Tears spring into my eyes. “I’m so sorry that I doubted you.”
“Hush, I don’t blame you, Ali. I would even be surprised if you didn’t. I was the one who should apologize here. You and our daughter needed me but I was never there. I’m sorry, Ali. Once you get to see our daughter, please tell her that Daddy is sorry,” Alexandros answered gently.
He closed the distance between us and kneeled in front of me just to wipe my tears. He was the King and yet, he didn’t seem to care even if he had to bend his knee for me.
“Hush now, love. You’ve been crying since you came here. Seeing you hurt hurts me as well.”
“Do you… do you still love me?” I asked instead. That was the only question she had now, and probably the most important question of all.
Alexandros smiled and it made my heart leap. “I never stopped loving you. I lasted this long because of you. I tried to overcome everything for you. Because you mean not just the world to me, Alison. To me, you are the entire universe.”
I cupped Alexandros’ face. Looking back, I realized that all of the descriptions of the hero in the books I wrote always had one or two of his physical attributes. Their personalities were also similar to him. Maybe because deep inside, I never really wanted to move on from him. I was badly hurt, but I didn’t want to forget even the pain. Because pain became my only way to connect with him, to remember him, and to keep feeling that familiar beat in my heart intended only for him.
But I couldn’t admit it to myself at that time. It felt wrong. “It must have been hard to stay in love with me, but why-“
“It was not hard to stay in love with you, Ali. It was missing you that was hard,” Alexandros corrected.
A sob escaped from my lips. I helplessly pressed my forehead against his.
“I still love you, too, Xandros. Nothing has changed. But I… I don’t know what to do. Please tell me what to do. If I would hold onto you, if I would fight for my feelings, I will get hurt. But if I let go, I know I will also get hurt. So, please tell me,” I added in a pleading voice. “Where do I go from here? What should I do so I wouldn’t get hurt anymore?”
“I wish I could tell you. I wish I have the answers. But I don’t, Ali.”

“I STILL owe you that wedding, love.”
Those words from Alexandros had woken me up this morning. I thought he was only kidding. But here I was now, in the middle of the ice field, walking on the red carpet towards my very first love. My dream still came true. We were still getting married.
The venue and the guest list might have changed. But my white gown was more beautiful now than before. And the place… was perfect. I had come to appreciate the snow now. It covered the ground, yes, but it made things look… pure.
Everything and everyone were magical. When I stepped out of the castle, the snow disappeared. But when I climbed down the carriage, petals started falling from the sky. It was like Alexandros invited everyone in the kingdom.
There were kids playing around in one corner, some of them were running while some were floating. Strange, but I could finally see that even their magic had its own color. Everyone here possessed different magical colors. Even Clavia was here, giving off an emerald glow. And their colors made the place vibrant.
Everyone was happy. The women were as teary-eyed as me. It would have been better if Demi was here, too. I shook my head at the thought. Today was a lovely day. I didn’t want to entertain negative thoughts today.
I stared at the man who was waiting for me at the altar. After so long, I get to see Alexandros’ bright smile again. I get to see his whole face light up. This was a miracle itself. A sweet smile curved my lips. It had been a month of pure bliss since I came here.
For the past days, Alexandros and I did nothing but to travel around the kingdom. There was no place like this in my world. Every spot was picture-perfect. We ate together and laughed around just like the old times.
After eight years, I gained my talkative self back. We would lie together in bed every night and Alexandros would listen to my story about me and our daughter. He didn’t mind whether I would end up talking till dawn. Instead, I could see longing in his eyes while listening intently to my every word.
I could see him trying so hard to make it up to me. And Alexandros had already done so much. Every morning, I would wake up feeling grateful for his overwhelming love and would sleep peacefully in his arms at night, assured of our love and blessed for having him again.
I would also embrace and kiss Alexandros as much as I could. Our happy days were back, but we both avoided talking about the book. It was like we had a silent agreement never to discuss anything about it yet.
What I had with him for the past years was something different. It was beautiful, and then it was ugly, and then it was beautiful again. And in between those beautiful and ugly moments, those hot and cold, it was unbelievable how we managed to keep falling in love with each other.
When I reached the altar, Alexandros quickly held my hand as if he couldn’t wait anymore. I felt happy that’s why I didn’t know why I suddenly felt nervous.
Alexandros and I were about to start something utterly beautiful. But why… why do I feel things were about to end instead?