Beside him, a voice piped up.
"What did you say?"
Jason nearly jumped out of his skin.
He spun around to find Bella standing not two feet away, her brown eyes wide and sparkling with curiosity. She looked like she had just caught him stealing cookies.
"Shoot!" Jason clutched his chest dramatically. "You scared ! When did you even appear?"
Bella’s lips curved into an innocent smile. "I’ve been on this side for a while. And I heard you say sothing." She tilted her head, those bright eyes fixed on him. "What was it?"
Jason’s brain scrambled for an escape. "Nothing. I said nothing. I was just clearing my throat. Allergies. Mountain air. Very... polleny."
Bella’s smile widened. "You said ’lover boy.’"
"I did not."
"You definitely did."
"Evidence?"
"I have ears."
"Unreliable."
Bella laughed softly despite the chaos still unfolding behind them. "Jason, just tell . Who were you talking about?"
Jason glanced toward the path where Dom had disappeared. Then back at Bella. Then at the path again.
"Nothing!" He grabbed Bella’s shoulders and physically turned her face toward the altar. "I’m talking about your husband! Look how he was looking at you!"
Bella stumbled slightly, caught off guard, and found Leo’s gaze locked onto her from across the thinning crowd. His expression was sharp, not angry at her, but definitely not pleased. His eyes flicked to Jason, then back to her, and sothing in them said clearly: Co here. Now.
She did not need to be told twice.
"I’ll be right back," she murmured to Jason, already moving.
Jason waved her off, grinning like he had just pulled off the perfect distraction.
Bella walked quickly toward Leo, weaving through the last clusters of guests who were finally beginning to disperse. The wedding was over, not the way anyone had planned, but over nonetheless.
Around her, the crowd was thinning rapidly.
Nicolas’s parents had been among the first to leave. Valeria’s face had been carved from ice as she swept past, Richard following stiffly behind her, neither looking back. The sha clung to them like a second skin, visible in the set of their shoulders and the speed of their retreat.
Hazel’s parents lingered longer. Jenna’s eyes were red, but she held herself tall, pride and sorrow warring on her face. Kevin kept a protective arm around her, his jaw tight, his gaze fixed on the path where his daughter had disappeared.
Eventually, they too turned and walked away.
The beautiful mountain venue, once filled with flowers and hope, now stood nearly empty. White chairs sat abandoned. The golden arch frad nothing but sky.
And Leo waited for his wife.
When Bella reached him, his hand found hers imdiately, his fingers lacing tightly through hers.
"Jason?" he asked quietly, his voice carrying that dangerous edge that made people instinctively step back.
"Being Jason," Bella answered, already knowing that tone.
Leo did not reply. His jaw tightened almost imperceptibly, his gray eyes fixed on Jason across the nearly empty venue. The ssage was clear: We will talk later. Jason, wisely, pretended to be very interested in a nearby flower arrangent.
Leo’s gaze swept the area, taking in the scattered guests, the abandoned chairs, the golden arch now framing nothing but mountain and sky. His parents were leaving, Alessandro and Lina walking stiffly toward the exit, their expressions unreadable, followed by Nonna, who looked back once at the empty altar before disappearing.
Jay and Jace had already sprinted off after Nicolas, likely ensuring the man regretted every decision that had led him here.
"So..." The minister’s voice cut nervously through the quiet. He was still standing near the front, clutching his book, looking utterly lost. "Should I leave too? I an, I was paid, but—" He gestured helplessly at the empty chairs. "The wedding is... cancelled?"
Leo turned to look at him.
For a mont, he simply studied the man, his nervous hands, his uncertain posture, the way he kept glancing toward the exit as if he wanted to run.
"No," Leo said finally.
The minister blinked. "No?"
Leo’s gaze shifted to Bella. Sothing flickered in his eyes, warmth, mischief, and sothing deeper that made her heart skip.
He glanced around the venue. It was nearly empty now. Just Leo, Bella, the confused minister, and Jason standing nearby, watching with wide eyes.
Leo turned back to the minister. A slow, dangerous smirk curved his lips.
"You can continue," he said calmly. "This is and my wife. We want to marry again."
Bella’s eyes went impossibly wide.
"What are you saying, Leo?" She grabbed his arm, her voice dropping to an urgent whisper. "How can we? We’re already—we’ve been married for—"
"Shh." He pressed a finger gently to her lips, silencing her with a look so soft it made her heart ache. "Let’s rember our vows again. That ti, we barely knew each other." His thumb traced her jawline, slow and tender. "Now we can renew them. For real this ti."
Bella searched his face, looking for a joke, a tease, any sign that he was not serious. She found none.
"But still..." she whispered, her voice trembling. "I’ve never heard of soone marrying again like this."
"Then we’ll be the first." His smirk returned, softer now. "We’re already a lot of firsts for each other."
She blinked rapidly, fighting the tears threatening to spill.
Behind them, Jason had stopped pretending to admire flowers. He stood frozen, his mouth slightly open, staring at the scene unfolding as if he had wandered into a romance film without buying a ticket.
"And he," Leo continued, gesturing toward Jason without looking away from Bella, "can be our guest. The only witness we need."
Jason pointed at himself, eyes comically wide. "? Witness? I’m—okay. Yes. I accept. I’m honored. Soone pinch ."
Bella let out a wet laugh, torn between crying and smiling.
"Leo..." She shook her head slowly, disbelief and love tangled in her voice. "You’re crazy."
"Crazy about you." He took her hand, holding it firmly. "So? What do you say, Mrs. Moretti? Want to do this again? Properly this ti?"
She looked at him, this man who had gone from stranger to husband to everything, and was now asking to marry her all over again.
The tears spilled over.
"Yes," she whispered. "Yes, you ridiculous, wonderful man."
Leo smiled, a full smile that transford his entire face.
He pulled her close and kissed her right there, with the mountains behind them and Jason as their only witness.
The minister, still standing nearby with his book, cleared his throat uncertainly.
"So... shall.. I begin?"
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