Epilogue

~ 2 years later ~

"Ana! 5 minutes till go time!" Sarah yells from the other side of the door

"I'll be right out" I reply as I take one final look in the mirror.

I stand still, letting the moment stretch. I exhale slowly, steadying myself.

In the mirror, I see a version of myself I've never quite met before. There's something in her eyes; something calm, certain, happy. I almost don't recognize her. She is ready to walk down the aisle to the love of her life.

Her white dress is everything: soft, structured silk with a draped neckline and a full skirt that sweeps the floor. The slit down one side catches the light as she shifts her weight, revealing the flash of red soles beneath. And the pockets -oh, the pockets- because even as a bride, she needs a place to tuck her hands in.

Her hair falls in soft waves, tucked behind one ear, her pearl-drop earrings catching the light every time she moves; her sister gave her those and they used to belong to their mom -they're her something borrowed. On her wrist hangs a bracelet with a single blue butterfly charm that used to be hers and that her fiancé had kept for the last 17 years -it's her something blue. The groom is her something old and something new at the same time.

She's glowing -not because of makeup or lighting- but because she's standing at the edge of something that feels so entirely right.

She is me. Cherished. Loved. Surrounded by family. My family.

"2 minutes!" Sarah knocks again

"Ok, boss" I chuckle.

I wipe my tears carefully and go for the door. She helps me step out without messing my dress.

"Are we having second thoughts? I can get the car ready" she suggests

"No, no second thoughts" I reassure her

"Good, because Specter took my keys away already" she admits

"Why would he do that?" I chuckle

"He said something about you realizing you are out of his league and running away..."

"Yeah, right" I laugh.

We walk away from the bridal suite and head to the ceremony area. Sarah helps me hold my dress as we go down the stairs.

Two years ago, I couldn't even imagine us being here. We barely knew each other, and she only knew whatever villainized version of me out father had given here. But after the opening of mom's will and our short discussion, she decided to cut ties with him.

She came and found me in Boston. I helped her write her withdrawal letter from Harvard. I encouraged her to spend the rest of that academic year doing whatever she loved in order to really taste of freedom and figure herself out. We were constantly in contact while she traveled all around Europe. And later, she applied to colleges by herself.

She was living with me when she opened her acceptance letter to Cornell University College of Veterinary Medicine. And it was perfect timing for it, because I had already started considering moving back to New York permanently.

Planning a wedding with a long-distance relationship was very difficult. Harvey and I never had time for appointments, our schedules barely had shared time off and it becoming very stressful. That's why we did little to no planning during the first year of our engagement. That year truly showed me how bad things could get if we continued to live this way.

So we moved.

Harvey was ecstatic when I told him. He hadn't mentioned it in a while because he knew I was going through some things while repairing my relationship with my sister. He was my biggest supporter. But I could see how much he wanted it.

We began looking for houses immediately and we were fully moved in together in our new home within 3 months. I found a job relatively quickly and we got into our new routines pretty fast. That's also when wedding planning really took off.

Which brings us here today...

My eyes fill with tears as the music begins and we turn the corner. Harvey meets my gaze as soon as I step on the aisle. The guests rise, but I hardly see them. My eyes are already on him.

Harvey is at the end of the aisle, standing tall in a black tux, a quiet smile blooming across his face. His eyes -those same eyes that looked at me across takeout containers at the law firm's library 17 years ago are locked on mine.

I can't look away. The closer I get, the clearer I see the tears in his eyes. Mike, who's standing besides him, pats his shoulder with the biggest grin across his face.

I reach the end of the aisle. Harvey steps forward and takes my hand. 

"You are stunning, I love you so much" he says, rubbing my hand

"Right back at you, handsome" I chuckle in my attempt to stop crying.

The ceremony begins, but I can't pay attention to the officiant when Harvey is looking at me with the most loving eyes I've ever met. And I know I've made the right decision.

"Harvey, do you take Anastasia to be your lawfully wedded wife? Do you promise to love, honor, and cherish her, to stand by her in good times and in bad, in sickness and in health, for as long as you both shall live?" the officiant asks

"I do" Harvey's answers without looking away from me.

