The Power of Salvation

by Passarelli, Caterina

  “Give me that, bad boy!” I exclaim, extending my left hand as Luke slips the most mesmerizing diamond on my ring finger. “Oh Luke, it’s perfect.”

  “It better be. You already said yes,” Luke laughs as he kisses my temple while I cuddle into his side with Oscar resting on his lap.

  We ride off to the penthouse where we make our engagement night one to remember. The future Mrs. Vulcano was thoroughly fucked.

  Chapter thirty-three

  Six Months Later

  The buzz of a tattoo gun sends chills down my spine. Even though I already have a tattoo, thinking about the needle piercing my skin still scares me. Once you get one, you forget the pain you previously went through. This feels like a fresh fear, which is ironic because the reason we are here is my idea in the first place.

  Yesterday Luke and I sealed the deal, officially making ourselves Oscar’s married mommy and daddy. We had a Las Vegas ceremony in a tiny, charming white chapel just off the strip with our close friends and family members—Serena, Lisa, Eric, and mom. I never thought I’d get married. And if I did entertain the idea in conversations with girlfriends, I never thought I’d fly off to Vegas to do it.

  Yet, it felt right.

  I didn’t want to plan out some big extravaganza when the only thing I want in this world is to be Luke’s wife. Simple as that. I don’t care about flowers, seating arrangements, pictures, or any of that bridal stuff. Don’t get me wrong; I support girls who want that. I applaud them for having the sanity to put themselves through all that planning. Opening one bridal magazine nearly gave me a panic attack. I closed it and never looked back.

  Mom gave me a hard time about the Vegas wedding. I’m trying hard to learn how to handle my relationship with her. Some days I want to slip back into the mode of pretending I don’t even have parents, but then I remember the heartache I felt when I knew my chance to build a relationship with dad was gone.

  I can’t let that happen with mom. We speak but I definitely don’t kiss her ass or hold back my thoughts; however, I include her as much as she wants to be included. Turns out, she wanted to see her only child get married.

  “Ariana, you sure about this?” Luke asks.

  “Hell yeah!” I cheer as we take our seats in chairs next to each other. “Why? Do you want to back out?”

  His arms and chest are covered in art, but I’ve learned those were all his own designs. This was something I asked him to do. Maybe he changed his mind? My heart sinks at the thought that he wouldn’t want to put this on his body too.

  “I’m ready. I love this idea,” he reassures me before leaning over from his chair to give me a kiss. “I have a feeling this will be my new favorite tattoo.”

  Walking into the room are two tattoo artists covered in masterpieces themselves ready to give us some new ink.

  “Mr. and Mrs. Vulcano, you guys ready to do this?” Sam, the guy doing my tattoo, asks.

  “Let’s do it,” Luke says, and I nod in agreement.

  The second the needle hits my skin I curse under my breath, which must have been louder than I thought because Luke laughs at me. He doesn’t even flinch considering this tattoo takes about ten minutes and he’s been worked on for hours before. I don’t care who you ask, it still hurts like hell.

  After thanking Sam and Jeff, we leave the tattoo parlor hand-in-hand.

  “Let me see yours again!” I order in pure excitement.

  “If I knew getting a tattoo with you would be this fun I would have came up with the idea myself months ago,” Luke says as he shows me his left hand.

  Both of our ring fingers on our left hands sport new tattoos. They can easily be concealed by our wedding rings when we are allowed to slip them back on. Right now we can’t wear them as our tattoos heal.

  On Luke’s finger—a ‘K’ on top of a heart.

  On my finger—a ‘Q’ on top of a heart.

  Like a deck of cards, King and Queen of hearts.

  At St. Francis, I won’t wear my wedding ring because who the hell knows what each day will bring and what gross body part I’ll be sticking my hand in. I don’t want to ruin Luke’s gift, but I want him to be a part of me.

  Forever. Just like our vows. We vowed to love each other forever and always.

  And that’s what we’ll do.

  We’ll struggle. We’ll fight. We’ll want to scream at each other.

  But we’ll also love each other deeply. Truly.

  He’s the man who has rescued my heart. And I hope I’ve done the same for him.

  We saved each other from our dark paths. He’s made me believe in the power of salvation.

  We’ll start our own family and give our future babies the love we never had. I know we will.

  We’ll live Happily. Ever. After.

  The End

  If you or someone you know is in need of help, please contact The National Domestic Violence Abuse Hotline:

  (800) 799-7233

  www.thehotline.org

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  xoxo

  Caterina

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  With Love

  My amazing readers, thank you for allowing me to tell my stories. I am honored each and every one of you take the time to read these words.

  To my parents & siblings, thank you for all your support in everything I do. For believing in me, guiding me and always having my back. Love you guys!

  AD, thank you for being my muse. Your mom would be extremely proud of the man you’ve become.

  To the people responsible for helping me bring this story to life. Duncan Koerber for editing my words and helping me brainstorm ideas to make Luke and Ariana’s story shine. To Najla Qamber for her patience & extreme talent in designing this beautiful cover.

  To Team Movement, without the support of my fun loving fitness family I would never have the guts to go after any dream. And to Beachbody, who if I never partnered with to be a coach I would not have the freedom to spend time writing.

  To Lauren, thank you for letting me pick your brain about all things medical & emergency rooms. I greatly appreciate all the time you took to explain your career with me!