Page 18 of The Truth Between

“Eden, do you take Soren to be your lawfully wedded husband, to have and to hold, to love and to cherish, in sickness and in health, till death do you part?” the officiant said.

“I do,” she whispered, and her voice quivered slightly. Her eyes were locked onto mine. I offered a reassuring smile, letting her know that we were making the right choice.

“Soren, do you take Eden to be your lawfully wedded wife, to have and to hold, to love and to cherish, in sickness and in health, till death do you part?” the officiant asked.

“I do,” I said with confidence.

“By the power vested in me, I now pronounce you husband and wife. Soren, you may kiss the bride.”

And as the officiant pronounced us husband and wife, the sound of birds chirping announced the end of our ceremony. Franklin, Molly, and our officiant offered a small round of applause as Eden and I leaned in and gave each other a small kiss on the cheek. Before she could completely pull away, I put a kiss on her forehead. It was a tender gesture that spoke volumes about the foundation of our relationship. It was one built on respect and understanding.

Almost everyone here knew the score about why this wedding was happening.

But it didn’t matter. What mattered was that Eden was now my wife. And I would do whatever it took to protect her.

As we turned to face our small group of witnesses, Franklin stepped forward with a bottle of champagne in his hand.

“Congratulations, Mr. and Mrs. Grant,” he said, popping the cork and pouring us each a glass.

We raised our glasses in a toast. The bubbles tickled our noses as we sipped the sweet liquid, and I turned to Eden as she giggled because of the champagne. It was a small, intimate celebration, but it was perfect in its own way.

As the day progressed, we took a stroll through the gardens, hand in hand, taking in the beautiful scenery and enjoying each other’s company. It was a moment of calm away from the chaos that swirled around us.

We clasped our hands together and walked into the small restaurant that I’d rented out for this occasion. Even though we’d gotten married for an unusual reason, I still wanted this to be a day that Eden would remember. She deserved to have a day where she could relax amid everything, and I wanted to give it to her.

Franklin and Molly sat at our table, and together, we had a delicious meal. I was grateful for what they’d done to ensure that this plan went off without a hitch. It had taken quite a few people to pull this together on short notice, but it needed to be done in order to save a life.

“Soren.”

I turned my head to look at Eden. “Do you remember the incident at the river when we were eight or nine?”

“Of course,” I murmured, not too thrilled to have that memory appear in my mind again.

“You jumped into the water without a second thought when you saw me struggling to get out,” she said. “Do you remember what you said when you rescued me?”

“I do.”

“You promised to always save me. No matter where in the world we were or what was going on. Including what you’ve done today.”

I nodded. “It’s a promise I intend to keep. There was no way I was letting him do that to you.” I knew what she was referring to. Her father’s plans that we’d now foiled because of us signing our names on that certificate.

“You will never understand how grateful I am for you and our friendship.” I could see tears starting to pool in the corner of her eyes.

“I know that you’ll be there for me too, if something were to occur. This was a no-brainer. Now stop crying, or else everyone is going to think that I upset you on our wedding day.”

That made Eden chuckle. “Fine. That would be the last thing I want.”

* * *

The memorysoon faded to black as I took another sip of the whiskey in my glass. Thinking better of it, I polished off the rest and placed the glass down gently on my desk, feeling much calmer than I’d been when I walked into this room.

Even when I thought of Iris, who always seemed to be present in my mind, I couldn’t get rid of the thoughts no matter how hard I tried.

It was then that I finally decided that it was time I did something about it.

10

IRIS

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