Olivia
Two years later, I stood in a small, sun-drenched room at the back of a historic courthouse. My reflection in the antique mirror showed a woman I barely recognized. I was wearing an elegant, cream-colored dress, my hair was swept up in a soft, romantic style, and on my left hand, the diamond that had belonged to Ethan's grandmother sparkled next to a simple, gold wedding band.
Today, I had married the love of my life.
Our wedding was nothing like the grand, society affair that Ethan's father had originally proposed. We had opted for a small, private ceremony at the local courthouse, with only our immediate families and a few close friends in attendance. Mia was my maid of honor, her vibrant pink hair a joyful splash of color against her lavender dress. Jake was Ethan's best man, looking uncharacteristically nervous and incredibly proud.
Ethan's father had cried during the ceremony. My own parents had beamed with a quiet, profound happiness. And Dylan, looking healthier and stronger than ever, had served as our ring bearer, his smile the brightest thing in the room.
After the ceremony, as our families gathered for a celebratory lunch, Ethan stole me away.
"I need to show you something," he'd said, his eyes gleaming with a familiar, mischievous light.
He led me to his car, the beloved Bronco, which had a "Just Married" sign taped haphazardly to the back. He drove us out of the city, towards the rolling hills and picturesque countryside that surrounded our university town.
"Where are we going?" I asked, my hand resting on his on the center console. The feeling of his wedding band against mine was a new and wonderful thrill.
"It's a surprise," he said, his grin infuriatingly smug.
He eventually turned down a long, gravel driveway, at the end of which stood a beautiful, old farmhouse. It was a classic, two-story building with a wide, wraparound porch and big, welcoming windows. It was surrounded by acres of open land, with a large, red barn in the distance.
"It's beautiful," I said, admiring the property. "Who lives here?"
"We do," he said simply.
I turned to stare at him, my jaw dropping. "What?"
"I bought it," he said, his voice a mixture of excitement and nervousness. "With some of my trust fund money that I'm not using for philanthropy. I know we were planning on getting an apartment in the city after graduation, but then I found this place. And I just… I could picture it. I could picture us here."
He got out of the car and came around to open my door. He took my hand and led me up to the porch. "I know it's a little crazy. And it's a lot of work. The barn needs a new roof, and the fields are all overgrown. But it's ours. A place away from the noise. A place to build a life."
He looked at me, his eyes full of hope and a little bit of fear. "What do you think? Is this too far off the five-year plan?"
I thought about the old Olivia, the one who had her life mapped out in color-coded spreadsheets. She would have been horrified. A farmhouse in the country? It wasn't part of the plan. The plan was a power-couple apartment in a high-rise, a stepping stone to a townhouse in D.C.
But I wasn't that Olivia anymore. That Olivia hadn't known the joy of a trivia night victory, the comfort of a late-night confession, the breathtaking thrill of a Ferris wheel kiss. That Olivia hadn't known that the best things in life were the ones you could never plan for.
I looked at the house, at the wide-open fields, at the endless, blue sky. And then I looked at my husband, at his handsome, hopeful face. This wasn't a detour from my future. This was my future.
"It's perfect," I said, my voice thick with emotion. "It's absolutely, completely perfect."
The relief that washed over his face was a beautiful thing to see. He swept me up in his arms, spinning me around on the dusty porch of our new home.
"I love you, Olivia Chen-Brooks," he said, his voice full of a happiness that mirrored my own.
"I love you, too," I said, laughing as he set me down. "But if you think this means we're getting a petting zoo, you are sorely mistaken."
He just grinned, that same infuriating, charming grin that had turned my world upside down from the very beginning. "We'll see, Madam President," he said, his eyes twinkling. "We've got a lifetime to negotiate."
He leaned in and kissed me, a long, slow, promising kiss. We had started with a bet, a reckless gamble on a lie. But we had ended up with the truth. And as we stood on the porch of our new home, with a lifetime of unplanned, beautiful moments stretching out before us, I knew, with a certainty that settled deep in my bones, that we had both won.