Post wedding chapters - After the Last Guest
The garden had quieted.
Lanterns still flickered in the trees, casting dreamy shadows on the grass, but the laughter, music, and camera flashes had faded into the night. Rhea sat barefoot at the edge of the dance floor, her saree now slightly loosened, her baby nestled against her chest in a sleepy sigh. Her fingers brushed gentle circles over the baby's back, her mind still reeling—not from the ceremony, but from the stillness afterward.
Lex approached with two mugs of warm chamomile tea. "It's just us now," he said softly, settling beside her.
"I know," she murmured. "And yet, it doesn't feel real."
Lex didn't speak right away. He reached over and tucked a strand of hair behind her ear, then rested his forehead against hers. "I keep thinking about the look you gave me when you walked down the aisle. I felt like the whole world stopped."
Rhea smiled quietly. "I wasn't thinking about the world. I was thinking, finally."
They sat like that, shoulder to shoulder, the baby breathing softly between them. The moon hung low and full above them. Somewhere far off, a fox barked. The garden was theirs now.
"I don't think I've ever felt this still," Lex said, looking at the sleeping baby. "She's... everything. You're everything."
"I used to think I'd live a life of running," Rhea said. "But somehow, with you and her, I want to stay."
He reached for her hand, and she squeezed his fingers tightly.
And in that quiet, unremarkable moment, surrounded by flower petals and echoes of laughter, they knew something unshakable had begun.