"I assume you both have prepared your vows?" The minister asks us.

Today is the day Vi and I get married. It's been about 4 years since she was kidnapped, and it was not an easy time for either of us. With the separation anxiety we both faced, Vi's random relapses where she thought she was back in captivity, to getting spooked if someone touched her, with both of our journeys through therapy, it's been a trial to get back to normal, but we've both finally been able to move past it.

That's not to say that it doesn't still affect us, but we've chosen to move on and live life as best as we can.

"Viola, your vows?" The minister promoted.

"Ashton," Vi's mystifying grey eyes meet mine as she looks at me over the paper Sammi handed her. "I love you with my whole heart. There's not a minute that passes that I don't think about you. Before I met you, I didn't believe in love. I thought I could be superwoman, do everything on my own and help others and not need to worry about myself. You're the one who showed me it's okay to trust people, that I don't have to be on my own anymore. You showed me that I'm worth more than being someone's punching bag, that I deserve to have good things too. You gave me the love I never got growing up. You've been..." she takes a moment to compose herself before continuing. "You've been my rock whenever I needed, you're always here for me, no matter if it's something simple like helping me search for the remote that I've lost again, or holding me during my night terrors, or coming to pick me up from work because I'm too scared to leave my office alone." She looks at me again, and I wipe a tear from her face. "We've been through a lot in the five years we've known each other, and it hasn't always been easy. But I'm thankful for everything we've gone through, because it helped us grow into people who will always support each other no matter what, and I don't think there's a moment I'll ever stop loving you."

My nephew steps forward and hands Vi the ring that she slips onto my fourth finger. I look past him and see Flora sitting in a wheelchair in the front row of the church. She "walked" Vi down the aisle. She winks at me and I smile.

Now it's my turn.

Luke steps up to hand me a couple index cards, but I shaken my head. I take a deep breath before looking into her eyes. I wrote something out, but I had it memorized and didn't need the paper for reference.

"Vi, your strength amazes me every day. The things you've endured would probably break a normal person, but I admire your spirit. You don't let things knock you down for long. You taught me that there's more to life than just searching for the next biggest thrill, helped me to to realize what was important just by being yourself. I know for a fact that you don't need me," I smirk as she shakes her head, trying not to interrupt me. "No, it's true; we've had arguments about this before, remember?" she rolls her eyes as the crowd laughs and I smile. "You don't need me because you're a strong, beautiful, confident woman, and the fact that you allow me to be in your life means the world to me. You're stubborn, but you use that stubbornness to benefit those you love. You're thoughtful--everything you do has someone else in mind. You're persistent and truly believe in everything you do, because you believe that you can help people, the people you care about. I don't even think you realize the positive effect you have on people, even just by walking into a room and smiling," she blushes at this and I really want to kiss her, but I know I have to wait. "And I'm so blessed to be one of those people you choose to love. I wish every day to be the man you deserve, and I'm happy to have a lifetime to prove myself to you." I hear the crowd aww at my words.

She hiccups a little sob as I take the ring and slide it onto her finger. She looks down at it and smiles.

"I now pronounce you husband and wife. You may now kiss the bride,"

I look into her eyes and she nods slightly before pressing her lips to mine.

"You're super, Viola Irwin, I love you."

"And I love you, my beautiful, caring husband."

***

Sooo there we are! What do you think?

I kinda really love their vows, they both kind of talk about their own journey that the other person helped them with. Vi learned that it's okay to ask for help and be dependent on other people, that she doesn't have to be her own hero, and Ashton leaned that he needed to stop partying and figure out what was important in life, which is being a good person and being there for his friends (Ashton's lesson isn't as shown in the book bc it was mostly supposed to be about Vi, and it was her pov in the first 2 parts, but I hope that did come across at some point.)

Anywaaaay, this is it. I'm gonna go flip the switch on the book that says completed 🥳🤩🤗 I'm super excited and just wanna say thank you again! 😘

Love you all,

~ashtonfortherwin