The constant, throughout, had been Rufus.
And there he was, waiting for her at the bottom of the staircase as she stepped carefully down, his reddish-brown curls temporarily tamed, a sprig of holly in the buttonhole of his suit jacket. A far cry from the half-dead man she’d dragged over the threshold a year ago.
‘You look beautiful,’ he said as she reached him, leaning in for a kiss before they’d even started on their vows.
She glanced over at her parents, still working. Still fighting for one another, even after everything had seemed so bleak. And Rufus’s parents, who had never faltered in their love for one another, even when they had faced the worst.
It turned out getting married was shockingly easy. Repeat after me. Sign here. Smile there. And then it was for ever—her and Rufus. Looking after one another. Looking after Upton. Bringing their families together. Fighting for each other.
For ever.
* * *