If Your Heart Doesn’t Lean Towards Me I Don’t Want It Chapter 35
“And she still chooses you.”
Lucian’s eyes instantly turned red.
He took the ring, but he didn’t put it on my finger.
“Are you sure?”
“I’m sure.”
“This isn’t gratitude?”
“No.”
“And you’re not using me to get back at Ellis?”
That made me laugh.
“Lucian Hawthorne, when did you become so talkative?”
He laughed too, though his fingers trembled slightly as he did.
The ring slid back onto my finger.
This time, there was no audience, no need to prove anything to anyone.
It was just the two of us, making sure the most important things were said before a life together truly began.
We set the wedding for the following spring.
I didn’t want a lavish affair, just a small gathering of the people who truly cared about us.
On the day I tried on my dress, my mother stood in front of the mirror and cried.
I reached up and wiped a tear from the corner of her eye.
“You always wanted to see me in a wedding dress. Why are you crying?”
“Because I’m happy.”
She took my hand.
“Coralie, I used to think a woman only had a home once she was married.”
“But now I understand. Having a home isn’t about who’s standing beside you.”
“If you can stand steady on your own, anywhere can be your home.”
I hugged her, my own eyes stinging with tears.
The day before the wedding, my lawyer confirmed that Ellis had fulfilled all the requirements of the judgment.
Tessa’s final appeal had been denied.
Most of the links to the video had been scrubbed from the internet.
My lawyer said, “I can’t promise there will be no trace left online.”
I nodded.
“I know.”
Maybe the traces would never vanish completely.
But they no longer had any power over me.
I didn’t ask where Ellis was now.
I didn’t ask how Tessa was doing in prison.
The law had provided its answer, and that was enough to close the chapter.
The rest of my life was not about them.