A week later—
The hotel no longer looked like a hotel.
It looked like a small city.
Their city.
Every floor had been taken over by wedding guests.
Every corridor was alive.
Doors opening and closing.
Staff pushing flower carts.
Decorators carrying fairy lights.
Suit bags hanging from room handles.
Laughter spilling from every hallway.
Music testing in the ballroom downstairs.
People shouting: "Where are the candles?" "Who has the ring box?" "Someone find Jasail!"
It was chaos.
Beautiful chaos.
Wedding chaos.
And for the first time—
Michael stood in the middle of it all and simply smiled.
Because tomorrow—
He would marry Lucas.
The special guests began arriving by afternoon.
The first was Kofi.
The moment he saw Michael—
He pulled him into a tight embrace.
"You did all this," Kofi whispered.
Michael smiled.
"No. We did."
Kofi stepped back and looked around the hotel.
Then he laughed.
"This is bigger than the court."
Michael laughed too.
"It feels bigger."
Ama arrived next.
Michael's smile softened immediately.
He hugged her tightly.
Longer than expected.
Ama smiled.
"You're really doing this."
Michael nodded.
"You helped me get here."
Ama shook her head.
"No."
She smiled.
"You helped yourself."
Then—
Kwame.
Healthy.
Strong.
Alive.
Michael froze for a moment seeing him.
Because not long ago—
Kwame had been a man on the edge of death.
Now—
He was smiling.
Wearing a sharp suit.
Standing proudly.
Kwame hugged him hard.
"You saved my life."
Michael shook his head.
"No."
Kwame smiled.
"You gave me one."
That hit differently.
Michael hugged him again.
Then chaos truly began.
Because Sam arrived.
And as usual—
he arrived loudly.
"Move."
Everyone turned.
"The most important guest is here."
Michael laughed immediately.
Lucas wasn't there—
by strict wedding order they had been separated—
but Michael already knew what Lucas would say.
Sam opened his arms dramatically.
Michael hugged him.
And instantly whispered—
"Rev. Fr. Sam."
Sam froze.
Then he laughed.
"Oh no."
Michael grinned.
"Five months."
Sam shook his head.
"You people will not let me live."
Grace passed and smiled.
"Rev. Fr. Sam."
Lina passed next.
"Rev. Fr. Sam."
Then Jasail appeared.
"Hello, Father Sam."
Sam pointed angrily.
"I am not ordained yet!"
Everyone burst into laughter.
And somehow—
his new name stayed.
Soon—
the entire hotel pulsed with wedding energy.
Michael's family occupied one floor.
Lucas' family is another.
Friends filled the others.
No one stayed still.
Hair stylists rushed in and out.
Makeup artists moved between rooms.
Wedding staff tested microphones downstairs.
Someone rehearsed music in the ballroom.
A chef yelled in the kitchen.
Flowers arrived.
Then more flowers.
Then more flowers.
Grace ran everywhere holding two phones.
Lina held a clipboard like a military commander.
Only they—
and the wedding planner—
knew the surprise.
The secret officiant.
Someone important.
Someone famous.
Someone whose presence would shock everyone.
Especially Michael and Lucas.
And they kept that secret perfectly.
By evening—
Grandma declared:
"No sleeping together tonight."
Michael protested immediately.
"That rule is outdated."
"No."
"It's unnecessary."
"No."
"It's cruel."
"No."
Final.
Lucas had already been taken to another floor.
Strictly separated.
No calls after midnight.
No visits.
No sneaking.
No exceptions.
Jasail volunteered as security.
Which somehow made it worse.
Before separation—
Michael and Lucas were allowed five private minutes.
Only five.
They met in an empty hallway.
No words.
Just stared.
Lucas stepped forward first.
Touched Michael's cheek.
Michael leaned into it.
Their foreheads touched.
And stayed there.
Lucas whispered—
"Tomorrow…"
Michael closed his eyes.
"…I marry my best friend."
Michael smiled.
"And I marry my home."
Neither moved.
Until Grace shouted from far away—
"TIME!"
They laughed.
And parted.
Reluctantly.
Later—
Michael sat in his room.
Wedding clothes hanging nearby.
Shoes polished.
Ring box on the table.
His vows in front of him.
And for the first time—
He read them aloud.
Softly.
Slowly.
Then stopped.
Because tears came.
He laughed at himself.
Then wiped them away.
No Lucas tonight.
No comfort.
No kisses.
Only distance.
And somehow—
that made tomorrow feel bigger.
Meanwhile—
somewhere else in the hotel—
Lucas was doing the same thing.
Reading his vows.
Stopping halfway.
Crying alone.
Smiling alone.
Waiting.
Downstairs—
The "family bachelor night" began.
Not wild.
Not loud.
Just joy.
Pure joy.
A giant private lounge.
Games.
Drinks.
Snacks.
Music.
Stories.
Kofi and Kwame played cards.
Ama joined Grace in a ridiculous charades match.
Daniel and Lina teamed up in board games and kept cheating for each other.
Grandma watched everyone with quiet joy.
And Sam—
or rather—
Rev. Fr. Sam—
became a storyteller.
"Tell them seminary stories!" Jasail demanded.
Sam smiled wickedly.
"Oh, gladly."
Michael groaned.
"No."
Too late.
"Did you know," Sam began dramatically, "your groom once tried to stop a dormitory fight…"
Everyone leaned in.
"…and somehow ended up in the clinic himself."
The room exploded with laughter.
Michael covered his face.
"It was unfair."
Sam continued.
"And once…"
he pointed,
"He nearly set an altar cloth on fire."
More laughter.
Michael shouted—
"It was slippery!"
Even his parents laughed.
Then came choir stories.
Frank stories.
Lucas stories.
Cold-night stories.
Warm-sock stories.
First-kiss stories—
though Michael stopped that one quickly.
"No."
Everyone booed.
Jasail shouted:
"I demand details!"
"No!"
More laughter.
And for hours—
the room became joy itself.
The kind of joy readers could almost hear.
No trauma.
No fear.
Only love.
While Lucas was in his room busy preparing for tomorrow.
Near midnight—
The games ended.
Guests returned to their rooms.
Hallways quieted.
Lights dimmed.
Michael stood alone on his balcony.
Looking at the stars.
Tomorrow.
Everything will change tomorrow.
His phone buzzed.
One message.
From Lucas.
No words before it.
Only:
"Tomorrow, meet me at the altar."
Michael smiled instantly.
Then typed back:
"I wouldn't miss it for the world."
And somewhere—
on another floor—
Lucas smiled too.
Tomorrow—
they would become forever.