A/N: This is the most rushed epilogue I've ever written. I hope you enjoyed this chapter! it's late at night....I'm going to bed now.
Word count: 2408 of 50,000
Total word count: 44,626 of 50,000
*****Three years later*****
"Y/N!" Atticus calls out to you. He didn't hear a response back. He shakes his head and mumbles, "She always does this." Atticus calls out once more, "Y/N come on! You can't keep leaving without me!" Thud! The sound of something crashing to the ground made Atticus stop in his tracks. He then heard some incessant muttering. His feet lead him into the backyard. Atticus leans against the door and questions, "Y/N what are you doing?" You reply sheepishly, "One of the chairs fell over when I tried to pick something up." Atticus chuckles to himself. He helps you up and adds, "Just tell me if you need anything, okay? The last thing I want is my princess getting hurt before the wedding." You blush at his sweet remark.
Elsewhere, Zane looks out his window. It had been exactly three years since Atticus had proposed to you. Zane began to think of the people he faced in duels back at Duel Academy. It felt like a dream to him. Although, he didn't want to admit that he missed you. The phone suddenly rang. The sound made Zane almost jump out of his seat. Zane took a deep breath before answering the phone. He said, "Hello?" He heard his aunt's voice speak, "Hi Zane. Are you busy?" Zane was surprised. Your mother was usually busy so it was a surprise when he heard her voice. He replies, "Not at the moment. Is everything alright Aunt M/N?" Your mother answers, "I'm fine, dear. Although, I'm worried about Y/N." You call out in the background, "She worries too much, Zane!" Zane chuckles in response. Zane asked, "What were you saying earlier?" Your mother speaks once more, "Would you be able to come and visit? Y/N won't admit it but she misses you and Syrus a lot." Zane looks at the time and asked, "When do you want me there?"
Meanwhile, Atticus watches you read your book in awe. You say without looking up, "Stop staring at me, weirdo." Atticus replies, "I'm not staring, I'm admiring." You reply back, "It's still counts as staring." Atticus smiles at you, "Say whatever you want, princess. I think that you look adorable when you read with such focus." "Y/N!" You facepalm and mutter, "My mother has horrible timing..." Atticus laughs, "Looks like your mom needs you for something." He adds, "It's okay, I won't go anywhere." He kisses your forehead and you let out a huff.
A few minutes later, you find your mother washing the dishes. You said, "Mom, what's wrong?" Your mother asked, "Honey, are you really okay?" You give her a strange look, "I'm fine, Mom. I assure you that I'm fine." Your mother replies, "Your eyes don't match your words, Y/N. You're lying." You exhale sharply, "Fine...you caught me there." You add, "I'm nervous about the wedding." Your mother responds, "I'm surprised that you two didn't get married right away." You deadpan, "Mom, we were still in school...I don't blame Atticus for waiting." Your mother smiles, "Oh sweetie...I'm so happy that you found someone so sweet and funny." You reply, "Well, Atticus just gets me. He always know what to say whenever I'm feeling upset." Your mother chuckles, "Y/N, you've grown so much compared to back then." You feel a hand on your head. Your mother smiles once more, "Now, now. There's no need to be like that, sweetheart. You're doing the best that you can do. You're doing just fine when it comes to your relationship." She adds, "You've become less defensive than you were back then. I'm happy that you found someone who appreciates you for who you are." You both hear a loud crash from the garage. Your mother facepalms, "Your father is at it again..." You question, "Should I even ask?" Your mother replies, "Your father decided to show Atticus the artifacts that he collected during that expedition we went on two years ago." You hear another crash and hear your father call out, "We're okay!" You and your mom mutter, "Liar..." You look at each other and laugh.
