Chapter 309

• With one last look, she turns to leave. Her footsteps are quiet as she slips out of the room, leaving me alone. I take a deep breath, glancing at myself in the mirror one last time, at the girl who somehow managed to grow into herself despite everything. I’m not that timid bookworm anymore. I’m stronger now, and maybe, just maybe, that will be enough to get me through this.
• But as I turn away from the mirror, all I can think about is the boy Alec was back then—and the man he is now, the one waiting for me at the end of the aisle.
• The ceremony itself is a blur, like I’m moving through a heavy fog. My dress weighs on me like a thousand-pound cloak, and each step down the aisle feels like I’m walking into a trap that snaps shut behind me, inch by inch.