Chapter Twenty: I Love You
Eight long years have passed since Manny visited Chris in prison. She never went back after that day. As soon as she got home, she made arrangements to adopt Jonathan and the process passed quickly. She was soon eighteen years old with three children. Now she was twenty-five years old. The day she had been waiting for since she was a child was finally here. She was getting married.
Emma was the maid of honor, and Paige and Heather were bridesmaids. Jason was there to give her away, and Spinner and Jake stood with her soon-to-be husband. Marco, Dylan, JT, and all of Manny's other friends she graduated with were there. Jake and Paige had gotten married the year before, and Emma and JT hadn't set a date for their wedding yet.
On this day, Manny was the happiest she had been in a long time. Lily and Lucas were now nine years old, and Jonathan was eight. Lily was the flower girl, and Lucas and Jonathan were both ring bearers.
"And Manuela Santos: do you take Jimmy to be your lawfully wedded husband? To have and to hold, to love and to cherish, in sickness and in health, until death do you part?" the priest asked her. She opened her mouth to answer, when she heard Lily and Lucas yell.
"Daddy!" they yelled in unison. Manny turned around to see Chris standing halfway down the aisle. Everyone gasped.
"Manny! Don't do it! I love you!" he yelled to her. "I know you said you couldn't wait, but we were supposed to get married! Don't you remember?" he asked, holding up the ring she had left on the table eight years ago. "I'm out now, and we can be a family." Manny wiped a stray tear from her cheek and sighed.
"Chris," she said. "As much as I love you, I can't marry you. I've been with Jimmy for eight years now, and I love him. I'm sorry Chris, but it's too late. It's always been too late," she said. "I'll always love you Chris, remember that okay?" Manny turned back to Jimmy and looked straight into his eyes. "I do," she finally got to say.
"You may now kiss the bride," the priest told Jimmy. He obeyed and kissed Manny long and hard, something he had been waiting for ever since he spoke to her by their lockers at the beginning of their senior year in high school. Chris turned around and started to walk away.
"I'll always love you too Manny," he whispered as he left the church.
A/N: The End! How was it? I know this chapter is short, but it was meant to be. Never fear! There will be a third and final story! I'm not going to write it until At Last is finished though. I also have another story for Degrassi that I'll start as soon as I can. Hope you liked it.