Chapter 194 The Perfect Bride

Chapter 194 The Perfect Bride
Mia’s POV

Leah gently touched my arm. “Ready?”

I swallowed past the tightness in my throat. “Almost.”

She picked up a bouquet of white orchids from the nearby table and placed it in my hands.

“There. Now you look like a bride.”

“I still can’t believe this is happening.”

“Believe it. You’re marrying Liam.”

My eyes burned. “Please don’t make me cry.”

Leah laughed softly as she reached for the veil. “Then you’re not going to like this part. Turn around.”

I obeyed, and she carefully secured it in my hair. When I faced her again, her eyes were suspiciously bright.

“Don’t you dare.”

“I’m not crying.” She wiped beneath one eye. “Something flew into it.”

I laughed as she adjusted my veil and the orchids in my bouquet.

“You look beautiful,” she whispered.

“Thank you.”

She squeezed my hand. “He’s waiting for you.”

I drew a shaky breath, then suddenly stopped. “Wait. Who’s walking me down the aisle?”

Before Leah could answer, Josh stepped away from Allen and approached me with his arm extended.

“I figured you might need someone.”

My throat tightened. Of course it would be Josh.

“You’re going to make me cry again.”

“Please don’t. I have a reputation.”

“Since when?”

He considered it. “Good point.”

I laughed and slipped my arm through his.

“Thank you, Josh.”

“Anytime, Mia.”

Leah kissed my cheek and gave my veil one final adjustment. “Go marry him.”

The music changed as she moved ahead of us, and everyone rose from their chairs.

Josh and I started down the aisle.

Then my gaze found Liam.

He stood beneath the arch of white roses with the ocean behind him, watching me with an expression that made my heart ache. For a man who always seemed to know what to say, he looked completely speechless.

Josh leaned closer. “Still breathing?”

“Barely.”

“Good enough. Keep walking.”

I laughed, and Liam smiled.

When we reached him, Josh’s teasing expression disappeared.

“Take care of her.”

Liam nodded. “For the rest of my life.”

Josh placed my hand in his. “Go get your happy ending.”

A tear escaped before I could stop it. “I love you, Josh.”

“Love you too.”

Then he pointed at Liam. “And if you make her cry again, I’m taking her back.”

“Fair enough.”

“Josh,” Allen called. “You’ve given her away. Come back.”

Everyone laughed as Josh returned to him.

Liam closed his fingers around mine.

“You surprised me,” I whispered.

“That was the idea.”

“You could have warned me.”

“And given you time to overthink everything?”

“I wouldn’t have changed my mind.”

His smile softened. “I know.”

The judge cleared his throat. He was one of Liam’s close friends, which explained how Liam had convinced him to officiate a wedding with almost no notice.

“Are you two ready, or should I come back tomorrow?”

“We’re ready,” Liam said immediately.

“Good. I rearranged my entire day for you.”

“You owe me.”

“I’m fairly certain you owe me.”

I smiled at Liam. “Calling in favors already?”

“A few.”

The judge raised an eyebrow. “A few?”

Liam ignored him.

“Someone’s impatient,” I teased.

“I waited many years.”

“Technically, you caused most of those years.”

Laughter came from behind us.

Liam sighed. “I walked into that one.”

The judge motioned toward my veil. “Perhaps you should lift that before your bride changes her mind.”

“She won’t.”

“Very confident.”

Liam carefully lifted my veil, his fingers brushing my cheek as he arranged it behind me.

“You’re beautiful.”

“You’re not so bad yourself.”

“That’s all I get?”

“We’re not married yet. Behave.”

“I’m trying.”

The judge cleared his throat again.

Liam glanced at him. “You’re enjoying this.”

“I’ve known you long enough to deserve it.”

Everyone laughed before the ceremony began.

The judge spoke about marriage, partnership, and choosing each other even when life became difficult. As the waves rolled gently onto the shore behind us, Liam took both my hands.

The tenderness in his eyes made my chest ache.

“Mia, I spent many years wishing I could go back and change the choice that separated us. I thought I was protecting you when I walked away, but all I did was hurt the woman I loved and lose the life I wanted with her.”

My eyes filled with tears.

“When you came back into my life, I realized those years hadn’t changed what I felt for you. I still loved you. A part of me always knew I would.”

His thumbs moved gently over my hands.

“We almost lost each other again because I allowed other people’s expectations to stand between us. I will never make that mistake again.”

A tear slipped down my cheek.

“I don’t know what tomorrow will bring. I walked away from the company, and for the first time in my life, I don’t have everything planned. But I’m not afraid anymore because I know what matters.”

He lifted my hand and pressed it against his chest.

“You.”

Another tear fell.

“I don’t care whether we have everything or whether we have to start again with nothing. Wherever you are is where I want my life to be.”

His voice grew rough with emotion.

“I choose you, Mia. I choose our marriage, our future, and every ordinary day we’re lucky enough to share. I promise I will never make another decision for you and call it love. From now on, we make those decisions together.”

His eyes glistened.

