Chapter 147 Four Years Later
The sun was warm against Lenora’s skin as she adjusted the navy blue graduation cap on her head.
For a moment, she simply stood in the middle of the crowded campus lawn and let herself breathe.
Four years.
Four years of late-night study sessions, tearful airport goodbyes, surprise visits, and countless FaceTime calls that stretched until dawn.
Four years of learning how to love someone across miles.
Four years of choosing each other over and over again.
And somehow, they had made it.
Lenora smoothed the gown over her white dress and looked around the university campus.
Families filled the lawn, holding flowers and cameras.
Students laughed and posed for photos.
Everything felt bright and full of possibility.
A pair of strong arms slid around her waist from behind.
She smiled before he even spoke.
“Looking for me?”
Lenold’s deep voice sent a familiar shiver through her.
She turned in his arms and looked up at him.
Even in his graduation gown, he was breathtaking.
Taller, broader, more mature.
His jaw was sharper now.
His shoulders stronger from years of elite hockey.
But his eyes were exactly the same.
Blue.
Steady.
Full of love.
Lenora cupped his face.
“You clean up nicely, Captain.”
He grinned.
“And you look like every dream I’ve ever had.”
Her cheeks warmed.
“Still a flirt.”
“Only with my fiancée.”
He leaned down and kissed her slowly.
When they pulled apart, she rested her forehead against his.
“We did it.”
Lenold’s smile softened.
“We really did.”
The past four years had not been easy.
Lenold attended Northbridge University on his hockey scholarship.
Lenora chose Hartwell University, just two hours away, where she studied journalism.
They spent weekdays apart and weekends together whenever they could.
Sometimes Lenold drove through snowstorms after practice just to spend one night with her.
Sometimes Lenora sat in crowded arenas wearing his jersey, screaming his name until she lost her voice.
There were missed calls.
Exhaustion.
Moments of doubt.
But there was never a moment when either of them stopped choosing the other.
By junior year, Lenold had become one of the top collegiate hockey players in the country.
By senior year, scouts were attending nearly every game.
Lenora built a name for herself as an investigative writer, earning internships at major publications.
And through every achievement, every challenge, every long-distance goodbye, they remained each other’s safe place.
“Lenora!”
She turned as her mother hurried toward her, tears streaming down her face.
“Oh, baby.”
Lenora laughed and embraced her tightly.
“We did it, Mom.”
Her mother kissed her forehead.
“Your father would be so proud.”
Lenora’s eyes filled.
“Thank you.”
Lenold’s father joined them, beaming.
He pulled Lenold into a fierce hug.
“I’m proud of you, son.”
Lenold’s voice was thick with emotion.
“Thanks, Dad.”
Pamela, Kylen, and Lilibeth rushed over moments later.
Pamela looked polished in her own cap and gown.
Kylen carried flowers.
Lilibeth was already crying.
“I can’t believe we’re adults,” she sobbed.
Kylen handed Lenora a bouquet.
“You’ve been adults for a while.”
Lilibeth pointed at Lenora’s ring.
“And she’s basically a wife.”
Everyone laughed.
Lenora wiped away happy tears.
This was everything she had once been afraid she would lose.
And now it was all here.
The ceremony was beautiful.
As names were called, families cheered.
When Lenora crossed the stage, she spotted her mother standing and applauding.
When Lenold crossed, the roar from his family and teammates nearly shook the stadium.
Afterward, they met beneath a giant oak tree near the campus lake.
Lenold took her hands.
The afternoon sun illuminated his face.
For a moment, he simply looked at her.
Like he still couldn’t believe she was real.
“You know what I was thinking during the ceremony?” he asked.
Lenora smiled.
“What?”
“That four years ago, I was terrified distance would destroy us.”
He lifted her left hand and kissed the engagement ring he had placed there.
“But all it did was prove how strong we are.”
Lenora’s eyes filled.
“I was thinking the same thing.”
He touched her cheek.
“We can survive anything.”
She smiled softly.
“As long as we’re together.”
He kissed her.
Slow.
Deep.
Certain.
The kind of kiss that made the world disappear.
When they pulled apart, Pamela shouted from a distance.
“Get married already!”
Lilibeth cupped her hands around her mouth.
“I have a bridesmaid dress to wear!”
Lenora laughed.
Lenold grinned.
“They’re not subtle.”
“Neither are we.”
He wrapped an arm around her waist.
“Speaking of getting married…”
Her heart skipped.
He pulled an envelope from his pocket.
“What’s this?”
He handed it to her.
Lenora opened it.
Inside were two plane tickets to Italy.
Her eyes widened.
“Lenold.”
He smiled.
“Our graduation trip.”
Tears sprang to her eyes.
“You remembered.”
He looked genuinely offended.
“Of course I remembered.”
Years ago, during one of their late-night conversations, Lenora had confessed that her dream destination was the Amalfi Coast.
She had assumed he forgot.
Clearly, he hadn’t.
She threw her arms around his neck.
“I love you.”
He held her tightly.
“I love you more.”
Two weeks later, they stood on a balcony overlooking the Mediterranean Sea.
The sky was streaked pink and gold.
Warm ocean air tangled through Lenora’s hair.
She wore a flowing white sundress.
Lenold stood behind her, his arms wrapped around her waist.
“This feels unreal,” she whispered.
He kissed her shoulder.
“You deserve unreal.”
She turned in his arms.
His face was lit by sunset.
Handsome enough to steal her breath, even after all these years.
“What about your draft?”
The NHL draft was three days away.
Lenold’s expression softened.
“Whatever happens, I already have everything I need.”
Her eyes glistened.
“You say the sweetest things.”
He brushed his thumb over her lips.
“Only because they’re true.”
They kissed slowly.
Passion deepening as his hands slid to her hips.
Lenora smiled against his mouth.
“We should probably go to dinner.”
Lenold nuzzled her neck.
“Dinner can wait.”
She laughed softly.
“Can it?”
He lifted her into his arms.
“Absolutely.”
Her laughter echoed through the room as he carried her inside.
That night, they made love with the same tenderness and devotion that had defined their relationship from the beginning.
Every kiss felt like gratitude.
Every touch felt like a promise.
And afterward, as they lay tangled together in crisp white sheets, Lenora traced circles over his chest.
“What if you get drafted by a team across the country?”
Lenold tilted her chin up.
“Then I’ll fly you there every weekend.”
She smiled.
“What if I get offered a job in New York?”
He kissed her nose.
“Then I’ll buy a place in New York.”
She laughed.
“What if life gets complicated?”
His gaze turned serious.
“Then we figure it out.”
He pressed his forehead to hers.
“Because there is no version of my future that doesn’t include you.”
Tears spilled down her cheeks.
He kissed them away.
“I mean that, Lenora.”
She touched his face.
“I know.”
She smiled through her tears.
“And there’s no version of mine without you either.”
He kissed her deeply.
Outside, the waves rolled against the shore.
Inside, wrapped in the arms of the man she had loved through every season of her life, Lenora felt an overwhelming sense of peace.
They were no longer the teenagers who had fallen in love in the middle of chaos.
They were adults now.
Stronger.
Wiser.
Still hopelessly in love.
And their real life was only just beginning.