Loved You Once But He's My Forever (Chloe)

We had chosen to keep the wedding simple, but that didn't mean we cut corners when it came to the preparations.

We decided on an outdoor, vintage-style wedding. Damian cleaned the cabin from top to bottom and filled the courtyard with ambient lights. The entire area, within a few miles, was decorated with the cabin as the centerpiece-even the arched bridge was draped with twinkling lights, and a red carpet stretched across the ground.

Unlike my previous two weddings, the first one with Luke had been weighed down by gloom and uncertainty. I had even planned to expose his affair with Wisteria right there at the ceremony. By then, it wasn't even a real wedding anymore-it felt more like a final reckoning for our long, tangled relationship. And in the end, my death became the closing chapter of our story.

Now, as I stood on the brink of marrying Carl, I was genuinely looking forward to it, yet a lingering unease clung to my heart.

Maybe it was because I still didn't know when the so-called death curse would strike. A quiet anxiety gnawed at me.

It felt as if my first wedding had been doomed from the very beginning.

Maybe it was fate at play-pushing me to fulfill a wish I had made a thousand years ago.

When I closed my eyes, I could almost see a young girl kneeling beneath a cherry blossom tree, desperately pleading for her beloved to return safely. He had promised that once he came back, he would marry her.

But she waited for years, and he never returned in victory-only the news of his death reached her.

Carl wrapped his arms around me from behind. "What are you thinking about?" Only then did I realize Everly had been tugging at my hair and chewing on it for quite some time, but I had been too lost in thought to notice.

"I was thinking about my beloved general."

Carl froze for a moment. "You remember everything?"

I smiled softly. "Of course. I remembered a long time ago. General, I've come to fulfill our thousand-year promise."

Carl's eyes reddened slightly at my words. He pulled me and the baby into a tight embrace. "You fool."

Everett, who had been lying on the bed, saw us hugging and eagerly crawled toward us.

Then, he tumbled off the bed with an audible thud.

But he was a brave little boy. Even though he had fallen, he didn't cry. Like a little turtle, he scrambled toward me, inch by inch, stretching out his chubby hands as if nothing had happened.

I chuckled. "Alright, alright, our family has to stay together-no one gets left behind."

I handed Everly to Carl. The two kids were too heavy for me to carry at the same time, and my body wasn't strong enough to handle both.

Bending down, I scooped Everett into my arms and gently tapped the tip of his nose. "Hello there, my little general."

Philippa, ever so talented, had hand-stitched several sets of outdoor-friendly outfits for the children, knowing we were having an outdoor wedding.

Outside, Zoey was directing Harlan on where to hang the decorations. "A little to the left... no, right side!"

Annoyed, Harlan turned around—only to see Zoey completely immersed in her game, yelling into her mic, "I told you there were enemies in the left and right bushes! Are you blind?"

Harlan was speechless.

Bill and Nicholas worked tirelessly, moving with practiced efficiency as they secured the string lights in place. By nightfall, the entire area for miles around was bathed in a dreamy sea of glowing lights.

The Sanders had come all this way for the wedding. Kate supported Josh as he walked—after getting his prosthetic leg, his gait was so seamless that no one could tell he had ever been injured.

Greg, a master of woodworking, busied himself with setup around the courtyard.

Finally, we managed to finish all the preparations just in time before the cherry blossoms fully bloomed.

To prevent any unexpected mishaps this time, Carl and I decided not to see each other on the eve of our wedding.

I stayed in the cabin with Zoey, watching the children drifting off to sleep.

She lay on the bed with her hands tucked behind her head, listening to the chirping of insects outside the window.

"Not gonna lie, I'm pretty excited. I've never been to a vintage-style weddingnoveldrama

before. How did you guys come up with the idea?"

I smiled at her. "Just fulfilling a promise, that's all."

She raised an eyebrow. "There you go again, being all mysterious. What promise?"

"Nothing important. It's late-we should get some sleep."

She turned off the light. In the darkness, her voice floated over. "Chloe, you have to be happy."

She had told me that countless times, but hardships had followed me one after another. This time, however, I believed things would be different.

I wrapped my arms around her waist from behind. "You too, Zoey."

She didn't reply, lost in her own thoughts.

The next day, our wedding took place at dusk. There was none of the frantic

chaos like last time, and everything proceeded in an orderly fashion.

I slipped into a crimson wedding dress, and the striking red made me look even more stunning than usual.

Zoey tilted her head, studying me. "You look beautiful. It's strange

This is my body, yet somehow, net

feels unfamiliar-like I've become someone else."

I gazed at my reflection in the mirror. She wasn't wrong.

Aside from the red mole between my brows, my features seemed to have subtly changed. I was beginning to resemble the person I had been a thousand years ago.

Zoey's body was young, barely 21.

MS

Yet, with the way my makeup had been done, I looked even younger-like a girl of

17 or 18.

The same age I had been when I died thousand years ago.

The weather was perfect, the sky painted in hues of gold and crimson.

As the sun dipped below the horizon, Carl arrived, looking dashing in

tailored suit. He rode in on a tall steed, while I held a bridal bouquet, half-concealing my face.

For a fleeting moment, the figure before me overlapped with the man in battle

armor from a thousand years ago.

My beloved general, I've waited so long for this moment.

The wind stirred, and the world seemed to burst into a cascade of falling cherry

blossoms.

Amid the swirling petals, I walked toward him.

As I passed the ancient well in the courtyard, I thought I saw a girl in red flicker

past, moving in sync with me.

I rushed into Carl's arms, holding him as tightly as I could.

He lowered his head, gazing at me. "Chloe, I'm back."

Tears welled up in my eyes as I clung to him. "Carl, I finally found you."

This time, we would make up for everything we had lost.

Just then, a familiar voice called out from the distance.

"Chloe, my sister ..."