Chapter 14 - THE WOMAN WHO CHOSE HIM TWICE
Michael barely slept.
At nine the following morning, he arrived outside Claire's apartment carrying nothing but a small bouquet of white lilies.
He had chosen them carefully.
Not because they were expensive.
Because they were the same flowers Claire carried when she first visited him in the hospital.
She opened the door wearing jeans and a pale blue sweater.
No makeup beyond a little lipstick.
No elaborate hairstyle.
She looked more beautiful to him than she had on their wedding day.
“Flowers?”
“I thought they might improve my chances of being invited inside.”
Claire smiled.
“You're already invited.”
Her apartment was smaller than any home Michael had lived in since childhood.
Books covered one wall.
A half-finished puzzle sat on the coffee table.
There were photographs of her family near the window.
It was unmistakably hers.
Michael liked that.
They had spent the previous year rebuilding trust through ordinary things.
Dinner reservations.
Long conversations.
Disagreements they no longer avoided.
There were evenings when Claire still became frightened by unexpected sounds or unfamiliar cars.
There were days when Michael struggled with anger about the people who had betrayed him.
They both continued receiving professional support.
Neither pretended love alone could resolve trauma.
But something had changed.
They no longer expected the other person to be a cure.
They had learned how to be partners.
Claire sat beside him.
“I've been thinking about our wedding.”
Michael's chest tightened.
“Which part?”
“The part where I didn't get to marry you.”
He looked down.
“Claire—”
“Let me finish.”
He nodded.
She took his hand.
“For a long time, I was afraid that if we tried again, we'd only be doing it to erase what happened.”
Michael remained silent.
“I don't want to erase it.”
“Neither do I.”
“That day changed us.”
“Yes.”
She smiled sadly.
“But it doesn't have to define everything that comes afterward.”
Michael felt his eyes begin to burn.
Claire continued.
“I loved you when you were angry at the world.”
She squeezed his hand.
“I loved you when you were afraid to let people see how much you were hurting.”
Then she smiled.
“And I love you now, when you spend half your afternoons arguing with an eight-year-old about whether Pluto should be a planet.”
Michael laughed through tears.
“She makes a compelling argument.”
“She really does.”
Claire reached into a drawer.
When she turned back, she was holding a small velvet box.
Michael recognized it immediately.
His wedding ring.
The one he had purchased before the ceremony.
The one he believed would remain forever associated with his humiliation.
“Walter gave me this after the investigation,” Claire said.
Michael stared.
“You kept it?”
“Yes.”
“Why?”
“Because I wanted to be the person who decided what it meant.”
She opened the box.
The simple gold band caught the morning light.
“Michael Bennett, I don't want to marry you because I feel sorry for you.”
His breath caught.
“I don't want to marry you because I think you need someone to make you whole.”
Tears blurred his vision.
“And I certainly don't want to marry you because I'm afraid to disappoint three hundred wedding guests.”
She smiled.
“I want to marry you because I love the man you've become.”
Michael reached for her hand.
“Claire, are you asking me to marry you?”
“Yes.”
His laugh broke into a sob.
For years, he had believed strength meant never showing emotion.
Now he couldn't remember why.
“Yes,” he whispered.
Claire leaned forward and kissed him.
They held each other for a long time.
Then Michael pulled back.
“There is one thing I need to ask.”
“What?”
“Can we have a small wedding?”
Claire laughed.
“How small?”
“Thirty people. Maybe forty. No one who comes simply because they're afraid not to.”
“Agreed.”
“And Lily has to be there.”
“Of course.”
He smiled.
“She'll probably try to reorganize the ceremony.”
Claire raised an eyebrow.
“She already has.”
Michael stared.
“What?”
Claire reached for a folded sheet of paper on the coffee table.
It was covered in colorful handwriting.
At the top, Lily had written:
RULES FOR MR. BENNETT'S REAL WEDDING.
Michael began laughing.
Then he reached the final rule.
THE BRIDE MUST GET TO THE ALTAR, AND NOBODY IS ALLOWED TO MAKE MR. BENNETT CRY UNLESS THEY ARE HAPPY TEARS.
Michael looked at Claire.
She smiled.
“Well?”
May you like
He pulled her closer.
“I think we have ourselves a wedding planner.”
