Chapter 98: Lucy's Secret Wedding

By the time the day changed direction, nobody in the room was prepared for where it would lead.

Lucy stages a ceremony in the inn garden using paper flowers, with Owen as reluctant officiant and Eleanor as the guest of honor.

Adrian understood that the next choice would be remembered long after the explanation. The old marriage had been built on assumptions. Whatever came next would have to survive questions, boundaries, and the possibility that love might not be enough.

Instead of correcting her with embarrassment, Claire and Adrian make vows only as parents: honesty, presence, and no promises they cannot keep.

"Those vows count even if there is never another kind."

Adrian did not reach for a solution. He stayed, listened, and allowed the consequence to belong to him.

After Lucy sleeps, Adrian reveals he has accepted a teaching position in New York.