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Two weeks later, Cormac tells me he has a surprise. "What kind of surprise?" I ask suspiciously. He's been acting strange all morning, distracted and a little nervous, which isn't like him at all.

"The kind you'll like," he promises, refusing to say anything else.

He arranges for my mother to watch the baby for the afternoon, which makes me even more curious. We don't leave her often—I'm still too anxious about being away from her for more than an hour or two—but my mother is careful and loving, and I trust her.

Cormac drives us to a small chapel on the north side of the city, one I've never been to before. It's old, with stained glass windows and wooden pews that creak when you sit on them, and when we step inside, I see that it's empty except for a priest waiting near the altar. "Cormac," I say slowly. "What is this?"

He turns to me, that nervous expression on his face again. "I want to marry you again."

My breath catches. "We're already married."

"I know." He takes both my hands in his, his thumbs brushing over my knuckles. "But the first time… it wasn't what it should have been. You were scared and being coerced. You didn't have a choice."

Tears prick at my eyes. Our wedding day was beautiful and terrible all at once, and I spent the entire ceremony wishing I could mean the vows I was saying. "I want to do it again," he continues, his voice rough. "I want you to choose me. Not because you have to or because someone's forcing you, but because you want to."

"I do want to," I whisper. "I chose you when I told you the truth. When I saved you after the wreck."

"I know." He lifts one hand to cup my face, his thumb brushing away a tear that's slipped down my cheek. "But I want to hear you say it again. I want to say it to you. I want us to make promises we both mean without anything hanging over us."

I can't speak. I just nod, and he leads me down the aisle toward the priest.

The ceremony is simple. There are no guests or flowers or elaborate decorations, just the two of us and the priest in the late afternoon light filtering through the stained glass. The priest asks if we're ready, and Cormac nods. He turns to me, still holding my hands, and his eyes are bright with emotion.

"I don't have fancy words," he says quietly. "I'm not good at this. But I need you to know that you saved me, Oksana. You gave me something I thought I'd lost forever. A future. A family. A reason to be something more than what I was."

His voice cracks, and I squeeze his hands tighter. "I know what it cost you to be with me," he continues. "I know what you went through. And I know we're not perfect. We've hurt each other. We've lied. We've made mistakes. But I love you. I love you more than I thought I could love anyone, and I'm going to spend the rest of my life proving that to you."

Tears fall down my cheeks, and I don't bother wiping them away.

"I choose you," he says. "Every day. For the rest of my life. I choose you."

The priest nods at me, and I take a shaky breath.

"I didn't think I'd ever have this," I say, my voice barely above a whisper. "I thought I'd destroyed it. I thought I'd lost you forever, and it was my fault."

Cormac starts to shake his head, but I keep going. "But you came back for me. You chose me even when you didn't have to. Even when I'd betrayed you." My throat tightens. "You gave me a second chance, too. You gave me more love than I've ever known in all my life."

I look up at him, and his eyes are wet too. "I love you," I whisper. "I loved you even when I thought I'd never get to tell you. And I'm going to love you for the rest of my life, no matter what comes."

"I choose you," I whisper. "Every day. Forever."

The priest smiles and says a few words about love and commitment, but I barely hear him. All I can see is Cormac. And when he pulls me into his arms and kisses me, this moment, this beautiful surprise that he planned, feels like the moment we truly start over.

There will always be scars from what came before. But I feel that this symbolic moment has given us a way to heal those wounds. This moment, when we walk out of the church together, will be a fresh start for us both.

We'll step out into the afternoon light, and into a life neither of us ever thought we'd have.

One full of love, and hope for the future, and as much happiness as we can give each other, for as long as we both shall live.

I hope you enjoyed Vicious Betrayal!

Ready for your next obsession?

Forbidden Desire is my next standalone dark mafia romance, where one reckless night reunites a doctor with the dangerous Irish enforcer she wanted years ago… except now he’s fresh out of prison, and completely off-limits!

Irish mafia enforcer x doctor