Chapter 9 - The Wedding Where the Most Feared Man in Grayhaven Finally Became a FatherThe wedding was small.
No politicians.
No criminals.
No people who wanted favors.
Only family.
Friends.
Employees who had become family.
And Sophie.
She wore a white dress and carried flowers almost too large for her tiny hands.
When Grace walked down the aisle, Adrian couldn't breathe.
Marcus stood beside him.
“You okay?”
“No.”
“You're crying.”
“I know.”
Marcus smiled.
“Never thought I'd see this.”
“Neither did I.”
Grace reached him.
Sophie stood between them.
Adrian looked at Grace.
Then Sophie.
Then back at Grace.
“I don't need a perfect life.”
Grace smiled.
“Good.”
“I just need this one.”
They exchanged vows.
When it was time to kiss, Sophie shouted:
“Not too long!”
Everyone laughed.
Adrian kissed Grace.
Then he kissed Sophie's forehead.
That night, the three of them danced beneath strings of lights.
Adrian looked around.
No guards.
No weapons.
No threats.
Just laughter.
He realized he no longer knew how to live without it.
Grace leaned against him.
“You happy?”
He looked at Sophie dancing alone.
“Yes.”
She smiled.
“Me too.”
Then Sophie ran toward them.
“Daddy!”
Adrian opened his arms.
She jumped into them.
He caught her.
And this time, nobody wondered whether he was her father.
He was.
Not by blood.
By choice.
By love.
By every night he had stayed.
May you like
Every fear he had faced.
Every promise he had kept.
