Chapter 46 - Under the Oak Tree
Elena walked down the wooden path holding Daniel’s hand.
No one gave her away.
That had been deliberate.
She belonged to herself.
Daniel wore his navy suit and carried the rings inside a tiny wooden box Dante had carved.
“Remember,” he whispered.
“What?”
“I’m ring security.”
“Of course.”
At the end of the path, Dante stood beneath the oak tree.
He looked stunned.
Elena wore a simple ivory dress.
Rebecca’s pearl hairpin rested in her dark waves.
No extravagant diamonds.
No dramatic train.
Nothing chosen to display status.
Only Elena.
When she reached him, Dante whispered, “You’re beautiful.”
“I know.”
He laughed.
The ceremony was short.
Carol performed the legal honors after joking that nobody should trust Dante and Elena to complete paperwork without attorney supervision.
Then came the vows.
Dante went first.
“I spent most of my life believing strength meant being the person nobody could hurt.”
He looked at Daniel.
“Then your mother taught me strength can also mean giving someone enough trust that they could hurt you—and believing they won’t.”
Elena’s eyes filled.
Dante continued.
“I cannot promise you a life without storms. We’ve already proven storms are attracted to us.”
Guests laughed.
“But I promise I will never stand in front of you when you ask me to stand beside you.”
Elena squeezed his hands.
“My turn?”
“Please.”
She looked at him.
“When I first woke up in that hospital, everyone kept telling me I was safe.”
Her voice trembled.
“I didn’t believe them.”
Silence settled across the meadow.
“Safety sounded temporary. Like a locked door someone stronger could eventually break.”
She glanced toward Daniel.
“Then I learned safety isn’t a building.”
Her eyes returned to Dante.
“It is knowing your voice matters. Your choices matter. Your boundaries matter.”
She smiled.
“And loving you has never made me smaller.”
Dante closed his eyes briefly.
“That is why I choose you.”
Daniel whispered loudly, “Now kiss.”
Laughter erupted.
Carol sighed.
“I suppose the ring-security officer has spoken.”
They exchanged rings.
Then kissed beneath the oak tree.
Cheers exploded.
Daniel jumped between them immediately.
Dante lifted him.
Elena wrapped both arms around them.
For a single perfect moment, the photograph captured later would become everyone’s favorite.
Not because it looked elegant.
Because all three were laughing.
The celebration continued into evening.
Gino danced badly.
Paul danced worse.
Carol danced with both of them merely to prove she could.
Nicholas gave a toast.
“I grew up believing being a Moretti meant something was wrong with me before I had a chance to decide who I was.”
He raised his glass toward Elena.
“She taught me family names are stories. And stories can be rewritten.”
Rebecca cried openly.
Daniel fell asleep at nine-thirty beneath a table before Dante carried him upstairs.
Later, Elena and Dante stood alone on the porch.
“Mrs. Bellarosa?” Dante teased.
“No.”
He smiled.
“Worth trying.”
“Elena Moretti.”
“I know.”
She looked at her wedding ring.
“Maybe Elena Moretti Bellarosa.”
Dante raised an eyebrow.
“That’s approximately seventeen syllables.”
“We’ll survive.”
Inside, the telephone rang.
Once.
Twice.
Rosa answered.
A moment later, she stepped onto the porch.
Her expression was serious.
“Elena.”
Something inside Elena instinctively tightened.
“What?”
“It’s Colorado.”
Dante’s smile vanished.
Rosa swallowed.
“Matteo Moretti was taken to the prison medical unit this afternoon.”
Elena stared.
“Why?”
“Advanced heart failure.”
May you like
Rosa paused.
“They don’t think he has long.”
