A playful idea seized her. She fished a pen from her pocket and scrawled one bold word across the letter. “Approved!” She handed the application back with a grin that felt like sunlight breaking through clouds. “I do!” she responded.
Cole stared at that single word on the application, then at her radiant smile. He surged to his feet, hauled her into his arms, and peppered her face with kisses—her cheeks, her forehead, her hair. “Thank you!”
Elliana laughed, ready to say something sweet and sentimental—but Cole suddenly released her, grabbed her hand, and started marching toward the elevator.
She stumbled forward, caught off guard by his sudden momentum.
“Where are you taking me?”
“To get remarried!”
Elliana burst out laughing. Was he really that eager?
In less than an hour, Elliana’s entire world had transformed—single to married, just like that.
When Elliana and Cole stepped out of the city hall, marriage certificate clutched in his hands, matching grins broke across their faces like sunrise.
Cole stared at the document as if it held some kind of magic. His chest filled with something he’d never quite felt before—a completeness, like every scattered piece of himself had suddenly locked into place.
He slipped the certificate into his suit jacket’s inner pocket and then swung toward Elliana with a smile that could’ve lit up the street. “Starting today, I’m handling everything for you. Whatever crosses your mind, just tell me. You want the stars? I’ll snatch them down. The moon? Consider it yours.”
Elliana pushed up on her toes and kissed him, her eyes dancing with pure joy.
That brief, feather-light touch sent warmth flooding through Cole’s veins. He wrapped his arms around her and pulled her close, deepening the kiss until it became something longer, something that tasted like forever.
? g?ν
Meanwhile, back in the sterile quiet of the hospital room, Jarrett and Sophie were finding their way back to each other. The years apart hadn’t dulled what they shared. No awkwardness crept between them, no strange distance—just the easy warmth of coming home.
After they’d finally said everything that needed saying, Sophie made a promise that rang with conviction. “Jarrett, for the rest of my life, I’m not leaving your side—not for a second. I’ll be right here with you until you’re completely healed.”
Jarrett wove his fingers through hers, his voice dropping to something tender. “And I’ll be right here with you, helping you shine again.”
A week later, Jarrett walked out of the hospital, and the Evans family threw open their doors for a celebration that shook the chandeliers. The banquet served two purposes—welcoming Sophie back where she belonged and discussing the details of Elliana and Cole’s wedding that would be nothing short of spectacular.
Sure, Elliana and Cole had already had a wedding once. But Cole had always carried that memory like a bruise. Back then, his heart hadn’t been in it—not really. His half-hearted commitment had poisoned the whole thing. That ceremony had happened without Elliana’s real parents there to bless it, and the public had torn them apart for it.
This time, Cole decided to make it flawless. He wanted a wedding that would announce to everyone exactly what Elliana meant to him, a ceremony that would welcome her into his family with all the honor she deserved.
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.
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