Chapter 16 - The Wedding I Never Thought I Would Attend
Marcus invited me to his wedding.
I stared at the invitation.
Adrian nearly choked.
"You're not going."
"Why?"
"Because normal people don't attend their cheating ex-husband's wedding."
"Normal people sound boring."
Lily was flower girl.
Of course I went.
The ceremony was small.
Marcus looked terrified.
I found that strangely comforting.
Before walking down the aisle, he approached me.
"Claire."
"Don't make this weird."
"I'm trying not to."
"You're failing."
He smiled.
Then became serious.
"Thank you."
"For what?"
"For letting me remain Lily's father after I proved I didn't deserve your trust."
I shook my head.
"You didn't earn access to Lily because I was generous. You earned it by becoming dependable."
He nodded.
"Still. Thank you."
"Go marry Rachel."
He laughed.
"Yes, ma'am."
During the ceremony, Lily scattered flower petals.
Half landed outside the aisle.
She didn't care.
Neither did anyone else.
Marcus married Rachel.
And I felt no grief.
Only something I hadn't expected.
Pride.
Not in what he had done.
In what he had chosen to become afterward.
Happy endings are strange.
Sometimes the villain in your first chapter becomes simply a flawed person by chapter sixteen.
That doesn't erase the damage.
May you like
It means the damage didn't get the final word.
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