Chapter 282: 282 - Ella Carter

Ella Carter

The kiss I shared with Leon, beneath the simply and beautifully adorned altar on the sand, felt like an eternal seal on everything we had lived through. An ending and a beginning. A rebirth.

The priest smiled with the blessing still on his lips, and in the background, everyone who mattered in our lives applauded with emotion. It wasn’t just a wedding, it was a statement. A reminder that love, even when born out of a family arrangement, can bloom strong enough to defy any fate.

The celebration continued right there on the soft sand, with lanterns hanging between trees, soft music filling the air, and the scent of spices mingling with the fragrance of tropical flowers. There was a table with sweets brought from France, another with traditional Brazilian dishes, and the sound of the waves kept time with the laughter and conversations.

Leon and I moved through each group with the feeling that our story touched hearts.

My grandparents danced slowly to the sound of an instrumental piano piece, and I watched them with a sweet lump in my throat. My grandmother Emily smiled as if she had gone back in time, and my grandfather, Noah... ah, the way he looked at her was still the same, as a man who remained deeply in love.

Further ahead, I saw Olivia laughing with Blake and Oliver, while Andrew was trying to convince Lucas to relax. But Lucas didn’t look anywhere near relaxed. His face was tense, jaw clenched, eyes fixed on the sea as if expecting someone to appear on the horizon.

I approached him with light steps.

"Is everything okay?" I asked, gently touching his arm.

He looked at me as if returning from a distant place.

"I should be happy, El. This wedding is everything you deserve. But..." he looked back at the waves. "I can’t get Julie out of my mind."

"You haven’t heard anything yet?"

He shook his head, eyes still locked on the ocean’s line.

"Nothing. No clues. And I... I don’t know if she had the baby. I don’t know if I’m a father, Ella."

I took a deep breath. My heart ached for him.

"You’ll find out, Lucas. She won’t be able to hide it forever. And when the time comes, whatever it is... you’ll face it. You’re a Walker, and even if you don’t want to use it, you have the means to find her."

He smiled, but it was a sad smile.

"Do you think she loved me?"

"I believe she did. But not every love is meant to stay. Some come only to teach us something."

He nodded. And at that moment, just for a second, he seemed to allow himself to feel.

I left him with a tight hug and returned to where Leon was talking with Mahjub and Hope. Hope looked stunning in a yellow dress that made her eyes shine like gold. Mahjub was speaking loudly, gesturing proudly.

"Leon, you’re still a scoundrel in my eyes, but... now you’re a married scoundrel. Congratulations!" he said, with that thick Arabic accent and a wide grin.

Hope hugged me tightly, with genuine affection.

"You look beautiful, Ella. And you deserve every second of this happiness."

"Thank you, Hope. You both deserve all the good things too." I looked at Mahjub. "Even him."

We all laughed, well aware of Hope and Mahjub’s story. That’s when Leon took my hand and whispered,

"Shall we dance with the younger ones?" He looked toward our siblings.

Fay and Léo were dancing near the bonfire Gavin had helped light earlier. She laughed while resting her head on his shoulder, their bodies in sync with a slow, beautiful dance. They were at peace, which isn’t so common, because in the world I belong to, peace is hard to come by.

We joined them.

"Look at the bride and groom!" Fay exclaimed, pulling Léo aside to make room for us.

Leon pulled me into his arms, and our bodies began to move slowly. The music was almost a whisper, and he brought his lips close to my ear.

"Are you happy?"

"I’ve never been so sure of anything in my life, Leon."

He smiled, kissing the curve of my neck.

"I swore I would make you happy. But Ella, I don’t know how to explain it, but somehow, you make me feel free."

I stayed silent, looking into his eyes, taking in the weight of his words, and in a way that may even be unhealthy, I understood. But he didn’t need to hear anything at that moment. All he needed was to feel that I understood him completely.

There, with the fire lighting up the faces of those we loved, dancing on the sand, the world finally felt whole.

And even though I suspected something was lurking in the background, especially since Leon had taken me out of Chicago and was full of secrets while receiving messages on his phone, I could have questioned him each time a new one came in, but I’m certain he’s only trying to protect me from something. And it’s probably from Riccardo, since Arnold disappeared.

With our wedding happening, I chose to believe that, that night, we were just two hearts who had promised each other love, and were fulfilling that promise with every beat.

The dance ended, but the celebration continued in its calm, intimate beauty, with the ocean breeze gently blowing between us. The bonfire crackled, casting dancing lights on the faces of everyone I loved. It felt like an eternal, hand-painted portrait. A moment of peace where time bowed down to let us breathe without fear.

Leon held my hand firmly, as if he still couldn’t believe that everything had become even more real, and that I was truly his wife. I looked at him with the same feeling. It was surreal to think that after such a twisted path, after so much pain and silence, we had found rest in each other.

"Hey, Carter couple!" called my uncle Dylan, holding a drink in his hand and wearing a proud smile. "Come over here! Time to learn a few truths about marriage."

Everyone laughed. Leon and I walked over to the circle forming around the bonfire, with chairs scattered about, and a few cushions laid out on the sand. It felt like an old family council, informal and full of wisdom.

"First lesson," Ethan began, joking while playing with Melissa beside him. "Never go to bed angry. Even if one of you is right and the other is wrong. And especially if the one who's wrong is you, Leon. Kiss her. Always."

"I agree!" said Olivia, laughing. "And a kiss only counts if it has passion, not if it's rushed."

My mother, Amélie, chimed in with her natural grace.

"The secret isn’t never fighting, children. It’s knowing how to come back. To look at each other and remember what brought you together. And never let pride speak louder than love."

Henrique, Leon’s father, cleared his throat, serious and respected as always.

"And remember: you are one. The decisions you make from now on will impact not just you as a couple, but everything you will build together. Family, legacy, honor. Don’t let the world corrupt that."

My grandmother Emily dabbed her eyes with a lace handkerchief.

"And say 'I love you' every day, even on the bad ones. Especially on the bad ones."

Emotion took over me. I looked around and saw the generosity in each gesture, each word. It was as if the universe had bent to teach us about love through those who had truly lived it.

Leon gently pulled me aside, stepping away from the group a bit.

"What do you think..." he began, his voice low, "about heading back to the apartment? To our life, our home."

My eyes went straight to him.

"Are you asking me to officially start our married life?"

"I’m telling you that I don’t want to wake up without you beside me. Not another day. I want to see you making coffee with Lola at your feet and Perninha climbing onto the couch. I want lazy mornings, chats on the balcony, dinners without the rush of daily life. I want life with you. And I want it now."

I took a deep breath, my heart beating to a new rhythm.

"Then let’s go. Let’s go home, Leon."

He smiled, that smile that always undoes me. And right there on the sand, we sealed the agreement with another kiss. Not a fairytale kiss, but a kiss from two people who know the world out there is still dangerous, that the past still haunts him, but who choose love anyway.

We returned to the party, and from a distance, I saw Fay lying on Léo’s shoulder, laughing at Blake’s exaggerated stories. Gavin was debating politics with Andrew and Oliver, while Laís danced with my father, and my father-in-law spun my mother around as if they were young again.

Mahjub was teaching Lucas a traditional dance, and between laughs and missteps, he finally seemed to allow himself a moment of lightness.

And among so many powerful names, so many stories of blood and power, that night, all I wanted was to be Ella.

The woman dancing on the sand with the man she loved.