***
IwatchAkiowalkdownthe aisle in a black suit that is almost identical to mine, holding Stella’s leash and my heart bursts. He passes Stella to my mom and then comes to stand next to Ryo. The music changes and I know who’s about to turn the corner from our long hallway. I feel blood rushing between my ears before they start ringing. My hands are beginning to tingle and tremble.
I could get beaten within an inch of my life but I’m too petrified to say my vows?
It feels like the world has been tilted on its axis while my breathing grows unsteady. But then Kendall comes into focus and everything shifts, the world is righted again becausesheis my center of gravity.I love you,she mouths to me. She’s the most beautiful thing I’ve ever seen. The most precious thing I’ve ever loved. That’s when I start crying hideous, heaving sobs. Ryo's hand is now on my shoulder to steady me.
He claps me once and whispers, “She’s a vision.”
She’s three steps away from me now in a gorgeous silk dress with long lace sleeves. Her veil billowing behind her and her moms on either side, their arms threaded through hers. She’s graceful, elegant, breathtaking.
Two steps away. I can see she’s crying now too, her efforts to hold back tears just as useless as mine. Her makeup remains intact though and her face, like always, knocks the breath from my lungs.
One step away. I hug both of her moms and kiss them on the cheek. She's standing right in front of me, placing her perfect small hands in mine.
“Hi,” she whispers.
“Hi. You ready?” I ask. She nods.
“Are you?”
“Ken, I’ve been ready to marry you since we were in third grade.”
She smiles her perfect, golden smile that seeps into my bones like warm honey, and suddenly, nothing else matters. The officiant says a few words, providing an abridged version of our story, how we met, fell in love, and decided to get married. My sister and Jenna both do heartfelt, tender readings. But I don’t hear, see, or notice anything but her. Then it’s time for vows. The officiant looks to me and says, “Kai, you may now read your vows to Kendall.”
I take the neatly folded piece of paper from my pocket, my fingers shaking and sweating and begin.
“Kendall, I knew as soon as I met you that I would never be the same. Once I experienced your bold and brave energy, with your wild dark curls and bright eyes, your smile that felt like sunshine on my face, I knew you would alter the course of my life forever. And so you did. I love to love you, I live to love you. It’s a privilege and a blessing to be your partner and Akio’s father. I’ll choose you and love you in every lifetime we’re together and I’ll keep choosing you every day. And while this road we’ve had to walk to get here hasn’t always been easy, it has absolutely been worth it. You are my best friend, you always have been and I’m so grateful that we became neighbors almost twenty years ago. I promise to love you every day. I promise to protect and provide for you and our family. I promise to keep you grounded and drive you nuts. I promise to nurture your dreams. I promise to always put you and Akio first. And I promise to always be yourhome, your safe place, and your person. You are every dream I could ever hope for. I hope you know how much I love you, today, tomorrow, forever. Always.”
Chapter 97
Kendall
Kaihasjustreadhis vows and I’m crying just as hard as he was when I walked down the aisle. I wasn’t sure if we’d ever make it here but I’m so happy that we did.
Kai. This perfect, handsome, amazing man. The best damn thing that ever happened to me was a goofy, shy, loving boy moving in right across the street from me.
He is filled with goodness and all the things I love. I remind myself to take a moment to appreciate the scene around me. Everyone we love is here. My moms are sitting in the front rows holding each other’s hands and dabbing their eyes. Jax and Amir are here, smiling like lovesick puppies at Emma and Jenna respectively. Both of them stand to the right of me in midnight black chiffon dresses. Ryo, Jonah, and Akio stand to Kai’s left. Broad, handsome, and beaming. Kai’s mom is blubbering of course, and his dad is holding back tears. Veronica smiles at us from her seat next to her husband. The officiant turns to me now and lets me know it’s my turn to share my vows with Kai.
I raise my eyes and tear-stained face to his and try to steel my resolve.
“Kai, my maid of honor said it best when she told me someone somewhere cleaved a heart and a soul in two and I got one half and you got the other. People may laugh or scoff at that. Maybe they don’t believe in the power of soulmates. But I do. I think no matter what lifetime we’re in, we’ll always find each other. That there has been an invisible thread connecting us since we were kids and I’m confident that it’s unbreakable. Untouchable. Unable to be explained but always felt and always there. We’ve been on the same wavelength, the same frequency for a long time now. You are the only person who knows the shape, the rhythm, and the words to the song in my heart. You are my greatest blessing, my heart, my comfort when I’m sad, my peace when everything gets too loud. My safe place to land. You and Akio are the best things that have ever happened to me. I promise to love you with everything I have, to take care of your heart and protect it fiercely. I promise to never bother you during a playoff game.” I pause for comedic effect. “I promise to support you and your dreams, every endeavor you take on. I promise to be there for you and never take our love or life for granted. I love you and everything that you are, and I love you more each day.”
He looks at me, his eyes shining and wet with tears. I bring my thumb to his cheek and wipe some away as I smile through my own. The officiant instructs us to repeat a few more things. We exchange rings excitedly and then he pronounces us husband and wife. Kai’s hand is on my waist firm and warm, the other clasping my neck. He's staring at me like I’m everything, the very air he breathes. What his entire world spins around. And I accept it, believe it. What’s more, for the first time, I know I deserve it.
He dips me to the floor and our mouths crash together. He tastes like forever, like happiness. Like every dream I've ever had unfolding all at once. He’s the song I’ll never get tired of singing.This kiss holds countless memories. It’s love and hope and freedom and sacrifices. It's lazy Sunday mornings and gentle sunrises. It’s the earth, the wind, the stars, and the moon. It’s infinite and fleeting at the same time. It's pure magic just like the first time he kissed me in his parents’ basement. It’s his sweaty lips crashing into mine, after his first college win. It’s the hot rapturous kisses when he’s sliding into me over and over again. It’s his hands on my hips and a peck on my cheek to let me know he’s thinking about me. In this kiss we’ve lived a thousand lifetimes each with each other, each better than the last. It’s everything we are and everything we have yet to be. It’s the safest place in the world.
It’s home.
Chapter 98
Kai
Forthesecondtimein less than a year, I look around and don’t recognize my life. The difference is now it isn’t suffocating me and it isn’t pulling me under. My father is happy and present, loving on my mom and joking with my siblings. We're getting along by some miracle. Kendall is radiant, absolutely glowing in her wedding dress. She’s beaming as she dances while Akio steps on her toes. We’re married, raising a son together, and about to start a new life in Toronto. We’re closing the door on this chapter and opening a brand new one. Everyone that we love and care about is here to celebrate us and root for our love. It’s the kind of moment so sweet and so minute, yet utterly perfect you wish you could live in it forever. I can’t believe this life is mine and that I get to live it with her. This path we’ve traveled has been paved with heartache, secrets, destruction. But it’s also been filled with so many good things. I’m grateful that we finally found our way back to each other—that no matter what happens now or where we end up, no matter what lies ahead, I get to walk through life with her by my side forever.
I’m about to cut in between my son and Kendall and steal a dance with her when the one bodyguard I still have on security detail taps my shoulder.
“Boss,” he says gruffly, his shoulders squared up with mine.
