he whispered, voice trembling.

I clung back, numb and shaking, unable to form a coherent thought.

“Are you okay?” he breathed against my ear. “Noah, baby, look at me—are you okay?”

My eyes finally focused. Everything else blurred.

He cupped my face, forehead pressed to mine. “I’m here. I’m here.”

“Please, hold me… don't go—please…” I suddenly held on to him, trembling.

“Oh baby… I'm not going anywhere. I swear, baby.” Then he paused, looking into my eyes. “But now—she needs you too.”

He guided my attention toward Lexie, crumpled over her father’s body, trembling uncontrollably, choking on sobs.

My legs refused to move at first—but then they did.

I stumbled toward her, kneeling beside her, fingers closing around her shaking hands, trying to pull her close as others crowded in.

“I’ve got you… Lexie, I’m so sorry… I’ve got you…”

We stayed like that—drowning in shock, drowning together—until guards began guiding medical teams in, until hands gently separated us from the body.

Only then did I rise, chest tight, breath broken, vision fogged.

Emily collided with me, arms around my waist, sobbing into me. Mom wrapped her arms around both of us, whispering frantic prayers into my shoulder.

Aiden stood close, never letting me go too far, ready to catch me if I fell again.

None of us spoke.

None of us knew what came next.

We only knew the nightmare had finally ended.