a/n: this is the last chapter of this book. if you want to see indie and jem again, add a thousand storms series book #3, a natural disaster, to your library. if not, this is goodbye.

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Indie

SOMETIMES, THERE’S MERIT in giving in.

Two weeks later, I’m happier than I’ve ever been. I’m with Jem, but we’re not exactly back to being a couple. I’m holding off on the whole girlfriend-boyfriend thing for now.

It’s only fair that I hold back, in some small way.

I can’t help but think that if he just talked to me, we could’ve saved four months of being separated from each other. But so far, he’s been true to his promise of making it up to me.

The past week has been chaos. I agreed to go with Jem to his dad’s wedding, and after he told his dad that he’d be attending the wedding and needed a plus one, we were all over the place. Dress fittings. Rehearsals. Babysitting the girls while the bride and groom were sorting other finer details for the big day.

Which is finally here.

Jem left early in the morning to join his dad in his suite along with the other groomsmen who are getting ready and left our hotel room all to me to dress up.

Since Jo and Kendall decided on an outdoor themed wedding, I picked up a summery sage green silk dress last week at the mall when Jem was at the garage. It was hidden in the darkest corner of my cupboard so that he wouldn’t be able to see it.

Right when I’m clasping on a pair of simple golden hoops, the door opens to reveal an enraptured Jem. His eyes follow the thin straps of the dress to where the silk falls down at my feet.

“Shit,” he murmurs.

He’s wearing a tux. And his hair is slicked back with some sort of pomade, but it doesn’t seem to be holding, and a few dirty blonde strays fall loose.

Even now, the sight of him softens something in my chest.

I smile up at him. “You don’t look too bad either.”

And then he leans down and places a kiss to my forehead.

They’re secretly my favorite.

When we pull up to the wedding, Jem spins to my side, opening the door, taking the train of my dress in one hand and offering the other to help me get out.

I get out of the car, chewing back a smile.

Kendall looks around and spots us, relief flooding her face. She rushes towards us in her baby blue bridesmaid dress. Her gold-brown hair is curled perfectly, held in place with glittering pins.

“Where were you guys?” She turns to Jem. “I called you like ten times!”

“You look pretty, Ken,” Jem tells her instead of apologising and Kendall flips him off, running back to her place.

When the music echoes throughout the venue, the couple in front of us start walking down the aisle. Jem looks down at me, his eyes twinkling in the light. He bends his right arm, offering it to me.

I loop mine through his and follow him as he takes me down the aisle.

The area is decorated with white roses and the chairs with thick white satin tie-backs, the perfect combination of colors for a summer wedding. Each round table is adorned with a long white underskirt cloth, a shorter cream tablecloth, with each placemat arranged around a vase full of white roses.

It's beautiful. Magical. Ethereal.

As I finish my walk, I take my seat in the front row and Jem stands next to his father and the best man. A tiny cream dress comes into view. Gianna and Poppy, our adorable little flower girls, stumble down the aisle dropping rose petals everywhere.

Halfway down the aisle, Gianna runs out of petals and decides that she would then walk much faster to finish her trip. I chuckle to myself. Once she safely makes it down to the end of the aisle, the music stops, and everyone stands.

Finally, Jo walks down the aisle and meets Jem’s father at the front.

Throughout the ceremony, Jem looks at me with a barely contained smile. And I can’t help but smile back at him. I’m happy. There’s no other way to put it. Jem is too.

After the ceremony is over, everyone is led to the reception, where the bride and groom cut the cake, eat and invite everyone to the dance floor.

Jem walks over while I’m still eating cake. “How long does it take you to finish a slice of cake?”

I pout, forking another piece in my mouth. “You eat too fast.”

He makes a sound of vague amusement, burying his head in his phone. At first, I didn’t question it because I thought it had something to do with the wedding. But now that it’s over, I highly doubt it.

Jem finally notices me and shoves his phone in his suit pocket.

“Dance with me,” he says, picking up my hand and leading me to the dance floor.

I frown. “But I’m not done eating my cake.”

He doesn’t listen, tugging me away from the table and against him. He settles his hands on either side of my waist and I move my hands up to his shoulders on instinct.

“I’ll get you cake to take home, if you want,” he says.

Looking back at him, I know him well enough to know when there’s something on his mind. “What’s going on?”

He shakes his head with a slow smile. “I thought I could tell you later, but since you’re asking now, I can’t lie.”

He pulls out his phone and flips the screen towards me, one hand still on my waist.

I narrow my eyes as an email greets me. Squinting to read it again the glare on the screen, my face goes slack and my hands drop from his shoulders.

What the hell?

He gives me lopsided grin, picking my hands up so that the rest back on his shoulders. “You said no flowers.”

My mouth drops. “So you bought me the entire shop?!”

I can’t believe it. He seriously bought the flower shop. I don’t understand how it was even possible — Kat told me that it was already sold, and the buyer was another woman — definitely not him. We weren’t even talking back then.

“How did you know it was being sold?” I ask.

He shrugs. “Your boss likes to talk. Word got around.”

I look up at him in confusion. “But . . . it was being sold to someone else.”

“I made her a counter-offer,” he says, simply.

I frown, shaking my head in a daze. “How – how’d you even get that kind of money?”

Jem switches his phone off and tucks it back into his pocket. “I’ve been working on something. Submitted it, they liked it, and I got a huge advance.”

“Those drawings on your desk?” I ask.

He nods.

“Jem . . .” I swallow to assuage the knot in my throat. “That’s a lot of money.”

He shrugs. “I’ll make more.”

I shake my head in disbelief. “You know I can’t let you do this for me.”

A line appears between his brows. “Are you kidding? Ma loved the flowers from your shop. They were the only thing that made the hospital beautiful. The only thing that made her feel more human when she was in there.”

My heart melts. “I’d have to pay you back.”

He huffs a laugh. “No shit.” His hands drops to slap my butt lightly. “You’re paying me back when your fine ass gets professional.”

Sombre, I follow, my body pliant as he sways with me from side to side. I knit my brows as I look up at him. “I’m only going to qualify as a doctor in a years.”

“Good,” he says, humor sparking in his grey eyes. “Then you’re stuck with me for years.”

A few beats later, he says, “You know I’m never going to let you pay me back, right?”

I scoff. “You know I’m never going to let you get away with this, right?”

He grins. “Never? That implies a lot of time, Gallagher.”

“It implies forever,” I say. “Or until the very end, at least.”

His lips lift. “Forever, huh. So does that mean you’re back to being my girlfriend?”

I screw my face up in thought. “I’ll think about it.”

He kisses me until I start laughing.

Truth is, I’d always wanted him. Since the day he walked into the flower shop.

Our love is fragile — but like everything soft and sweet and good in the world, like my favorite ice cream, I wouldn’t have it any other way.

❖ ❖ ❖

authorʼs note:

hello everyone! Itʼs been a long time since Iʼve written an authorʼs note on here, but I couldnʼt end this story without one.

I started writing Fragile Little Things in May 2020. Writing while still in college is always a challenge for me. Two and a half years later, I needed to finally make the commitment and complete this story for myself so that I could move on.

If youʼre still here, and youʼve been with me from the beginning, Iʼd like to say thank you from the bottom of my heart!

Iʼll start uploading chapters for A Natural Disaster, with main characters Rhia and Logan, soon.

Until then,

Stay gold,
Yuen