Page 16 of Tell Me You’ll Stay

“You look breathtaking, sweetheart.” I bend to kiss the shell of her ear.

“You don’t look so bad yourself, Mr. Romanoff.” A radiant smile crosses her face, eyes shining with unshed tears.

“Bienvenue.” The French priest, dressed in formal vestments, steps forward between us, looking at the small, intimate gathering with a warm smile. He holds a leather-bound bible in his hands and begins. “We are gathered her today, surrounded by the beauty and the warmth of family and friends, to join Maxim Romanoff and Liliana Colette Delacroix in holy matrimony. Love is not a face that can be contained by distance, nor broken by fear. It’s an anchor in the storm; a promise made between two souls who recognize their home in one another.”

“Maxim, if you are ready, please recite the vows you have prepared for Liliana.” The priest turns his gaze toward me, nodding slowly. I turn to face my future wife, taking both of her hands and holding them against my chest, right over my heart. I look deep into her eyes and speak from the depths of my soul.

“Liliana, eight weeks ago, you vanished into the night, leaving me with nothing but a memory that consumed every waking second of my life. I spent days hunting through crowds and scanning faces to find the woman who stole my heart. I didn't know your real name, I didn't know where you lived, but I knew, with every fiber of my being, that my life was entirely meaningless without you in it." Liliana lets out a soft, shaky breath, and a tear slips down her flushed cheek as she squeezes my hands. “I promise to love you, to protect you. I promise to honor your fierce spirit, to cherish the family we’re building together, and to spend the rest of my days proving that I’m the husband you deserve. You’re my home, Liliana, forever.”

“Liliana, please recite your vows to Maxim.” The priest smiles warmly once she’s able to gather her emotions.

“Maxim.” She takes a deep, shuddering breath, her hands trembling in mine. “When I met you, my life wasn’t my own. It was bound by expectations, arranged alliances, and silent fear. I ran away believing I had to hide from the world to protect myself, you, and our unborn child. I thought you were a fleeting dream I would forever have to mourn in secret.” She pauses, letting out a soft laugh, her eyes searching mine. “I never expected a man like yourself to cross the world, outsmart my past, and barge through the gates of my life to find me. You’ve shown me what it truly means to be seen, to be cherished, and to be fiercely protected. You gave me the courage to stand beside you.” She moves our hands from my chest to hers. “I give you my life, my love, and my absolute trust,” Liliana guarantees softly. “I promise to stand by your side through every battle, to build a home filled with joy and laughter for our child, and to love you beyond measure for all the days of my life.”

“By the power vested in me, and before God and those who love you,” the priest announces, raising his hand in a solemn blessing over our joined hands, “I now pronounce you husband and wife. Maxim, you may now kiss your⁠—”

A loud, jarring commotion shatters the moment. The heavy iron gate of the garden bursts open with a harsh clang, followed by the frantic shouting of estate security guards trying to restrain two people marching down the stone pathway toward us.

I instantly pivot, dropping my hands from Liliana’s and sliding my body firmly in front of hers, positioning myself as a shield between my wife and the threat. My jaw clenches as my eyes lock on exactly who’s forcing their way and being stopped by Ghost.

I knew this could happen; we prepared for it while the girls were getting ready.

Henry and Eleanor Delacroix.

He looks disheveled. His suit is wrinkled, and his face is red with fury as he attempts to push past Ghost. Eleanor follows close behind, her hands fluttering in a dramatic flair.

“This is an absolute farce!” he roars. His voice echoes as he points an aggressive finger toward Liliana. “This wedding is null and void! Liliana, get over here right now. You are under contract to marry into the Vance family.”

“Do you have any idea the scandal this will cause?” Eleanor screeches, adjusting her necklace. “You belong with the Vance family. You cannot throw your entire future away on a whim!”

A heavy, suffocating silence falls over the terrace. I take a step forward, ready to haul these two off the cliffside, but before I can say a word, a sharp tap echoes against the stone.

Mamé steps forward. The matriarch rises from her front-row seat, standing tall and regal. She leans lightly on her cane, her dress unruffled, her eyes flashing with a cold fury that commands the entire space. She turns her head slowly, looking over Henry and her daughter with disdain.

“Arrête de parler!” Stop talking, she says in thunderous French, slicing through the air like a razor slicing open a package and cutting off Henry’s tirade. Her son-in-law freezes in his tracks, blinking in shock as the formidable woman glares at him. “Vous êtes une hunte!” Mamé snorts, her voice dripping with contempt as she takes two measured steps toward her son-in-law, tapping her cane hard against the pathway. “How dare you barge onto my land, into my home, and spew your pathetic greedy madness at my granddaughter’s wedding! You think you can arrange a marriage for her? You think you own her?”

“Eleanor and I have rights—” Henry stammers, trying to regain his footing.

“Rights?!” Mamé scorns loudly, letting out a sharp, dismissive laugh that echoes across the terrace. “Bah! You have nothing! You are a small, arrogant man who built an empire on illusion! Let me remind you of something, Henry Delacroix. If it were not for my family’s wealth, my connections, and my money backing your initial ventures, you would still be a peon beneath my shoe! Sans mon argent, tu ne seraise rien qu’un petit péquenad sous ma chaussure!” She reiterates it in her native language. All the while, Henry’s face pales, and his jaw drops open as Eleanor gasps, clutching her pearls in humiliation.

Henry attempts to take another step toward Madeleine, but Ghost blocks his path, unfazed, holding a satellite tablet in one hand while two French police officers enter the scene.

“Mr. And Mrs. Delacroix,” Ghost says smoothly, his voice devoid of any emotion. “Your escort is here to take you back to the airport. Come with us.” The officers step forward, firmly taking Henry and Eleanor by the arms.

“You can’t do this!” Henry sputters, trying to pull away, but the officers hold him with iron grips, turning them around and marching them briskly back down the garden path. “I will not be humiliated like this!”

“Enjoy the flight home, Henry!” Mamé calls out cheerfully after them, waving her delicate hand in the air with dismissive satisfaction.

Our group has a hard time holding back their laughter, Mischa and Cory specifically. Gennie and Romy clap their hands in sheer delight while the men in our group casually cough into their fists.

“Now, where were we?” the matriarch says smoothly, looking at the priest with a warm twinkle in her eye.

I turn back to Liliana, pulling her straight into my arms. I don’t wait for the priest to repeat himself. I bend my neck, and my mouth crushes hers with a deep, fierce, intoxicating kiss that claims my wife completely. The small crowd erupts into loud cheers, applause, and joyful laughter. The sound rings out over the sparkling night and the Mediterranean Sea. Liliana wraps her arms around my neck, and her lips part under mine as she kisses me back with everything she has, sealing our vows, our family, and our future together under the setting sun in the distance.

CHAPTER THIRTEEN

liliana

The wild commotion that happened nearly thirty minutes ago could never ruin the here and now. The evening air is warm with a soft breeze, and strings of fairy lights twinkle through the branches, casting a golden glow over the terrace. Down below the cliff, the sea laps gently at the rocks, and the low hum of the jazz playing blends right along with it.