Chapter 17 - A Wedding Nobody Could Control
Valentina cried first.
Before Nomi even put on the dress.
“I’m not crying.”
“You’re openly crying.”
“It’s allergies.”
“In December?”
“Seasonal trauma.”
Nomi laughed.
Her wedding dress was simple.
Elegant.
Soft ivory silk.
No enormous train.
No crystals.
No royal spectacle.
Octavio had offered everything.
Nomi chose what felt like herself.
The only dramatic element was her mother’s lace stitched inside the sleeves.
Marco had preserved a small piece from one of Sofia’s dresses.
When Nomi saw it, she had cried too.
So she did not judge Valentina.
Much.
Downstairs, approximately two hundred guests waited.
Nomi had requested fifty.
The Ki family interpreted this creatively.
“Two hundred is not intimate,” she told Octavio later.
“It is for my family.”
“That sentence is horrifying.”
At 8:00 p.m., music began.
Marco stood beside her.
His hand trembled.
Nomi noticed.
“Dad.”
“Yes?”
“You can breathe.”
“I’m trying.”
“Good.”
The doors opened.
Octavio stood at the far end of the room.
Black suit.
No tie.
Because Nomi preferred him that way.
His expression when he saw her erased every other person.
Nomi’s steps slowed.
Not from fear.
From the strange realization that this was the same man who once failed to look at her.
Now he looked as though nothing else existed.
Marco walked beside her.
Halfway down the aisle, Nomi whispered:
“Thank you.”
“For what?”
“Coming back.”
His eyes filled.
“Thank you for letting me.”
At the front, Marco did not place Nomi’s hand into Octavio’s.
He kissed her cheek.
Then stepped away.
Nomi closed the final distance herself.
Octavio smiled.
“You’re beautiful.”
“You’re biased.”
“Completely.”
The ceremony was short.
Nomi insisted.
Valentina read a passage about choosing love freely.
Rosa cried secretly.
Daniel did not cry and threatened anyone who claimed otherwise.
Axel behaved magnificently.
For almost forty minutes.
Then the rings.
Octavio held Nomi’s hand.
His vow surprised everyone.
Especially Nomi.
“I spent years believing love was something I protected by holding tighter.”
His eyes never left hers.
“You taught me that anything held too tightly eventually stops breathing.”
Nomi’s throat tightened.
“I cannot promise I will never be afraid.”
A small laugh moved through the room.
“I cannot promise I will never become overprotective.”
Nomi raised one eyebrow.
More laughter.
“But I promise that when fear makes me want to close my hand around your life, I will remember that the first thing I loved about you was the fact that you refused to fit inside it.”
Nomi blinked back tears.
Octavio continued.
“I choose you exactly as you are. Independent. Stubborn. observant. Infuriating.”
“Careful.”
Guests laughed.
He smiled.
“And free.”
Nomi squeezed his hand.
Her own vow was shorter.
“Octavio, you ignored me for three years.”
The room erupted.
He closed his eyes.
Valentina laughed loudest.
Nomi continued.
“And somehow, after finally noticing me, you became impossible to get rid of.”
“I tried.”
“No, you didn’t.”
More laughter.
Nomi’s voice softened.
“You taught me something too.”
Octavio opened his eyes.
“I spent years thinking invisibility was the same as safety.”
Her expression became serious.
“But being unseen also meant I never had to risk asking whether somebody would stay after truly knowing me.”
She touched his hand.
“You stayed.”
“Always.”
“I’m still speaking.”
“Sorry.”
Everyone laughed again.
Nomi smiled.
“You stayed when I was difficult. Angry. Afraid. Uncertain.”
She looked toward Marco.
Then Valentina.
Then back.
“You learned me without trying to own me.”
Tears filled Octavio’s eyes.
Nomi pretended not to notice because she loved him.
“And I choose you.”
They exchanged rings.
The officiant barely finished before Octavio kissed her.
Valentina shouted, “Finally!”
Rosa said something in Spanish that made Daniel laugh.
The reception became chaos.
Good chaos.
Axel performed his acoustic song.
To everyone’s shock, it was beautiful.
Octavio stood with Nomi near the dance floor.
“I owe him an apology.”
“Never tell him. He’ll become unbearable.”
At 11:45, everyone moved toward the rooftop.
Heaters.
Champagne.
Blankets.
The skyline waited.
Snow had stopped.
The sky was clear.
Nomi stood near the same corner where she had once sat in ripped jeans with charcoal-covered fingers.
Octavio joined her.
“One year.”
“One year.”
“You still have time to escape.”
“Helicopter available?”
“Banned.”
“Then I’m trapped.”
He put one arm around her.
“Dangerous wording.”
She laughed.
The countdown began.
Ten.
Nomi looked at Valentina and Axel.
Nine.
Marco stood beside Rosa.
Eight.
Daniel held champagne.
Seven.
The city waited.
Six.
Nomi looked at Octavio.
Five.
“What?”
Four.
“You’re staring.”
Three.
“I’m allowed.”
Two.
“Technically.”
One.
Fireworks exploded.
Gold.
Pink.
White.
Chicago disappeared beneath light.
Octavio leaned closer.
“Happy New Year, bambina mia.”
Nomi kissed him.
This time nothing interrupted them.
No threatening phone calls.
No missing drawings.
No enemies.
Only fireworks.
And when they separated, Nomi whispered:
“Happy New Year, husband.”
Octavio looked absurdly pleased with the word.
Then Valentina screamed.
Everyone turned.
She held up a small photograph.
A Polaroid.
Nomi and Octavio beneath the fireworks.
“You’re welcome!”
Nomi groaned.
Octavio took the picture.
He stared at it.
Then quietly placed it inside his jacket.
Nomi noticed.
Of course she did.
May you like
Some memories were worth keeping.
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