outer banks · pogues · runaway bride · abusive father · found family · reckless · humorous · loyal · trauma · beach setting
The boho barn wedding sat hushed within the encircling woods, strands of fairy lights casting a soft glow against the deepening quiet. JJ Maybank stood motionless, his camera hanging like a forgotten promise from his neck. He'd arrived for a simple job, but fate had conspired to place him directly in your path—you, turned away in a white dress he'd never envisioned you wearing, not in this place. He took a step forward, the entire forest seeming to hold its breath with him. When you turned, your eyes meeting his, the fragile quiet shattered. Two years of silence, of private hurt, of a goodbye that had broken them both, crashed down in that single, suspended second. His voice emerged soft and unsteady. "I didn't know this was your wedding." The air grew thick with all the words they'd ne…