Chapter 44

Jane started to notice something was off when she saw Harry smiling at her from the audience. What the fuck was Harry doing here and how the fuck had he known that she was getting married?

She almost paused to talk to him, but her father's grip was way stronger than it should have been. Perhaps he was scared she'd flee again and didn't want to take the chance. She would've laughed if she wasn't so anxious.

Next, she saw Mrs. Rose and her husband, Mark. Alright. Something was up. The older woman waved at her and Mark gave her a nod, smiling. Claire was right next to them, giggling like a little girl.

She was confused. What in the hell was happening? The Wedding March played on and she was confused as hell. Who invited him? Grace? It had to be Grace. Who else knew these people other than her?

She caught sight of her mother smiling at her and next to her, a woman that looked weirdly familiar. Why were they looking at her like that? Like they all knew something she didn't. Still, her father led her off to the slaughter. She had half the mind to stop and run.

Run.

Wasn't that what she'd told herself not to do a few days ago? Had the said she was going to be a grown-up about the whole thing and do what she had to do? It couldn't be that hard. All she had to do was smile and say, 'I do,' and everything would be over.

Where the fuck was the groom? She looked over at the altar and—stopped dead in her tracks.

"Hello, Kitten."

Sebastian was smiling at her from the altar in all his glory, in a suit that looked way more flattering than the one he'd had on the last time she saw him.

"Fuck," She whispered, staring at him.

He looked good. Too good, in fact. His hair, always unruly, looked like he'd run a comb through it several times in a fight against the scattered strands and lost. His tuxedo hugged his body like a second skin and his hands, oh, those hands that had taken her to heaven and brought her back. Those lips that had kissed her and those eyes that had seen pieces of her no one else had even managed to glimpse. She had to be dreaming.

"Sebastian." Jane felt like a deer caught in headlights. What was going on? Why was Sebastian here and not her husband to be?

"That's my name." He chuckled, accepting her hand as her father passed her to him like a fucking property.

"Take care of her." Her father said with a nod.

"I will."

"Someone tell me what the fuck is going on here right now or I swear I'll scream." She said loudly then looked at the Priest. "No offence, Priest."

A laugh went around the audience.

"Will you marry me, Jane?" Sebastian said to her, staring intently into her eyes.

"Please tell me this is a joke. Where's The Heir? He's the one I'm supposed to be marrying."

"The Heir?" Confusion was evident on his face.

"Oh," Grace put in. "That's what the media calls you."

"Hmm," He hummed, surprised.

Jane's hands were shaking. "It's you?" She whispered. "You're him?"

"I suppose so," He chuckled.

"How? When?" The questions were piling up and she wasn't getting any answers. "When were you going to tell me?"

"I didn't know," he said, grabbing her face in both hands. "I ran away too, remember?"

Oh. Oh, God. It all made sense now. He had been in Stormbrooke because he had been running too. And she'd gone and fallen in love with her fiancé, the same man she'd tried so hard to get away from, unknowingly. Fate was a sneaky little bitch.

Her eyes searched the crowd. From the little she gathered and the looks on their faces, everyone had been in on it and hadn't said a word. She'd been the last to know. She wondered long they'd been planning this. How fortunate. It seemed too good to be true. Everything worked out fine for everyone. Both their parents got what they wanted and so did their kids. The end justified the means, huh?

"Oh, my God." She said, looking up and then back at him. "I can't believe this."

"Me too."

"I fucking hated you!" She laughed, her eyes watering.

"Me too." Sebastian chuckled.

"I thought you were deformed and ugly!"

"Me too!"

The crowd laughed as she hit him smack on his chest playfully.

"Will you marry me, Kitten, or do I have to beg you? Because I will." He asked, kissing her.

"I'm not sure you're supposed to do that before we say our vows." Tears were running down her face now.

"I don't care about that. Tell me you'll marry me. I want to hear the words." He kissed her again and she tasted her tears.

There and then, it was just the two of them. Nothing else mattered, neither did anyone else. Sebastian had found a way back to her. Fate had sat and drawn its strings like a puppet master, carefully perpetuating its enterprise, laughing as shit unfolded and she'd been none the wiser, going along with it.

And now, now it had turned it back and favored her. It had given her her love back, her happiness, her soul. She felt the air breathe into her again, closed her eyes and took a deep breath, for the first time in her life appreciating the little things that had gone unnoticed.

Jane had lost her way all the way to Sebastian in him; she found all the way back to herself.

"Yes," She nodded with a breathless laugh. "I'll marry you."