A few hours later, Zane and Syrus see your parents' house in the distance. Syrus said, "It will be good to see Y/N again after a long time." Zane nods in agreement, "I wonder if Aunt M/N was telling the truth earlier." Syrus sighs, "You know how Y/N is, Zane. She'll hide how she feels until she starts to lose her mind." Syrus groans, "I hope uncle doesn't start rambling about artifacts again...I almost fell asleep the last time he did that." Zane chuckles, "Don't worry Sy, I'm sure Y/N will probably get him to stop somehow." Zane rings the doorbell and is greeted by your father. He said, "Boys! So good to see you again!" Zane asked, "Is Y/N here, Uncle F/N?" Before your dad could respond, they both hear a crash. They run into the living room and their eyes widen. Atticus sheepishly smiles, "Hey bro. What's up?" Atticus let out a groan, "Ow!" You give him Atticus an annoyed expression. You spin the bow in your hand and remark, "Hey Zane, Syrus." Atticus whines, "What was that for?!" You reply, "You were throwing around those books like they were nothing. Honestly...you are such a child sometimes." You add, "Put them back, Atticus. You don't want to see my dad when he's angry." He gulped, "Y-Yes, ma'am..." You rub your temples and hear your mother chuckle in amusement.
Moments later, Atticus rubs his head in discomfort. You said, "I'm surprised that you two came to visit. Aren't you busy?" Zane replies, "To be honest, there isn't really much for me to do." Syrus adds, "I missed you too!" Rayla laughs, "Those two haven't changed one bit." Zane asked, "How are things with you?" Before you could answer, Atticus wraps his arm around your shoulder. He said, "Things are going great with us." You remove his arm and answer, "Things have been the same for us. Other than Atticus's childish nature, nothing has changed for us." Atticus protests, "I am not childish!" You reply, "You are childish. You tried to juggle those books earlier, remember?" You shake your head, "Sometimes I wonder how I can deal with you." You sigh, "Nevermind that, you don't need to concern yourself with anything."
You look out at the night sky. "I thought that I'd find you here." You turn around, "Zane.." Zane questions, "Are you okay?" You look at the sky and answer, "I don't know. There are a lot of questions that I still have to ask myself. Sometimes I come out here to think. It made me think about being back at Duel Academy. Staring out at the sky like this calms me down for some reason." Zane asked, "Are you and Atticus okay?" You reply, "We're okay, Zane. There's no tension between us, I promise you that." Zane questions, "Why do you seem so tense?" You answer, "I'm worried about Atticus." You turn to him with worry-filled eyes, "He hasn't been acting like himself lately. I'm afraid that he's having second thoughts." Zane shakes his head in disagreement, "Atticus loves you. If you're worried, you should talk to him." You said, "Zane..." Zane adds, "Sy and I can come over anytime. Besides, you have a wedding to plan." You watch him leave the balcony. Aria speaks up, "My lady, you should speak with Atticus. You mustn't delay it any further. You will only make yourself feel more anxious if you keep putting it off like this." You exhale, "You're right, Aria."
Zane saw Atticus speaking with your father. Zane spoke up, "Hey Atticus." Atticus turns around, "Is something wrong, Zane?" Zane replies, "Y/N wants to talk to you." Atticus nods and replies, "I'll be right there." Your father asked, "Something wrong?" Zane shakes his head, "It's nothing to worry about."
You feel a pair of arms wrap around your back. Atticus said, "Princess, has something happened?" You ask, "Are you having second thoughts about...us?" Atticus was taken aback by the question. He replies, "Absolutely not!" You say, "You haven't been acting like yourself lately. You're making me worried, Atticus." His grip tightens when you say that. Atticus said, "I'm sorry for making you worry, princess." He adds, "It's just...thinking about this wedding is making me nervous. I just want us both to be happy." You feel his warmth leave for a moment. Atticus turns around and circles his arms close to your waist. You lean against his chest and reply, "I am happy. I just want this wedding to be the best one that we'll ever have." Atticus kisses your forehead and replies, "Don't worry, princess. I promise that I'll make you the happiest bride in the world." His nose brushes against your own before you feel his lips touch yours. He pulls away and kisses your forehead. Zane, Syrus, and your parents watch from a distance. Zane smiles to himself.
