Chapter 9 - The Promise That Was Never Part of the Contract
Ten years after our wedding, Vincent and I renewed our vows.
No contract.
No lawyers.
No hidden clauses.
Just family.
Clara was nine.
Emily stood beside me.
My mother cried.
Lydia laughed.
Vincent looked at me as though he still couldn't believe I had stayed.
Before the ceremony, he handed me one final paper.
I laughed.
“Seriously?”
He smiled.
“It's not a contract.”
I read it.
It was a handwritten promise.
I, Vincent Bellante, promise that June Hollis owes me nothing.
Not her loyalty.
Not her love.
Not her forgiveness.
If she stays, it will be because she wants to.
If she leaves, I will thank her for the life we shared.
If she chooses me, I will spend the rest of my life choosing her back.
I started crying.
“You wrote this?”
“Yes.”
“You still have terrible handwriting.”
“I know.”
I hugged him.
Then Clara appeared.
“Dad?”
“Yes?”
“Mom is crying again.”
Vincent smiled.
“She's happy.”
Clara frowned.
“That's confusing.”
We laughed.
The ceremony was simple.
When Vincent said his vows, he didn't mention the empire.
Or money.
Or power.
He talked about the woman who had refused to give him a file.
The woman who had walked into his life with a stack of paperwork.
The woman who taught him that trust was worth more than obedience.
When I said my vows, I told him:
“I married you for one year.”
Everyone laughed.
“I stayed because you gave me the freedom to leave.”
May you like
Vincent's eyes filled.
“And because somewhere between the lies, the danger, and the paperwork, you became my home.”
