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“I never got to thank you for loving my baby girl the way you do.”
“I don’t need to be thanked for that.”
“If I could go back, to this spot on the couch actually, I would have never asked you to let Livvy go.”
“I know, sir.”
“You’ve always been good enough for her. I’m sorry for how I treated you, Ethan. You never deserved it.”
“You just wanted what was best for her.”
“You’ve always been what’s best for her, and I hate that it took me so long to see it.” He paused for a moment. “Livvy tells me you don’t have anyone but your uncle in your life.”
I shook my head. “My mom died of cancer when I was a baby, and my father is… well, he’s… to put it bluntly, a piece of shit.”
“You close to your uncle?”
“As close as you can be with the man who raised you.”
I couldn’t believe how much her old man had changed in what felt like overnight. Our relationship was better than I ever thought it could be. The man looked at me with admiration. He regarded me the same way he peered at his colleagues and friends at the country club.
“You know, sir, you’re a big reason I’m as successful as I am.”
He narrowed his stare.
“I wanted to prove to you that I could be good enough for your daughter. You see, sir. I’ve always been in love with her, and I knew you wouldn’t accept me unless I was on your same caliber, so I did everything I could to make sure I would be.”
“Ethan, I—”
“I understand. I didn’t then, but I do now. I’d want the same thing for my baby girl. Especially some boy who didn’t have a family with your status. I made myself a promise that I’d be that man someday. I don’t think I would have been as ambitious if it weren’t for you, so in reality, thank you for pushing me to be the best man I could be. Almost like a father would.”
He stood, gripping my shoulder. “It’s an honor, son.”
That was the first time he’d ever called me that, and I immediately remembered how much I used to hope he’d call me that one day. It was crazy to see how we’d all come full circle.
As much as I prayed for this day to eventually come, through the years I lost hope that it might come to fruition. I loved Livvy with everything inside me.
Always had.
Always would.
For the first time in my life, I had everything I wanted.
And it started and ended with…
Elizabeth Collins.
Forever mine first.
Epilogue
Livvy
Six Months Later
“Do you,Elizabeth Collins, take Ethan to be your husband, to have and to hold, for better or for worse, for richer, for poorer, in sickness and in health, to love and to cherish, from this day forward until death do you part?”
Looking deep into Ethan’s eyes, I stated, “I do.”
