The rehearsal dinner felt less like a formal event and more like the longest, warmest hug I had ever received.
String lights glowed above the tables arranged along the riverbank, while lanterns flickered gently in the evening breeze. The soft sound of the river blended with the laughter and conversations around us. Everyone who mattered most was gathered together, sharing stories, teasing one another, and raising their glasses to memories old and new.
For once, there were no meetings to attend, no secrets to uncover, and no battles to fight.
Just us.
Just family.
Grandfather was the first to stand. He lifted his glass, and the conversations gradually faded as everyone turned towards him.
"I spent most of my life believing a legacy was something you guarded," he began, his voice quiet