“I loved you then. I loved you during every year we were apart, even when I tried to convince myself otherwise. I love you now, and I will love you for the rest of my life.”

By the time he finished, I was crying openly.

The judge waited quietly before turning to me.

“Mia?”

I tightened my fingers around Liam’s.

“For years, I tried to convince myself that losing you was something I could live with. I built a life without you and thought that, eventually, I would stop loving you.”

I shook my head.

“I never did.”

Liam’s eyes glistened.

“When you came back, everything I had buried came back with you. I loved you just as much as before, but I also remembered how much it hurt to lose you. There were times when walking away seemed easier than fighting for us. Even yesterday, I believed our story had finally ended.”

His hands tightened around mine.

“But we’re still here.”

My voice trembled.

“And standing here with you now, I don’t want to spend another day being afraid of what might happen. I don’t want our families, our past, money, status, guilt, or fear deciding our future.”

I held his gaze.

“I don’t care whether you’re the CEO of Alcaraz Global or whether we have to build an entirely new life together. I fell in love with you before any of those things mattered.”

I brought his hand against my heart.

“I’m here because you are still the man I love. I choose you, Liam. Not the life you can give me, not your name or everything that comes with it. Just you.”

My lips trembled into a smile.

“I loved you then. I love you now. And this time, I’m not walking away.”

For several seconds, neither of us moved. Our friends remained silent, allowing the moment to belong entirely to us.

Liam lifted my hand to his lips.

“I’m not walking away either.”

The judge smiled and continued the ceremony.

When it was time for the rings, Anabel stepped forward and handed them to us. Liam gently slipped mine onto my finger, and I did the same with his.

The judge looked between us with a warm smile.

“By the authority vested in me, I now pronounce you husband and wife. Liam, you may kiss your bride.”

Liam immediately wrapped an arm around my waist and pulled me against him. His mouth found mine as cheers erupted around us.

I wrapped my arms around his neck and kissed my husband beneath the arch of white roses, with the vast blue ocean as our backdrop.

When we finally pulled apart, he rested his forehead against mine.

“Mrs. Alcaraz.”

“Don’t get excited. I haven’t decided whether I’m changing my name.”

“I don’t care what name you use as long as you’re my wife.”

“We can still hear you!” Josh called.

Liam closed his eyes. “Can we throw him into the ocean?”

“After the pictures,” Allen answered.

Josh stared at him. “Whose side are you on?”

“Mia’s.”

“Traitor.”

The ceremony dissolved into laughter, hugs, and congratulations.

After the pictures, everyone moved toward the tables near the house, where food and champagne were waiting. That was when I noticed Anabel standing slightly apart from the others.

I touched Liam’s arm, and we approached her together.

“Congratulations, Mr. and Mrs. Alcaraz.”

Liam smiled. “You came to my wedding.”

Her expression softened. “I told you I would attend your wedding if Mia was the bride.”

She turned to me.

“And now you have the perfect bride.”

Liam was quiet for a moment before reaching for her hand.

“Thank you, Anabel.”

Her eyes glistened.

“You don’t have to thank me.”

“Yes, I do. You stayed beside me when everything was falling apart. You told me the truth even when I didn’t want to hear it, and you helped me find my way back to Mia. I’ll never forget what you did for us.”

I reached for her other hand.

“Neither will I. If it weren’t for you, I might still believe Liam married Glydel. I had already given up, but you made sure he learned the truth when I no longer had the courage to fight for us.”

“I only did what I thought was right.”

“You did more than that.” I squeezed her hand. “You gave us another chance.”

A tear slipped down Anabel’s cheek, and I pulled her into my arms.

“Thank you for everything.”

After a moment, her arms came around me.

“I always knew you belonged together,” she whispered. “Even when both of you were doing everything possible to prove otherwise.”

I laughed softly through my tears and pulled back.

Anabel wiped her cheek before looking at Liam.

“I watched him spend years pretending he had moved on. He never did. When you came back into his life, I saw him become the man I remembered. I knew then that there was only one woman he was ever supposed to marry.”

Her gaze moved between us.

“Seeing you together now means more to me than either of you probably realize.”

Liam stepped forward and hugged her.

Anabel stiffened in surprise before returning the embrace.

“Thank you for never giving up on me,” he murmured.

Her eyes closed briefly. “Just don’t make me regret it.”

“I won’t.”

When they separated, Anabel looked at our joined hands and the rings on our fingers. Her eyes were still damp, but she was smiling.

Then she left us to join the others.

I rested my head against Liam’s shoulder as we watched our friends celebrating around us.

Our wedding wasn’t grand or months in the making. There were no hundreds of guests or elaborate arrangements, only the people who mattered most.

Liam lifted my hand and kissed my knuckles.

“Happy?”

I looked at my husband.

“Very.”

His smile softened as he pulled me closer.

After eight years of allowing fear, guilt, and other people’s choices to stand between us, we had finally stopped letting the world decide whether we belonged together.

We had chosen each other.

And this time, it was for the rest of our lives.