****A few months later****
Your mother and Alexis drag you out of the house. You ask, "Is this really necessary?!" You hear Alexis remark, "You're getting married, Y/N. I'm sure my brother won't want to see you dressed in a paper bag." You facepalm, "That's not exactly encouraging, Lex..." Alexis said, "You get what I mean, N/N." Your mother said, "Too bad none of your other cousins could come today." You groan, "Don't remind me...." Alexis said, "Let's find a dress that will make my brother speechless." Your cheeks darken in response to Alexis's statement.
Meanwhile, Atticus was joined by his friends as well as your father. Jaden said, "Hey Atticus, what's your deal?" Zane facepalms, "Atticus, calm down. You look crazy when you run around like a lunatic." Jesse sighs, "Well ya gotta stay calm, buddy. Y/N ain't the type of girl to give up on ya so easily." Syrus sighs, "We should stop talking and start looking for our suits." Atticus nods in agreement, "Yeah...we should go."
You look at the dresses and mutter, "This is going to be a challenge..." Rayla looks around, "I feel like I'm trapped in a nightmare.." Merlia snickers, "A nightmare? Ray, this is a huge moment for Y/N." Rayla's eyes suddenly sparkle when she notices a certain dress. You see a light rose dress sitting on a hanger. It had quite a bit of embroidery but it still looked quite stunning to you. Your mother said, "Y/N, that dress is absolutely beautiful." Alexis said, "You should go try it on." You were abruptly pushed into the dressing room. When you came out, both women were speechless when they saw you. Your mother said, "Oh honey...you look like a queen." Alexis was amazed, "Y/N, you look amazing!" You look in the mirror and you blink. The girl that looked back in the mirror didn't look like you. You said, "That's...me?" Your mother said, "You've found your dress, sweetheart. Atticus won't recognize you when he sees you."
Atticus looks at the sign and he lets out a sigh. He had finally found his suit. However, he was exhausted. Atticus just wanted to see you. Zane sensed that Atticus wanted to leave. Zane spoke up, "Hey guys, I think that we should get out of here." They all got their suits and left the store.
You see Atticus wave to you. Atticus asked, "Have you found a dress?" You nodded in response. Atticus takes your hand and remarks, "Let's go find a wedding cake, princess." Yu feel his fingers entwine with your own. He gives you a goofy smile. A few minutes later, you both arrive at the cake shop in amazement. You take your time to choose a cake. After minutes of deliberation, you both settle on a lemon meringue cake. You smile to yourselves and spend your last moments together before the wedding.
A few hours later, you were both getting ready for the wedding. Your mother and Alexis help you put on your wedding dress. You look in the mirror as your mother sets a tiara on your head. She smiles and remarks, "The finishing touch has been made." You see your dad tear up, "Y/N, you look like a real princess." You give him a gentle smile, "Thanks dad." He kisses your cheek, "You'll always be my princess no matter what happens." You watch as the doors open in front of you both. Your dad said, "Let's go sweetheart." You and your father walk down the aisle. You see the faces of all of your loved ones watching you. Your father put your hand in Atticus's. He said, "Atticus, take care of my daughter." He replies, "Yes sir." Zane said, "I'm honoured that you want me to give you away, Y/N." You remark, "You can be sentimental later, Zane." Zane chuckles in response. Zane spoke loudly, "Today, we're here to celebrate the union of these two people. Now, the bride and groom will say their vows." Atticus began to speak, "Y/N, my beautiful princess. You have lit up my world in ways that I could never think of. You make me so happy and I want to cherish every single moment I have with you. Thank you for making me the happiest guy ever." You take a deep breath and speak, "Atticus, you always pester me all the time. However, you make me happier than you'll ever know. Thank you for showing me a path I've never seen." Zane said, "I now pronounce you husband and wife. Atticus, you can kiss your bride now." Atticus lifts the veil and whispers, "Finally, I can call you my wife." He gives you a passionate kiss to seal his vows.
This was the start of a new life for you both. The future is bright for you both and you decided to carve a new path to it. This was the first time in three years that you genuinely felt happy. This was the start of a new chapter for you.
THE END