Chapter 92

It took only a matter of weeks for Xavier to gain full custody of Christian, following Genevieve's sentencing to decades in prison. Soon after, he announced Amelie's pregnancy and their engagement.

It wasn't easy for Violet to cope with what had happened to her older sister. Despite always finding Genevieve's behavior towards Tristan and Aurora strange, she never imagined that her uncontrollable way of loving would lead her to that point. Aurora stayed by her side in the first few days until Violet decided to spend some time at her parents' house in another city. However, she promised to return for her friend's wedding.

And she kept her promise.

Aurora sneaked out of the room where she was getting ready, and since she already knew the way - the ceremony was taking place at Mr. Callahan's mansion, which he had lent for the event - she hid behind a wall where she could observe the beautifully decorated hall. She saw Violet among the guests, looking stunning in her purple dress, talking to Luna.

"Oh, there you are!"

She turned around and found Thomas, whose face expressed relentless disapproval. Aurora smiled somewhat awkwardly at being caught.

"Are you sure no one saw you? Oh, my goodness, of course, someone must have seen you!" He exclaimed dramatically as they walked back to the room.

"I just crossed the corridor and hid behind the wall; nobody saw me," she replied. They entered the room, and Thomas quickly closed the door.

"How can you be so sure? I don't know if you're aware, but a beautiful wedding dress draws attention on its own, especially when worn by the bride of the night!"

She laughed, ran her hands over the fabric of her dress, and twirled. That day, Aurora was particularly cheerful, playful, and radiant. It had been a long time since she felt this way, aside from the anxiety of going to the salon and marrying Tristan.

"I'm coming in!" Josh announced, opening the door with his tuxedo hanging over his shoulder.

"Why did it take you so long?" she asked. Josh took out three napkins from his pocket, all with phone numbers and lipstick marks. "Oh, I see."

He smiled, his dimples showing. He was really handsome. It was no wonder he effortlessly collected so many contacts.

"Aurora?" Even with the door open, Griffin had the courtesy to knock twice before entering. "What's wrong? Josh said you wanted to talk to me."

Griffin seemed genuinely concerned about her, which was very sweet of him. He always wanted the best for her and always listened to her complain about life, especially about his brother. Because of this great affection, he had to be the one.

"Do you want me to walk you down the aisle?" He blinked several times in disbelief.

"Please," she said, clasping her hands and pouting.

The doctor smiled emotionally and nodded.

"It's almost time!" Thomas said as he handed the bouquet to the bride. Aurora began to feel her heart pounding hard.

"Ready?" Griffin offered his arm for her to hold.

She took a deep breath, as if inhaling courage, and then took Griffin's arm.

"Ready."

The doctor bent down to her and whispered with a gentle smile, "By the way, you look beautiful."

"Easy there! Let me see the final result from the front!" Thomas walked up to stand in front of the two with a serious and analytical look that soon softened. He bit his lip hard. "I think I'm going to cry..."

"Save the tears for the ceremony. I'll go down first and let everyone know," Josh suggested.

"Oops! I'm coming with you!" Thomas's emotional moment disappeared as quickly as it arrived, and he turned his attention back to trying to flirt with Josh.

"Just to clarify," Josh said, looking into Thomas's eyes. "Hetero."

"Well, I don't mind!" Thomas replied, smiling, before following Josh.

Griffin gave her a kiss on the forehead before they slowly made their way to the hall. A wave of anticipation burned under her skin as she saw the guests turning their eyes toward her. She looked at Tristan at the altar; he had darkened his hair again, which now matched the color of his eyes. Beside him, a little further back, was Mr. Callahan with a proud smile. She thought she had never seen Tristan in a white suit before, but at that moment, she felt it was the perfect choice. He looked impeccable, his striking face might not show much expression, but his brown eyes followed every step she took towards him, a warm look of affection and desire.

***

"No wedding vows? Seriously?" Klaus complained to his friend. "That's the best part of weddings! The part where everyone cries!"

"Tristan and I decided to skip that part. Sorry," she explained.

"Don't mind Klaus's drama," Frederick said, holding his husband by the shoulders. "He cried throughout the whole thing anyway."

She laughed and took several photos with the two of them. Other guests came to congratulate her. She thought about how Tristan was handling it on the other side of the hall and smiled ironically, imagining that he probably hated all of this.

"Can I confess something to you?" she said after leaving a hug with Alex.

"Of course," he replied.

"Well… I kind of had a crush on you back when we were neighbors." She smiled, trying to disguise her embarrassment.

"Can I confess something to you?" Alex leaned in to whisper in her ear, playfully. "I already knew."

"What? Wait, since when?" She tried to get more information, but he quickly moved away, laughing out loud.

The last in the line of guests was the short-haired guy.

"Congratulations on the wedding, Aurora... I mean, Mrs. Callahan."

Aurora smiled. "Lucca! Cut it out and come give me a hug!" She wrapped her arms around him, feeling a wave of joy at hearing 'Mrs. Callahan' multiple times.

