Chapter 14 - THE PROMISE THEY MADE AGAIN
A year after the phone call, Mara and Dominic returned to the small church where they had married.
There were no guests.
No flowers.
No photographer.
Just the two of them.
Mara stood near the altar, wearing a simple cream dress.
Dominic wore a dark suit.
They had spent months in counseling.
Months rebuilding trust.
Months learning to argue without threats, silence, or control.
Some days had been difficult.
Some conversations had ended in tears.
But they kept returning to the table.
Dominic took Mara's hands.
“I promised to protect you,” he said.
She watched him.
“And I thought that gave me the right to make decisions for you.”
His voice shook.
“It didn't.”
Mara squeezed his hands.
Dominic continued.
“I can't promise I'll never make another mistake.”
She smiled faintly.
“Good. Because I wouldn't believe you.”
He laughed through tears.
“But I can promise that your choices will remain yours.”
Mara's eyes filled.
She took a breath.
“I promised to love you through everything.”
Dominic watched her.
“But I confused love with silence.”
She continued.
“I thought keeping our worlds separate meant never asking questions.”
Dominic lowered his head.
“From now on, I will ask. And I will expect honest answers.”
He nodded.
“You'll have them.”
Mara smiled.
“Then I choose you again.”
Dominic closed his eyes.
“And I choose you.”
They kissed.
May you like
Not as two people returning to the marriage they had lost.
But as two people beginning a different one.
