The Broken Vows: Zane and Celeste’s Story (The Windsors)

“How could you possibly still be nervous?” Lex asks. “You marry the same woman every single year, and you’re still acting like she might not show up. It’s been ten years.”

I shift my weight and straighten my bowtie as I stare at the floral aisle we crafted on the beach on our private island. It’s rapidly become one of our favorite places to come when we want to be alone and focus on nothing but each other. “You don’t understand,” I tell him, shaking my head. “Every day, she has a choice, and every day, I’m grateful she chooses me. I won’t ever take that for granted.”

Dion sighs and throws me a smile. “Just let him be. We all have our little quirks.” I grin at him, understanding passing between us. Dion learned to fly a plane, despite his intense fear of flying, so he could take Faye to a different honeymoon destination every year — he gets it.

Marriage takes constant work, and the little things matter as much as the big things. It’s facing your fears and giving someone the power to destroy you, but trusting that they won’t. Trust. It’s something we took for granted until we lost it, and it took us years to rebuild it, but rebuild it we did. I’ve never felt more loved than I do with my wife, and the bond between us has never been stronger. She’s my partner in crime, my better half, and I don’t ever want her to feel like I take her for granted. It’s so easy to get caught up in life, to forget what matters most — and that’s exactly why we renew our vows every year.

Faye begins to play the piano, and I suck in a breath when the most beautiful girl in the world walks down the aisle, her pretty updo unable to contain all of her wild curls. My beautiful little Calista gets that from her mother. My daughter grins at me, and my heart skips a beat. She’s so gorgeous, my little baby, in her dress that no doubt matches her mother’s. Callie throws her rose petals around with such joy, and my heart warms. She’s got my green thumb, and our favorite activity is gardening together in her mom’s rose garden. Just the other week, I showed her how to create roses with colored edges using food coloring, and she was so enchanted. Celeste says I spoil her, but I don’t think that’s true.

“Daddy,” she says, her hazel eyes twinkling — her eye color is a perfect blend of Celeste’s and mine, but her smile, that’s all me. I lean down to lift her into my arms, and she giggles. “Daddy,” she chastises. “You know the rules. I have to stand next to Uncle Lex.”

“But princess, you’re so beautiful today, I’m not sure I can let you go.”

She laughs and wraps her little arms around my neck, hugging me tightly. I thought I couldn’t be any happier than Celeste and I were after our second wedding ceremony — but then Calista came into the world, and I realized there was so much more love left in me. I’m not sure what I’ve done to earn as much happiness as I have in my life, but I thank my lucky stars every single day.

Ares takes Callie from me, and she goes willingly, instantly creating a huge argument between all her uncles, who all want to carry her. I glance over my shoulder to find that Lex won, his gaze victorious. Callie told me not to tell anyone, but he’s secretly her favorite because he’s always handmade cool toys for her. Just the other day, Raya and Lex rocked up with a tiny excavator for her to ride in and dig shit up in the observatory. It was a nightmare, and I had to create some ground rules quickly before Celeste found out about all the damage.

Everyone falls silent, and I inhale sharply when my wife appears on her father’s arm, wearing one of Raven’s stunning creations. The press has a field day with our vow renewals. It’s become a game of sorts to guess what Celeste might wear each year, and after the photos inevitably leak, the dress sells out within seconds.

Celeste smiles at me when George places her hand in mine, and I grin back at her, my heart racing. It’s crazy how in love I still am with her. Every year, I fall a little harder. There’s something so beautiful about sharing your life with someone — about growing together and discovering new parts of each other in every stage of life. I love who she is as a businesswoman, a wife, and a mother. Neither of us is perfect, but fuck, together? This is as close to perfection as anyone can get. I just know it.

My stunning goddess squeezes my hand, and I lose myself in her eyes. She’s my best friend and the love of my life. Knowing that she loves me the same is so fucking surreal.

“Celeste,” I murmur. “On our ten-year anniversary, I have ten vows for you.”

Her eyes widen, and I know right there and then that she’d had the same idea. We’re still so perfectly in-sync, it’s crazy. She chuckles, and I wrap my arms around her waist, my heart overflowing with love.

“I vow to love you a little more each day, to appreciate you, and to honor you always. I vow to be faithful, and to be your partner as we navigate our ever-changing life. I promise to take your side and stand by you, to uplift you. I promise to be there when you need me, even if you don’t want me to be, and to push you to be the best you can be. But above all, Celeste, I vow to be yours, forever and always.”

Her gaze is filled with such love, and it’s a beautiful sight. “You stole my idea,” she says, laughing as she cups my cheek. “I, too, vow to love you forever and always, Zane. I vow to respect and honor you, to be faithful and appreciate you, to make you laugh, and to nurture our relationship. I vow to be your best friend, and to never stop challenging you, but above all, I promise to put you first, and to choose you every single day, even when you make it difficult by spoiling our daughter rotten.” She narrows her eyes then. “I know about the excavator, Zane.”

My eyes widen, and she bursts out laughing. I can’t help but follow suit, my heart filled to the brim with pure happiness. “God, I love you,” I whisper, moments before we’re pronounced husband and wife all over again.

“I love you more,” she whispers as she rises to her tiptoes, her lips finding mine. I sigh against her mouth and kiss her deeply, desire rushing through me when she steals away the peppermint candy I’d been sucking on. When she pulls back to look at me, that same desire pools in her eyes, and I grin, just completely overcome with devotion.

“Disgusting,” Lex mutters, and I glance over to find him covering our daughter’s eyes. Celeste shakes her head as we turn toward our guests, and my hand wraps around her waist. She leans into me as everyone rises from their seats and rushes toward us to congratulate us.

It’s such a blessing how genuinely happy our family is for us, and how happy we all are collectively. “Congratulations,” Sierra says, enveloping my wife in a tight hug. Celeste rests her head on Sierra’s shoulder, Mom’s hairpin sticking out from her bun. Each year, Sierra lends it to her, and each year, Celeste returns it along with a box of cookies Grandma taught her to make. It’s the only thing she can actually make flawlessly, even after years of cooking lessons from my mother-in-law.

I glance at Sierra’s husband, who shakes his head at both women. “How are they this emotional every single year?” he asks, crossing his arms in annoyance as he watches our wives hug a little too tightly for his liking.

Sierra glares at him from over Celeste’s shoulder. “Just remember, Xavier, I loved her long before I loved you.”

He reaches for her and pulls her away from Celeste and into his arms. “Just remember, Mrs. Kingston,” he says. “No one will ever love you as much as I do.”

Celeste laughs as she walks up to me, and I grin back at her. We made it. Despite the odds. Despite the heartache and pain, we made it.