Page 21 of Dragon King’s Duty Bride

Celeste opened her mouth but then closed it. The silence that followed spoke volumes.

Sia stepped closer. “When was the last time you chose something simply because you liked it?”

Celeste swallowed. “I don’t… remember.”

And there it was. Not rebellion. Not resistance. Just a child who had been trying very hard to be grown.

“Okay. I want you to try on one dress that you like just because. Forget about the wedding or school or whatever royal thing you have to do, and try on something just because it’s fun. What’s your favorite color?”

When Celeste hesitated, both Stella and Luna called out. “Purple!”

Sia reached for a dress that Celeste had glanced at earlier but walked away from. Soft lavender that was very flowy.

“Like this,” she said quietly.

Celeste took it and looked at it before she went back to the dressing room. When she stepped out again, the entire store went still.

The lavender complimented her and caught the light when she moved. It made her look freer and unburdened by life.

Luna’s mouth fell open. “You look like music.”

Stella clasped her hands dramatically. “Like a flower.”

Sia blinked back sudden heat behind her eyes as Celeste looked at her reflection.

Her chin trembled. “It feels…” she began, then her voice trailed off.

“Tell me,” Sia encouraged.

“Pretty.” It was almost a whisper. Not practical or appropriate.

Pretty.

Sia stepped forward and adjusted a strand of Celeste’s hair. “You deserve pretty.”

Celeste’s composure cracked and her hand reached up and brushed Sia’s.

Sia covered her hand gently.

“I thought,” Celeste admitted, “that if I did everything properly, then nothing else would change.”

And there it was.

Sia’s throat tightened. “Oh, sweetheart,” she murmured. “Things were always going to change.”

Celeste’s eyes shimmered. “I didn’t want to lose anything else.”

“You haven’t,” Sia said firmly. “I’m not going to erase anything. There will always be memories, but there’s no reason we can’t make new ones.”

The words settled into the space between them like something sacred.

Stella wrapped herself around Celeste’s waist and Luna leaned in from the other side. For the first time, Celeste did not hold herself apart and let herself be held.

When they finally left the shop, garment boxes tied in satin ribbon, Celeste walked closer than before. As they stepped back into the sunlight, she slipped her hand into Sia’s.

Tentative at first, but then certain.

Sia had not expected it to feel this easy, and not because it was simple. But because love, she was beginning to understand, did not always arrive in grand fashion.