Lucca hugged her back, and she could hear his low laughter near her ear, but suddenly, he pulled away.

"Mr. Tristan!" He stood upright like a soldier when his boss approached. "This hug was totally innocent. I have total respect for you and your wife, and I am grateful for the job opportunity you gave me... ah! By the way..."

Tristan felt the need to interrupt his long and stumbling argument by placing his hand on Lucca's shoulder.

"We'll talk about this next month, alright?" he suggested.

Lucca nodded several times and went his way, leaving the newlyweds alone.

Tristan's hands rested on her hips, pulling her close. Aurora placed her hands on his chest.

"What's wrong?" she asked.

"Don't you think we've had enough pampering?" His voice turned into a whisper.

"Already want to leave?" she teased.

"As far as I'm concerned, we could have left after signing that paper."

"Just one more hour, impatient."

"Alright," he conceded. "Just don't stray too far from me."

She looked at him and realized that she had spent all day yesterday and most of today away from him. Now, she wanted him badly.

"What do you think about a quickie upstairs?" she suggested.

A look of surprise passed over Tristan's face.

"You said a quickie?"

"Just answer me, Mr. Arrogant!"

Tristan was taken aback. It was more likely for him to make such a suggestion, not her.

"Are you serious?"

"Why wouldn't I be?"

"You just called me impatient and said we're leaving in an hour."

"That's why it's a 'quickie.'"

"At my father's house?"

"No one will notice; they're all distracted. Come on." She pulled his hand with a mischievous smile, and a wave of heat ran through Tristan's body. He had just realized that he had married the right woman.

They tried to be discreet as they left the hall. She went out first, and he followed her. Hand in hand, they quickly walked down the corridor. Aurora let out low laughter from time to time. They entered a guest room and locked the door. Tristan pulled his wife's waist into a passionate kiss. In blind steps, they made their way to the bed. The businessman sat on the mattress with his back against the headboard and his legs stretched out, while Aurora tried to fit herself onto his lap, somewhat awkward due to her dress.

"How much fabric is in this thing?" Tristan teased.

"Quite a lot," she replied.

"And buttons?"

"Even worse."

He paused to reflect for a moment while his finger slid along her leg under the dress. Soon, he moved his hands to Aurora's back, feeling with his fingertips the buttons that started at the waist and went down to the base of her torso.

"You won't need to put it back on, will you?" Tristan asked playfully.

She smiled and shook her head, intending to change into the outfit she had set aside for when they went to the airport.

Tristan's agile fingers began to unbutton the first few buttons.

"I think I can make my wedding vows while I try to get this off you," he suggested.

"Now? After the ceremony?" she questioned.

"The others don't need to hear what I have to say to prove my love for you," he said seriously. "Only you need to hear it."

She just stared at him as she felt the dress becoming looser on her body. "I think you have no idea how much I admire you or the power you have over me." He brought his lips to her ear and whispered with warm breath, "You're my wife, the woman who fuels my desires; who trusted me even when I didn't deserve it; who offered me help even when I didn't need it; the woman I'm completely in love with..." After unbuttoning all the buttons, he slowly slid the dress straps down her shoulders. "I'll give you everything I have, teach you everything I know," he continued, his mouth going to her neck, where he caressed her skin with several kisses.

"Tristan..." she tried to say something but was too overwhelmed.

Before she had time to try again, Tristan pushed the top of the dress down until it fell to her waist. His lips moved to the valley between her breasts, and she gasped at the contact, feeling a jolt of excitement run through her body.

"I'm going to put my world at your feet," he whispered, his hands gripping her hips as he raised his head to look at her. "I'm ready now. Let me show you how much I love you," he said in a hoarse voice.

His words filled Aurora's heart, and she smiled before being kissed passionately. Loving him had been the most complicated and yet the simplest experience. It was the best of their successes and the best of their mistakes. All the breaks they had in their relationship, they now saw that they were not in vain because they needed it; they needed to see what was wrong to fix it; they needed to miss each other to realize that what existed between them was much greater than they wanted to believe, simply because they weren't ready.

But now, they were.

***

It was summer, and it was very hot, so Aurora put on a short pair of shorts and a t-shirt. Besides the temperature, the thin layer of sweat on her skin was also due to the work of organizing her things in the new house.

"Aurora!"

She crossed the living room after being called, avoiding the scattered cardboard boxes, and walked into the couple's bedroom. The door was already open, and when she looked inside, she saw Tristan wearing only shorts, gazing at the special wall in the room, 'special' because it was the only one with wallpaper, a world map that covered it entirely.

"Paris," she said, sticking a photo of herself with Tristan on the representation of France on the map. "Maldives!" She did the same thing again, attaching a photo taken during their honeymoon trip to the Maldives. That was the idea. For each country they visited, they would take a photo and put it on that wall.

Tristan came up behind her and wrapped his arms around her waist, resting his chin on her shoulder.

"Go ahead," he said, placing a red-tipped thumbtack in her hand. "You get to choose the next destination."

She studied the map and then raised her hand with the thumbtack.