Chapter 105 Hundred And Five
DANIKA
The tassel brushes my cheek when I turn my head, and that's when it hits me. I did it. My vision blurs as the applause swells around me, sunlight flashing off our gowns and proud smiles. My graduation day. I press my lips together hard, fighting tears that refuse to behave.
Five years of exhaustion and second chances and sheer, stubborn refusal to quit.
"...—and no, that wasn't a metaphor. I actually repeated freshman year."
Laughter ripples through the crowd, and I pause on purpose, letting it land.
Tyler whoops loudly from two rows back until my foster dad elbows him in the ribs. Cora has both hands clasped in front of her face, already crying. Bellamy gives me an exaggerated thumbs-up like I'm on a game show.
I grin and turn back to the mic.
"Some of you are sitting here today thinking, Wow, she must have had it all figured out." I shake my head. "I didn't. I just had an unreasonable amount of spite."
More laughter.
"I repeated freshman year because life happened. Because grief happened."
I scan the crowd again. There's a girl in the third row blinking hard, her mascara already losing the battle. A guy two seats down is nudging his friend like bro, she's talking about you. A professor I once cried in front of is smiling like she always knew I'd be okay.
"And here's the part no one tells you," I continue. "Repeating a year doesn't mean you're behind. It means you stayed."
My throat tightens, but I push through it.
"I stayed when it would've been easier to quit. I stayed when my path didn't look impressive on paper. I stayed when I was tired, scared, pregnant, grieving, or convinced I was one bad exam away from proving everyone right."
Kaz straightens. Azren stops fidgeting.
"I stayed because determination isn't loud. It doesn't announce itself. It shows up quietly, every day, and says, Not today. Try again."
I take a breath, letting the silence settle.
"So if you're graduating today feeling proud, you should. And if you're graduating feeling like it took you longer, hurt more, or looked messier than everyone else's—"
I smile.
"Congratulations. You did it the hard way."
The applause swells as I head back to my seat.
I scan the crowd instinctively, even though I already know exactly where he is.
Kaziel stands right at the front, his broad shoulders straight, pride written all over his face. Azren is perched on his shoulders, one small arm looped possessively around his dad’s neck. My boys. My whole heart, right there.
Azren spots me and immediately loses his mind.
"Mama!" he yells.
Kaz laughs softly and adjusts his grip when Azren wriggles, waving at me with the kind of enthusiasm only a five-year-old can summon. He's wearing a tiny button-down that took approximately twelve negotiations to put on. His curls are behaving for once, probably because Kaz styled them with thick concentration this morning.
Daddy's boy through and through.
Next to them, my foster dad is clapping so hard, I’m afraid his hands might fall off. Tyler's beside him, grinning so wide it almost hurts to look at. I catch Tyler's eye, and he gives me a thumbs-up, mouthing, "You did it." I nod back, my throat tight.
And then there's Cora.
She's leaning against the railing, her eyes shining. She graduated a year ago because she didn't have to repeat, because life didn't knock her sideways the way it did me—but she never once made me feel behind. If anything, she pulled me forward.
Jaz stands next to her with a different smile. She lifts her chin at me, her eyes glinting.
Bellamy is there too, holding a cake box. He catches Azren's eye and waves.
"Uncle Belly!" Azren yells, abandoning Kaz's neck to wave back with both hands.
Bellamy presses a hand to his chest dramatically.
Kaz fondly rolls his eyes, and my heart absolutely melts in the best way.
The dean says something I don't hear. My ears are ringing. All I can think about is the version of me who almost didn't make it here. The girl who repeated freshman year and cried in bathroom stalls. The woman who studied through grief and raising a kid and nights so tired she could barely see straight.
I think about the way Kaz would wake up before dawn with Azren so I could sleep an extra hour. The way he never once asked if I was sure, only how he could help. The way he told me, again and again, You don't have to be extraordinary. You just have to keep going.
My name is called then.
I stand on legs that tremble. When I take my certificate, my hands are shaking, tears welling up.
I turn towards the crowd, and there he is. My man. He’s actively tearing up.
Azren pats his cheek, concerned. I love them so much.
Later, there's cake. Chocolate, because it’s my favorite. Azren has frosting on his nose within thirty seconds. Cora hugs me so tight I almost drop my plate.
"You never stopped," she whispers. "That's why you're here."
Kaz pulls me into his arms when it all quiets down, he smells like home.
"I'm proud of you," he says softly. "I always knew you'd make it."
I shake my head, laughing through my tears. "I didn't."
He cups my face. "You kept going anyway."
Azren barrels into us, wrapping his arms around both our legs. "Hug!"
We bend around him, laughing.
“Alright! Let’s take photos!” Dad says, and we oblige.
…
The garden looks like something out of a dream. Fairy lights are strung between the trees, glowing as dusk settles in. Laughter drifts through the air. Tyler is arguing with Bellamy over who burned the burgers, Cora and Jaz are standing barefoot on the grass with wine glasses in hand, my foster dad pretending not to wipe his eyes every five minutes.
Azren is running in wild circles with a cupcake in one hand, his mouth covered in frosting.
I'm standing near the old oak tree, my heels kicked off, a light pink dress hugging my curves.
Kaziel watches me from across the garden. Strands of hair dip over his brows, his shirt outlining his muscles. He looks so hot tonight. But he’s also very…quiet.
I glance at him. "Why are you looking at me like that?"
"Like what?" he asks with an innocent look on his face.
"Like you're about to either confess a crime or..."
His lips twitch.
Before I can say another word, he reaches out and takes my hand.
The music cuts.
I don't even know who did it, probably Cora. She's always dramatic like that.
Kaziel clears his throat. Every conversation in the garden slowly dies.
Tyler freezes mid-bite. Bellamy lowers his drink. My foster dad straightens instantly from where he’s wiping Azren’s mouth. Jaz's eyes widen. Kira and the others go very still.
Kaziel turns to face me fully.
"Dani," he says softly.
My heart starts pounding hard.
"I've stood beside you through things that should've broken us," he continues. "I watched you drag yourself forward when everything told you to stop. I watched you become someone even stronger than the woman I fell in love with."
My throat tightens.
"I believe in choices. And I choose you. I choose the life we built, the family we're raising, and every future version of us."
He exhales shakily.
Then he drops to one knee.
"Oh my godddd," Cora shrieks, already crying.
Jaz slaps a hand over her mouth. "HOLY SHIT."
Tyler yells, "ABOUT DAMN TIME," and immediately gets smacked by my foster dad, who is absolutely not hiding the tears in his eyes.
Kaziel doesn't look away from me.
"Danika," he says softly, "will you marry me?”
I'm crying before he even finishes the sentence.
"Yes," I sob, nodding hard. "Yes. Of course, yes."
Kaziel slips the glistening diamond ring onto my finger with shaking hands, then he pulls me into his arms.
The cheering is deafening.
Kira wipes at her eyes. My foster dad presses a hand to his chest like he needs a moment. Cora is openly bawling. Jaz hugs her and Bellamy raises his glass in a silent salute.
And then, Azren toddles over, frowning.
He looks at the ring. Looks at Kaz. Then he looks at me.
"...Mama," he says seriously, tugging on my dress. "Why is Daddy on the floor?"
I laugh through my tears and crouch down, pulling him into my arms. "Daddy asked me something very important."
Azren thinks about this. Long and hard.
"...Is he staying forever?" he asks.
Kaziel leans in to kiss me.
"Yes," he says gently. "If Mama will still have me."
Azren nods once. "Okay."
Then he reaches out and pats Kaziel's head. “But I still sleep in the middle."
Everyone loses it, laughter filling the air.