Chapter 56

Chapter 56
3 years later

Tristan and I stood beneath a canopy of eucalyptus trees, our hands entwined as soft rain fell around us. The ceremony was intimate—just family and closest friends. My dress shimmered with raindrops, and Tristan’s eyes never left mine. We had weathered storms together, and this moment felt like the calm after the chaos. While it took us quite a while to get to this point, we had finally reached it, and for that I was eternally grateful. The Last three years had been rough. While I thought that things were fine after Senna’s kidnapping, I struggled and then became so scared that I barely left the house, nor would Senna. It got so bad that we only felt comfortable in our room. Tristan was patient and did everything to help us overcome that hurdle.

Outside, the garden had been transformed into a dreamscape. Twinkling lights hung from the eucalyptus trees, their silver leaves shimmering with moisture. White roses lined the aisle, and a string quartet played under a canvas canopy. The guests arrived with umbrellas and warm smiles, embracing the weather as part of the magic. While I stood in the window, watching and thinking about the obstacles that we had overcome.

Over the last couple of years, life had been whole on, and Senna, once she started school, excelled and took off. Watching her blossom every day became my goal. Just one more day, one more moment, and those then became one more week, one more month, and things didn’t seem as scary anymore. Senna loved everything to do with learning, and she had so many friends and social groups that it became a point where we were barely ever home. Tristan decided during our tough year that he would step back from work and stay with us.  Tristan gave the reins to Lachy, and boy, was that a learning curve for him, but he did it and became good at it.

Now, as we stand here together at our wedding, and the raindrops leave crystal-like reflections everywhere I turn, I smile towards Tristan.
“Happy?” I ask

“So, happy. Happier knowing that in a few short minutes, you are legally mine,” Tristan responds, smiling.

The ceremony was simple, heartfelt. Dana officiated, her voice steady despite the emotion in her eyes. “Marriage,” she said, “is not just a bond. It’s a promise to grow, to forgive, to stand together when the world shakes.”

Senna, wearing a deep green dress, read a poem that I would read to her with the help of Daniel:

“Love is not loud, but it echoes.
Not perfect, but it heals.
It is the quiet choice to stay,
When leaving would be easier.”

As Tristan and Alba exchanged vows, the rain paused, as if nature itself were listening. Alba’s voice trembled as she spoke: “I vow to be your home, your peace, your fiercest ally. I vow to love you not just in sunshine, but in every storm.”

Tristan took her hands. “I vow to protect your dreams, to honour your fire, and to never stop choosing you.”

Lachy gave a heartfelt toast, his voice cracking as he spoke of their childhood, their losses, and the love that had brought them all here.  “Tristan and Alba taught me that love isn’t found—it’s built. Brick by brick, moment by moment.”

Dana wiped away tears, Senna clutched her father’s hand, and even Tito, usually stoic, smiled through misty eyes. Daniel grumbled that it was a wedding and not a funeral, and making everyone cry wasn’t the objective. Lachy and Daniel continue to bicker quite loudly, so that soon the tears were forgotten, and everyone was grabbing their stomachs and gasping for breath, trying to get through their laughter.

Later that night, Tristan and Alba slipped away to the garden. The rain had returned, gentle and rhythmic. They danced barefoot on the wet grass, wrapped in each other’s arms.

“This,” Alba said, resting her head on his chest, “feels like the beginning of everything.”

Tristan kissed her forehead. “It always was.”

As the night wore on, after our private moment in the yard, we later rejoined the party. It wasn’t long before the guests began to leave, with only family remaining. We were sitting and discussing what was for breakfast the next morning, and the never-ending debate on what was best, when Tristan turned to me with a sleeping Senna in his arms.

“To the beginning,” Tristan says as he raises his glass

“To the beginning,” everyone echoes.

“Well, this would have been better than the hell that we went through,” Lachy mutters.

“You should have always had this life,” Tito growls.
“But you are here now, that is all that matters,” Dad adds.
“The journey is something that you can’t change. How to deal with those past experiences and how you can make them part of you, but a part that isn’t affecting the future,” Mom adds.
“Well, I hope that this is the only excitement that we have and that the rest of us have normal starts and nothing so emotionally draining and traumatising,” Dana says.

“Yes, that would be great if we could manage to get Lachy, Dana, and Daniel all married up, and nothing like this happens, I would call it a win,” Mom says.
“I agree with that as well,” Dad adds.
“Mom, I don’t want to get married,” Lachy growls
“Me either,” Daniel adds.
“I said it first,” Lachy argues back.
“Why do you copy me?” Daniel growls, throwing a fake punch towards Lachy.

Lachy ducks and swings a punch back as they continue to fight like a couple of schoolgirls. Dad climbs to his feet.

“Well, I am done for the night. See you all in the morning for breakfast,” Dad says while grabbing Mom’s hand and pulling her to her feet.

“Night,” she calls as Dad pulls her from the marquee.