A Vow Of Forever (A Vow Of Hate Novella)

“Killian,” I breathed.

He grasped my left hand, lacing our fingers together before bringing the back of my hand to his mouth. His lips brushed over the engagement ring he gave me almost four years ago. “You wanted to rewrite our story, didn’t you?”

I nodded, speechlessly.

“Then we need to have a second wedding, with proper vows this time. No hate. No pretense. No lies. A real wedding, Julianna.”

“A real wedding,” I whispered.

Killian gave me a true smile. “A real wedding,” he agreed.

“I don’t want anything fancy.”

“Neither do I.”

“I want to have the wedding here, on the island,” I demanded, half-expecting him to refuse.

He leaned down and pressed his lip against my scarred cheek. My breath hitched at his touch and my scars tingled. “I agree. Tomorrow?”

“Tomorrow?” I squealed. “How-

“I’m not waiting any longer. I was going to demand today, but you’ll need to choose a dress.” The corner of his lips curled. “So, I’m settling for tomorrow and that’s it. I’m not waiting more.”

“There’s no rush, Killian. We are already married,” I tried to explain but he was shaking his head.

“On paper, yes. But our marriage is based on vows that I spoke out of anger and hatred. Those vows are now null. If we want to re-write our story, we need to start with our vows, Princess.”

When he proposed yesterday, it was nothing fancy. But it was enough for me. Enough for us.

And now I was getting ready to walk down the aisle. A second time. A real wedding, with true vows.

“There you go. All done,” Mirai announced, snapping me out of my thoughts. She moved beside me, so we were both facing the mirror. My makeup was minimal as I had asked; Mirai did a perfect job and my scars looked less prominent under the layers of foundation. I wasn’t exactly self-conscious about them, but my scars always reminded of that night.

It was an ugly, constant reminder of Gracelynn’s death.

That my sister died and I somehow survived.

That she lost her happy ending…

While I got my own.

My vision blurred before a lonely tear slid down my scarred cheek. God, I missed her. Especially today. I missed her easy smile and her deep laughter. I missed my sister, plain and simple.

My father’s hurt ego robbed my sister of her happily ever after. Of her unborn child and her love. How unfair it was that while he hated me; while I was always meant to be the victim of his elaborate murder plans – his real daughter turned out to be the casualty.

I thought I’d eventually become numb to the memories, to the pain of losing Gracelynn – but I was wrong. The pain never lessened. The misery never wavered. The guilt never eased. They were still heavy in my heart and my nightmares were a constant reminder of that. The anguish of that night; the despair of living with those memories; the grief of moving on without her.

“Julianna!” Mirai admonished. “You’re going to mess up your makeup.”

She dabbed my tears away, while mumbling under her breath. “No crying today, please.”

“I just–” I choked on my tears and swallowed my cry. “Sorry, you’re right. No crying today.”

“It’s a happy day.”

My heart swelled at her tender smile. “It’s a happy day,” I agreed.

Mirai took a step back and admired me from head to toe. She clucked her tongue in approval, nodding. “I can’t lie, I love this dress better than your other one.”

My wedding dress was simple compared to the extravagant one I wore to my first wedding. Yesterday, Killian had arranged for a wedding dress designer to come to the Island with over twenty dresses option. While they all ranged from simple to extravagantly beautiful, only one captured my eyes.

My chosen dress was composed of sheer lace and layers of tulles, with tiny flowers motif along the bodice and long sleeves, adding a whimsical touch. The bodice the dress was also delicately peppered with sheer of tulle, which complemented the sexy illusion neckline. Elegant and pretty.

I hoped Killian liked this dress. We were doing the “can’t see the bride before the wedding” ritual, and while he was pissed – of course, he was – Emily and Mirai had teamed up against him and had locked him out of the bedroom.

He pounded on the door for the first hour. He cursed a few times. Then tried to sweet talk me into opening the door for him… when that didn’t work, he went back to cursing.

After a while, Killian finally gave up.

Or I thought so.

My phone pinged with a message and I rolled my eyes.

“Does he ever give up?” Mirai mumbled.

I grabbed my phone off the vanity, only to see that it was in fact Killian messaging me. A giddy smile spread across my lips. “I guess not.”

Killian: Let me in.

Me: Why?

Killian: I want a kiss.