"Anastasia, do you take Harvey to be your lawfully wedded husband? Do you promise to love, honor, and cherish him, to stand by him in good times and in bad, in sickness and in health, for as long as you both shall live?" he asks

"I do" I answer with the biggest smile on my face.

"Lovely. Now, the couple has written personal vows. Anastasia, would you like to begin?".

Sarah hands me the booklet with my written vows. My hands shake as I open it to the right page. Harvey notices and takes my free hand. He gives me a reassuring squeeze and reminds me to take a moment.

"Harvey..." I breathe out as more tears fill my eyes. "Despite a million reasons we shouldn't have crossed paths -different cities, different lives, the timing never quite right- somehow, life kept leading us back to each other. And now, as I stand here in front of you, in front of everyone, I know with every part of me that this was always where we were meant to be.

"We've had our highs; the kind you replay in your head late at night and blush. And we've had our lows; the kind that made us question everything. But no matter what, we always found our way back to each other. Even when it was hard, even when it would've been easier to walk away, we chose each other.

"I don't know where I'd be today without you, Harvey. You walked back in my life, and colored every single part of it in a time that I was drowning while keeping everyone else above the surface. You are the best person I could have ever asked for during some of the worst moments of my life. You stood by my side and you did it unconditionally. And you loved me so much that I stopped caring about the ones that didn't".

A tear rolls down my cheek, but I don't let myself feel sad for my father's absence. This is our day.

"You made it safe to be soft again. You saw the parts of me I tried to hide, and you never flinched.You made love feel like home. Not perfect, but real. Deep. Steady. So today, I promise to meet you with that same kind of love. I promise to show up on the best days, and especially on the hard ones. I promise to listen, even when it's uncomfortable. I promise to laugh with you, fight fair with you, grow with you. I promise to choose us, even when life feels heavy. And I promise to never take you for granted.

"You are my home, Harvey. My calm. My chaos. My favorite surprise.And I choose you in this moment, and in every one after it" I close.

I look up at Harvey and he's in tears. He hasn't let go of my hand nor took his eyes away from me. I let go and wipe his tears away with my gentle fingers. He takes my hand from his face and kisses it.

"I love you" he mouths before kissing it one more time.

He reaches back and Mike hands him the booklet with his vows.

"My Ana..." he begins, and I'm in tears again. "It was a fortnight; 14 days. That's how long it took me to fall for you" he looks at me for a moment with a small smirk.

"I kept count because I didn't want to admit it at first. I told myself I was just curious, just drawn in. But somewhere between your laugh and the way you talk with your hands, I knew I was gone.

"Over the years, that feeling has only deepened. Not just the spark, but the quiet certainty that I want every day with you. The hard ones. The simple ones. The ones we'll never see coming.

"You've changed me in ways I didn't know I needed. You softened the sharp edges. You challenged the parts of me that needed to grow. You reminded me that love doesn't have to be loud to be strong.

"We've been through so much. Moments that nearly broke us, moments that put us back together. But through it all, I kept choosing you. And you kept choosing me. That's what makes this special.

"So today, I promise you I will love you in the quiet and in the chaos. I will be your calm when the world feels loud. I will show up, not just in the grand gestures, but in the small, steady ways that count. And when life feels uncertain, I will hold on tighter because I never want to imagine a world without you in it.

"You are the greatest thing that'd ever happened to me, Ana. I will spend the rest of my life proving you how much I love you, cherish you and trying to be the man you deserve".

By the end we are both in tears. Sarah retouches my make up quickly as Harvey pulls himself together as well. We return to our positions, exchange rings, and the ceremony comes to an end.

"By the power vested in me, I now pronounce you husband and wife!".

With a swift move Harvey wraps one arm around my waist, captures my cheek with the other, and kisses me in front of everybody. His hand slips downwards from my waist until it reaches my thighs. And while still kissing me, he raises my leg from the slit of my dress.

We pull away with the biggest smiles as everyone else cheers. "Dr. Anastasia Specter..." he smirks

"Wife of Harvey Specter, the best closer in New York" I add

He almost moans, "I love you so fucking much"

"I love you more" I reply.

We kiss again. And just like that, every wrong turn, every late night, every almost and maybe and not-yet was supposed to lead us right here.

Bring it on, forever. We're ready.

The end.