The Unwanted Marriage: Epilogue

I stare at the golden heart-shaped locket in my hand and trace over the smooth metal in disbelief. I’ve been looking for this necklace for months now, fruitlessly, until I dreamt of Mom again last night.

“You can have mine,” she told me. “The locket you’re looking for is one half of a pair. Felicity’s is lost, but mine isn’t. She and I have been best friends since we were kids, you know? We were both quite cheesy kids, so her locket contained a photo of me, and mine held a photo of her. It drove your father mad with jealousy, because he had a pocket watch with my photo in it while I often wore a locket with my best friend’s photo in it instead.”

She grinned and reached for me, the tips of her fingers brushing over my hair. “Give my locket to Faye. It’s the only thing I can give her, and I know she’d love it the way I did. You’ll find it in my jewelry box.”

And I did. It really was in her jewelry box. Some small part of me must have remembered that Mom had the same necklace as the one Faye’s father took away from her, or my subconscious never would have led me to it.

I tighten my grip on it and walk into Faye’s dressing room, oddly nervous. We’ve come so far, she and I, but I’d be lying if I said that all of our wounds are healed.

“Dion,” she says, rising to her feet. Fuck. She’s always beautiful, but that black evening gown she’s wearing takes my breath away. It’s one of Raven’s designs, no doubt. “Are you ready?”

I nod at her dumbly, unable to tear my eyes off her. “I am, but you’re not. Not yet.”

I walk up to her and hold up my mother’s necklace, my hand shaking ever so slightly. Faye gasps, her eyes moving between the locket and me in shock. “How?”

I smile at her as I reach around her to clasp the necklace closed. “This one isn’t your mom’s, unfortunately. I’m sorry, Faye. I tried, but I couldn’t find hers. The one around your neck was my mother’s.”

She lifts it to look at it, pure awe in her gaze. “It was your mother’s?” she asks, her voice trembling.

“It’s one half of a friendship necklace. Open it.”

She does as I tell her, and the biggest smile lights up her face when she sees a photo of our mothers together on one side, and one of just her mother on the other. “Mom had a similar photo in hers,” she murmurs, sniffing as she looks up at me. “Thank you, Dion. I… I don’t know what to say. Is it really okay for me to have this?”

I nod. “I checked with all of my siblings, and they all agreed that it should be yours, just as they all agreed on me proposing with Mom’s engagement ring. Neither of us can undo the past, Faye, but we can work together toward a better future while honoring our past. It felt right to have a part of both of our moms with us tonight.”

She rises to her tiptoes and presses a kiss to my lips, careful not to smudge her lipstick. “I love you,” she whispers, her arms wrapping around my neck as she leans back a little to look at me. “Are you ready?”

I nod, and she grabs my hand as she leads me through the concert building I bought for her. My heart is beating out of control, and I hold on to her like she’s my lifeline. In many ways, she truly is.

“In hindsight,” I tell her once we’re behind the stage curtains. “I don’t think I’m ready at all.”

Faye grins up at me and gently cups my cheek. “I always feel the same way too, but it’s better today, because I’ve got you with me. Just think of all the money we raised with tonight’s benefit concert, and how happy your family will be to see you on stage with me.”

I sigh and grab her chin, tipping her face up for a kiss shortly before the stagehand gestures for us to go on. “I’ll do it, for you,” I murmur. “For us.”

She nods and entwines our fingers as she pulls me onto the stage. My gaze instantly travels to my family seated in the front row, and Grandma’s eyes widen when I sit down next to Faye behind her piano. I smile at her and take in the emotion in my siblings’ eyes.

Zane has his arm wrapped around Celeste, and she smiles tightly, her entire body tense. He nods at me, looking surprisingly disarmed. The two of them have been putting on a front, but it’s clear they’re not doing well. I have faith in Grandma, but I’m not sure forcing these two together is a good idea. Celeste seems repentant, and Zane seems far more vengeful than I thought him capable of. He’s intent on destroying her, and he doesn’t seem to realize that in doing so, he’ll ruin the few parts of himself she left intact.

Faye begins to play the opening notes, and everything melts away until there’s nothing but the music and my wife. My fingers tremble for a moment before I join her, playing the duet we practiced tirelessly for weeks. Turns out, our family and network paid some insane amounts to see me play, and all of it is being donated directly to the Staccato Foundation. Faye is making both of our mothers’ dreams come true, and she does it so effortlessly.

I watch her as we play together, in perfect harmony. She’s the wife I never wanted, yet now I can’t imagine my life without her. Her broken pieces perfectly fit against mine, creating the foundation we’re building the rest of our lives on. With each brick we lay down, we build each other up. I can’t wait to see where life takes us, but I suspect countless shitty flights and beautiful melodies are in my future.

I wouldn’t have it any other way.

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