All Chapters of Married by Fate, Broken by Love: Chapter 221 - Chapter 230

Dylan's POVI stood near the entrance of the chapel long after Aliya and Martha disappeared along the moonlit garden path, and I found myself smiling without any particular reason other than the quiet contentment settling over me. The investigation continued behind me as officers carried evidence containers toward waiting vehicles, photographers documented the final rooms beneath the chapel, and prosecutors arrived to begin cataloging everything that would soon become part of one of the largest criminal cases in the country's history. Ordinarily, I would have been involved in every conversation, offering resources, coordinating logistics, and making certain nothing slipped through the cracks. Tonight, however, I discovered that my priorities had shifted in a way that felt both unfamiliar and completely natural. For the first time in years, I wanted my life to revolve around one person instead of one responsibility. The realization didn't frighten me. It felt like the future I had unkn

Dylan's POVThe news that Eleanor intended to attend the wedding somehow made everything feel even more real, and I watched Aliya's face brighten with the kind of joy that could never be manufactured or rehearsed. She smiled with her entire heart, her eyes sparkling beneath the morning sun as she listened to Martha relay the details of the conversation. Only a few days earlier, the possibility of meeting Eleanor had felt almost impossible, buried beneath decades of secrecy and unanswered questions. Now she wasn't simply alive. She was becoming part of our future, and that thought carried a quiet beauty none of us took for granted. I realized then that healing rarely arrived all at once. Instead, it came through moments exactly like this, where yesterday's impossible dream quietly became tomorrow's ordinary plan.Martha placed the phone on speaker so Eleanor could greet both of us properly, and her cheerful voice immediately filled the peaceful lakeside. "I hope I'm not interrupting an

Dylan's POVI thanked the elderly bookseller before purchasing the novel I had been holding, though I quietly added two more books to the stack after noticing Aliya pause in front of them earlier. She never asked for expensive gifts or expected extravagant surprises, yet I had learned that the quickest way to brighten her entire day was to place a good book in her hands. The shop owner wrapped each one carefully in brown paper before tying them together with a pale blue ribbon, smiling to herself the entire time as though she had already guessed they weren't really for me. When she handed the package across the counter, she leaned toward me ever so slightly and whispered, "Keep giving her reasons to smile." I nodded with complete sincerity because I had already decided that would be the easiest promise to keep for the rest of my life.Aliya waited patiently outside with Martha while I finished paying, and the moment I stepped through the door she looked at the neatly wrapped parcel wi

Dylan's POVThe kitchen quickly transformed into the most chaotic room in Aliya's apartment, and I accepted full responsibility for at least half of the disaster unfolding around us. I had confidently volunteered to cook dinner, insisting that my culinary abilities had improved significantly since the unfortunate incident involving burnt toast. Aliya, however, remained unconvinced from the moment I reached for the wrong cabinet three consecutive times before finally locating the frying pan hanging directly in front of me. She leaned comfortably against the kitchen island with her arms folded, laughing so openly that I found myself laughing with her despite becoming the obvious target of the evening's entertainment. It occurred to me that I hadn't heard laughter echo through a room this often in months. Somehow, every ordinary moment with her felt like another quiet victory over everything we had survived."I would just like the record to show," I announced while examining two nearly i

Dylan's POVAliya stood perfectly still beneath the magnolia tree, her gaze moving slowly from the weathered wooden bench to the quiet lake beyond it before finally returning to me. The gentle morning breeze carried a shower of pale blossoms through the air, scattering delicate petals across the stone path until the entire garden seemed wrapped in soft shades of white and pink. It wasn't the grandest place in the botanical gardens, nor was it designed to impress visitors with elaborate architecture or dramatic landscaping. Its beauty came from its simplicity. The peaceful silence, interrupted only by birdsong and the occasional ripple across the lake, made it feel like a place where promises naturally belonged. The moment I discovered it earlier that morning, I had immediately imagined Aliya sitting there, smiling exactly the way she was smiling now."You found this all by yourself?" she asked softly, still looking around with quiet admiration.I nodded."I came here just after sunris