The Officer's Runaway Wife & Secret Son novel Chapter 605

The chapel was built right onto the edge of a cliff, backed by the endless expanse of the azure ocean. The view was breathtaking.

Simon hopped out of the car and opened her door.

"Clara."

Simon gestured toward the building, a warm smile in his voice. "We're at the location. Go inside and take a look for yourself."

"You're not coming in?"

Simon took two steps back and shook his head. "My job here is done. Go on, go open that door."

Clara looked past him toward the entrance framed by creeping floral vines, her heart suddenly pounding against her ribs.

She walked up the stone steps one by one. The heavy oak doors were shut tight, and the only sounds were the calls of seagulls and the crash of waves against the rocks below.

She pushed, and the sound of the hinges turning echoed into the grand space.

The moment the doors opened, Clara stopped breathing.

It was an absolute ocean of white roses and eustomas.

Massive floral arrangements cascaded from the vaulted ceiling, trailing all the way down both sides of the aisle. A delicate floral scent mingled with the ocean breeze, filling the entire chapel. Tiny water droplets clung to the petals, catching the light filtering through the stained glass windows like scattered diamonds.

It looked like heaven on earth.

And standing at the very end of the petal-strewn aisle was the man she knew better than anyone else in the world.

Rhys was wearing a custom black suit. His frame had fully returned to its lean, imposing strength, but the usual sharpness in his eyes had entirely melted into the soft, radiant glow of the room.

His left hand was holding Felix, who was dressed in a miniature matching suit complete with a tiny red bow tie. Felix was holding a flower basket and grinning cheekily at her.

In his right arm, Rhys was holding their daughter, dressed in a fluffy white dress with a delicate flower crown resting on her head.

The pews on either side were filled with their family and friends.

Clara's mom was already dabbing at her eyes. Aunt Mia sat beside her, fingers laced with Mason's. Liam and his wife sat with their twins, who were quietly munching on cookies. Daniel stood straight as an arrow, holding Ezra in his arms, while Emily sat beside him, waving excitedly at Clara.

Chief Sean and the officers sat near the back, with Alex and Winston Turner on the opposite side. And sitting among them was someone entirely unexpected.

Noah Carter had returned.

He was sitting to Winston's left. When he saw Clara looking his way, he offered a warm, familiar smile and nodded.

Except for Simon, everyone else had arrived on the island a day early.

It suddenly all clicked for Clara.

No wonder they had all been acting so suspiciously. This was what they were planning.

A specific memory began looping in her mind.

At her first wedding, the room had also been filled with guests, but that day Rhys had left in a rush, leaving her with nothing but the sight of his retreating back.

That was the worst possible start to her marriage.

She thought she had moved past it, thought she had let it go.

But seeing the chapel Rhys had built, seeing all the most important people in her life gathered here, seeing him standing at the altar with their son and daughter...

Clara finally realized that the thorn buried deep in her heart was only just now being pulled out by his hands, dissolving into warm tears.

"Mom! Come here!" Felix bounced on his heels. "We've been waiting for you forever!"

Clara's dad stepped forward and offered her his arm.

It was the exact same gesture he had made all those years ago.

When he had walked her down the aisle back then, he had whispered, "If you ever feel wronged, I'll bring you right back home."

Except in her memory, her father's hair had been completely black. Now, it was mostly white.

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