Epilogue 2

-Two Years Later-

I might have to start coming to terms with the fact that I’m often wrong. I was wrong about Grant not being my soulmate. I was wrong about Zagreus Hart being a polluter. To my eternal surprise, I was also wrong about fate not dropping a wedding in our laps.

Because a wedding has been dropped right in front of us. A wedding that’s everything that I could ask for and more.

Here we are, Grant and I, on a beautiful beach on the other side of the world as a gift from Zagreus Hart. We’re at his private resort, which is undergoing some renovations, so it’s closed to all but a few of his personal guests. Oddly enough, they’re all from Vancouver, like us.

There’s Grant and I. We were gifted this trip as a congratulations for a recent win against some major polluters. Then, there’s Darwin, from games night, and his wife, Phee. They did some work on a story about ghosts who were haunting an industrial building who died of lax regulations and it inspired Mr. Hart to fix up the place and make it an animal shelter. There’s also the most opposite-looking couple I’ve ever seen, even though they’re both named Casey. He’s the Prime Minister’s son and rockstar, while she’s some goth genius who works contracts for Mr. Hart. Then, there’s a pair of doctors, Ivy and Heath—at least that’s what they say. It’s a little hard to believe. He’s wearing a pink sparkly speedo, apparently on a dare, and said he just found the tickets to this trip on his doorstep and passed them off as a surprise.

His wife is not happy about that.

Weird.

Except, what’s even weirder is the fact that there was everything needed for a wedding set up on the beach. Grant tried to argue that this was our sign, but I insisted it was just a coincidence.

At least until the only other guest, the ninth guest, piped up and offered that she’s a licensed officiant. And this is where I had to concede a point to fate—that lady was Dr. Debbie.

She didn’t write a chapter on surprise weddings, so I had to ask her if she thought I should get married. She just placed a hand on my shoulder (completely contradicting her ‘no unwanted touching’ chapter) and told me to remember the preface: you get out of relationships that which you put in.

And, with Grant, I want everything. Which means I’m all in.

Unfortunately, that also meant I have to admit that Grant is right, and I’m wrong. A wedding—our wedding just fell into our laps.

The whole group came out to sit on each of the six chairs that were set up to witness us as we got married in front of the pinks and purples of the day’s end. Because who am I to argue fate?

As we stand on the beach at sunset, holding each other’s hands, whispering promises to our small crowd of guests, to Dr. Debbie, and to the fickle fabric of time, I take a moment to appreciate this moment.

I appreciate every moment that Grant and I have spent together and every moment that will come. I appreciate that each day blazes past like a meteor lighting up the sky and vanishing into darkness.

After our ‘I do’s’, I look up into Grant’s beautiful, chocolate eyes. “I love you,” I tell him, emotion flooding my voice.

He gives me a roguish wink. “I know.”

I laugh, reflecting on the fact that it’s Grant that I most appreciate. Call it fate or the machinations of Zagreus Hart, I’m just grateful that we found each other.

I guess I also appreciate that I’m wrong so often. Especially with this. The pessimist in me prods at the corner of my brain in what should be the happiest moment of my life, whispering that this is all too convenient. That everyone here wasn’t so much gifted a trip so much as they were rounded up and moved out of the way.

That’s ridiculous though. There isn’t always some nefarious plot. It isn’t like Zagreus Hart sequestered us all here because… well, why would he do that?

I guess the short goth girl contracts for him and is a super genius or something, so she’d be the one to most likely figure out if he was up to something. Then, I guess the ghost couple has the biggest social media influence so they would be able to expose him if they found out he was up to something.

The other couple, though? Doctors? Barring some hidden superpower, I can’t imagine they’d be a threat to him.

No, no. This is all crazy. This is classic, pessimistic me. Besides, Grant and I are of no threat to Zagreus Hart, even if he had some nefarious plan.

Unless, of course, he knows that Grant is the Garnet Defender.

I push those thoughts away as Grant sweeps me into a life-altering kiss when Dr. Debbie invites him to kiss his bride. He kisses me like I’m his air, his life. He kisses me like there’s no tomorrow.

His kiss makes my stomach come alive with butterflies. They fizzle in my belly like champagne, making it feel like I’m lifting off my feet.

Or, like I’m rising impossibly fast in an elevator.

He’s still kissing me when someone in our group asks, “Does anyone else feel weird? Like you’re falling upwards?”

I grab Grant and pull him even closer, kissing him with everything I have. I can’t say for certain what’s happening, and I have no way of knowing what’s to come. I do know, however, that we can endure whatever fate decides to throw our way.

We can face anything when we’re defended by love.