Amala’s eyes softened as she stood among the crowd, watching Lola take the altar with Atlas. Even with the children happily clinging to their father’s legs, it did nothing to diminish the breathtaking image everyone was witnessing.
She studied the glowing smile plastered on Lola’s face and finally let out a relieved sigh. There were traces of tears, yes—but she wasn’t bawling. Instead, she was smiling like a fool, her eyes shimmering as if the entire universe lived in them.
What she was looking at wasn’t just a dream come true. It felt more like... an answered prayer. And seeing Lola reach this point in her life—considering the version Amala had met all those years ago—was enough to sting her eyes.
"Goodness," she chuckled shallowly, arching a brow as she turned to her side with a teasing smirk. "Haji, are you crying?"
"Crying?" Haji scoffed, immediately rubbing his nose and sniffing. "Why would I cry? Is it my wedding?"
He recomposed himself and glared at Amala, only for a tear to slip down Amala’s cheek at the same moment.
"..." Haji cleared his throat and straightened his back. Quietly, he shoved a hand in his pocket and, without looking at her, handed her his handkerchief. "Wipe those things. Doesn’t suit you at all."
"Haha..." Amala dabbed the corner of her eyes before refocusing her attention on Lola, nodding in satisfaction. "Oh, I’m so happy for her."
Haji huffed and shot Amala a side-eye, then glanced toward the altar. He pressed his mouth into a thin line, smacking it after a moment as the corners of his eyes squinted, just barely smiling.
"I guess someone finally graduated from this... whatever this place is we’ve been trapped in for like forever," he muttered. "Good for her."
"Just say you’re glad and relieved," Amala teased. "She won’t hear you anyway."
Haji shot her a brief side-eye, then shifted his gaze to Lola. "Mhm," he hummed, letting himself soften for a moment.
"I’m relieved... more than the meaning of the word."
They shared warm smiles, letting the scene imprint itself on their memories. One way or another, the three of them—four, counting Silo—had always found themselves in the same boat. And even though they came from different worlds, Lola had helped them rise and heal, even while she herself was still broken.
So, watching her finally find a place where she felt at home—a place where she belonged—was one of their proudest moments. After everything they had seen her fight through alone, today felt like a reward.
"Huhu..."
Amala and Haji raised their brows and turned toward the sound of weeping and found Silo. For some reason, he was standing among the Bennets: Penny, Slater, and Nina.
"You’re really a good friend, huh?" Penny muttered, awkwardly patting his back. "Stop crying. People might think you’re attending a funeral."
She handed him a handkerchief, which Silo immediately snatched to blow his nose loudly.
Slater wrinkled his nose. "It’s a funeral for him for sure."
"Why?" Nina blinked innocently. "Did something bad happen to him?"
Amala chuckled and approached, quietly joining the group. "His heart. It just broke."
"Yeah, don’t mind him," Haji added with a snort, clicking his tongue in dismay at Silo. "Good friend, my ass. He’s crying because the man he loves is marrying his best friend."
"Shut up—" Silo sobbed harder. "You don’t know the full story. I loved him first."
Nina pursed her lips and awkwardly reached out to pat his back. "Don’t cry anymore. I mean... First Brother doesn’t swing that way. You didn’t have a chance to begin with."
"..."

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