AllFreeNovel
Share Us
No music apart from the constant lap of waves, chirp of roosting birds, and swish of palm trees.
No one spoke as Jack led my moon-given wife toward me. He looked dapper dressed in black shorts and silver shirt.
Beach smart had been our dress code for everyone.
I wore the same: black shorts and white shirt with my cuffs rolled up to my elbows, revealing two bare forearms. Next week, I had an appointment with the same artist in Townsville who did Neri’s lion. I would get my second replica, and then...we were catching a flight from Brisbane to Istanbul. I was needed back home and would spend a few weeks wearing the Kara crown, striking the fear of obedience into my generals.
Part of me had no interest in playing that role, but the other was fucking excited at taking Neri and Ayla. I could finally show them my home. Show them my culture. And I knew I’d fall even harder for them as they spoke like locals and fully stepped into their bilingual belonging.
Jack and Anna hadn’t wanted me to take Neri and Ayla with me, but...there was nothing to fear anymore.
I was the one to fear.
I had no intention of taking them to Cem’s mansion, where I’d spent five years being tortured. I’d fly them to Izmir where I’d lived happily with my Avci family. I’d take my girls to the sea there and walk on the sands of Diamond Beach. I’d show them the bazaars and introduce them to my people and pile their plates with every delicacy.
My thoughts fell quiet as I drank in Neri. Her bare feet and elegant ankles vanished and reappeared beneath her white gown as she padded toward me. The heavy silk rippled from her shoulders like spilling moonlight, following her curves, shimmering over her belly and breasts. The bow secured behind her neck trailed down her back with the ends sliding through the sand behind her.
Her gorgeous chocolate hair had caught some sun over the past few weeks of spending time together on The Fluke and the loose waves were the same salt-teased tangle that I adored.
Anna let out a quiet sob as Jack finally stopped before me, kissed Neri on her cheek, then passed her hand to mine. He gave me a nod as I squeezed my wife’s fingers, then he stepped back to join Anna.
I didn’t speak as I fell into Neri.
What was there to say?
What was there to do apart from stand in this wonderful moment and fall head over fucking heels all over again?
We’d opted for a simple beach wedding rather than follow any Turkish or Western traditions. To us, this was just an affirmation of the vows we’d already said.
But that’d been before Jedda—Neri’s godmother and the woman who’d tried to save my life at the hospital—had visited last month when Anna told her I’d survived and was back home.
She’d overheard our wedding plans. She’d mentioned she was a celebrant as well as a nurse, and offered to wed us in the spirit of Australia. An honour that both Neri and I could not refuse.
Ayla let my other hand go so I could take both of Neri’s.
Our daughter giggled under her breath as Neri sighed heavily, tears sparkling on her eyelashes.
A heavy hush fell over us as Jedda raised her hands, gathering everyone’s attention. She stood before Neri and me, short and grinning, her brightly painted dress somehow capturing the wind and ocean in its swirls.
Her husband, Coen, sat beside Eddie and Teddy and her voice carried ancient promises as she said, “We gather here tonight to witness Nerida Avci and Aslan Kara’s love. A love that struck young, held fast, and overcame death itself.”
Lowering her hands, she smiled at both of us. “The land owns us, the sea guides us, the stars teach us, the sun watches us. When the wind blows, we breathe. When the moon glows, we heal. We are all connected. We are all one.”
Neri shivered, and I sucked in a breath as Jedda came forward and placed her hands over ours. “We carry a spark of souls all while living in bodies of soil. You found each other and turned separate into whole. You are now the rain to each other’s growth and the shelter to each other’s successes. It is not words that bind you but fate. Fate that knows. Fate that designs. Fate that will one day guide you into the divine where, fate willing, you will find each other again.”
Ayla shifted beside me, slipping her hand into the pocket of my shorts where my shell was firmly back home.
I glanced at the little girl Neri and I had created, and my pulse skipped with awe as Jedda passed Neri a gold band. Pulling her hands from mine, Neri splayed my fingers, kissed my knuckles, then slid the wedding band onto my left ring finger.
“I wed you years ago on this very beach beneath this very moon,” she whispered. “I’ve loved you since I found you, and I’ll love you until I lose you. I vow to continue finding you for the rest of my existence.”
Tears lodged in my throat as I accepted the simple gold band from Jedda and repeated what Neri had done to me. I lingered over the kiss on Neri’s knuckles, inhaling her gorgeous frangipani scent, schooling my hiccupping heart that wanted so much to be alone with her.
Sliding the ring beside her engagement diamond, I whispered, “I fell in love with you in this very ocean and became yours beneath this very sky. I only exist to love you, Neri, and I’m honoured to be yours forever.”
Jedda wiped away a tear, bent down, and picked up two smooth stones just out of reach of the tide. Passing them to us, she said, “Face the sea.”
Together, Neri and I accepted the small rocks, then shifted to wade a little deeper into the shallows.
