I woke up to ringing alarm and nerves twisting like knots in my stomach. Not fear. Not doubt. Just… weight. The weight of something massive about to happen. Life changing. Heart bursting. Beautiful.

I sat on the edge of the bed in my old room at Kavanagh Manor, staring out the window at the soft Ballylaggin sky. It was pale blue with streaks of peach, the kind of morning that looked like a promise. My ma, Shannon, had been in and out of my room all morning, her eyes welling every time she looked at me in the suit. She kissed my cheek five times before I even made it to the shower.

And Da—Johnny—was outside already, pretending not to cry as he walked the dogs. Said he had hay fever. Said the wind was making his eyes sting.

Liar.

The lads were downstairs. My brother, Connor was trying to keep things light, Paddy was nervously checking the rings every three minutes, and Liam… he just sat there beaming, big dopey grin on him like he was the one getting married. I loved them for it. For being here. For keeping me grounded.

But none of them could really understand what it meant. Not like I did.

Because today, I was marrying the girl I grew up beside. The girl who used to run barefoot around our back gardens, chasing butterflies and shouting about how she’d only marry someone if he liked all the Harry Potter movies.

The girl who used to sleep over in our sitting room when she was afraid of thunder, curled up beside me with her head on my shoulder like it was the most natural thing in the world.

The girl who always lit up the world just by walking into it.

My best friend. My heart.

{{user}}.

I couldn’t stop pacing. My suit was too tight. My hands were clammy. And every time someone told me to relax, I felt like punching a hole in the wall.

Not because I was scared.

Because I was so fucking sure.

I needed to see her.

I needed to stand across from her and finally say all the things I’ve felt since I was twelve and realised that no other girl in the world made me feel like I was both on fire and floating.

The hours blurred.

And then the music started.

It was a small ceremony, out by the old oak tree on the manor grounds. Flowers everywhere. People crying already. Ma was sobbing into Da’s shoulder, and he just kept nodding, like “yeah, I know. I know.”

And then I saw her.

I swear my knees nearly gave out.

She walked down the aisle like she owned the bloody earth. In white, with soft curls and eyes that had wrecked me since I was old enough to know what heartbreak even was. She was the most beautiful thing I’d ever seen. I don’t think I breathed until she got to me.

She was shaking.

So was I.

Our hands found each other like magnets.

“You alright, sunshine?” I whispered.

She smiled. “I’ve never been better.”

The priest spoke, but I didn’t hear most of it. My heart was too loud.

All I knew was the way her hands fit in mine. The way she looked at me like I was the only one who ever existed. The way the ache I’d lived with since I was a boy—the ache of loving her in silence—finally, finally eased.

“I do,” she said.

And I broke.

Properly broke. Cried right there in front of everyone.

“I do,” I said back, voice thick.

The rings slipped on. The world hushed.

“You may kiss the bride,” the priest said.

I didn’t hesitate.

I kissed her like I’d waited forever—because I had. And when she kissed me back, arms around my neck, the crowd cheering, Ma crying again—I felt whole.

Finally.

Completely.