Page 67 of Ex- Factor
The heavy courthouse door shut behind us with a final echo. The late afternoon sun poured golden light over everything. Eshe clutched my hand, the new ring on her finger catching the sun. Ekon was on my hip. She turned to say something—and then the world exploded.
In sound.
Brilliant blue and silver sparks burst in the air.
Standing on the courthouse steps, grinning like madmen, was Cassius, lighting another fountain firework with the tip of his cigar. Anel, Jonas, Naomi, and West stood nearby, shaking their heads.
“What the hell?” I laughed, pulling Eshe closer.
“Are you crazy?” Eshe shrieked, still smiling. “Cassius, that’s illegal! The police areright here! The jail isright there!”
Right on cue, the courthouse door opened again. Two sheriff’s deputies stepped out, looking deeply unimpressed. They glanced from us to our crew.
Cassius, unfazed, waved with his cigar.
A tense silence followed. Eshe held her breath.
One of the deputies, an older man with a thick mustache, cracked a smile. He nudged his partner. “Relax, Henderson. It’stheir wedding day.” He looked at Cassius. “You got a permit for those, son?”
“Nope!” Cassius called back. “But I’ll donate to the sheriff’s office!”
The deputy shook his head, smiling wider. “Go celebrate somewhere else. And clean up your mess before you go.”
He turned and went back inside with his partner.
The second the doors shut, Angel screamed, “YOU’RE MARRIED!” and sprinted up the steps to crush us in a hug.
Chapter forty- Eshe
“Who would’ve thought we’d end up like this?” I whispered, my voice barely louder than the breeze spilling through the open glass doors. The night air was warm, thick with the scent of salt and blooming jasmine. The waves played percussion in the background, soft and steady.
“One day, you just showed up at my house and never left.” I let out a low laugh, my fingers trailing down Silas’s arm where it rested heavy across my waist.
We were stretched out naked across the bed, fresh off the plane, finally starting our honeymoon. Our skin was still damp from the shower, the sheets cool beneath us, the air conditioner humming low in the background. Silas's fingertips moved in slow, lazy circles on my hip like he was trying to memorize me all over again.
He chuckled, deep and husky. “Not me. I always knew.” His lips grazed my temple. “Back then, I didn’t even believe in happy endings. But you…” He exhaled, voice catching just a little. “You gave me mine.”
We lay there for a beat, soaking in the quiet, the comfort, the miracle of it all.
“Feels like a song,” I murmured. “Some ‘90s R&B joint… We’re in the music video—me, you, this bed, the ocean just outside.”
Silas smirked. “If it’s a song, then you gotta give me the hook. Sing it to me.”
I laughed, burying my face in his chest. “You don’t want me to sing. I’d sound terrible.”
He tightened his arm around me, pulling me closer until I was flush against him, our legs tangled. “I know. I’ve heard you.” He laughed. “Doesn’t matter. I’d still want it.”
His voice dropped, quiet and serious now. “I’d take your off-key forever over anyone else’s perfect.”
That made me pause. Made me swallow hard.
He kissed my forehead, then my cheek. “Thank you,” he whispered. “For choosing me. For staying. For seeing me through the worst parts of myself and still loving me anyway.”
I blinked back sudden tears. “You don’t have to thank me. We chose each other.”
“I know,” he murmured. “But I still thank you. Every day. You made me believe in things I thought I’d buried a long time ago.”
I wrapped my arms around his neck, resting my head against his shoulder. My throat tightened. I turned to face him, eyes locked on his. “I wrote vows for you. I couldn’t find the words when they counted… but I want you to hear them now.”
