*Wedding song included*
2Â Y E A R SÂ L A T E R
S E R E I A
"I think I'm gonna puke," I nervously said as I stood between Elliot's mother and mine.
"No, you won't, baby," my mother said as she fixed my crooked veil.
She's been clean since she left the facility and even opened a small flower shop.
"I get sick all the time," I told them. "What if I puke on him?"
My soon-to-be mother-in-law laughed. "You'll be fine and I've asked the priest to keep it short."
I inhaled deeply as my hand rested on the small baby bump.
He doesn't know.
My lips began to quiver as I felt tears in my mind.
"Oh no," my mother started. "She's starting to cry again. We need to start this wedding now."
"Agreed," Elizabeth said as she motioned to the usher to open the doors.
I sucked in my tears as the doors opened and we began to walk into the dimly lit cathedral.
As the music began to play, everyone stood up to watch me.
I began to breathe heavily and my mother nudged my arm as she gave me a kiss on the cheek.
Since she got sober, she's been trying to be more supportive and be in my life.
Have lunch two a week, and she never cancels even if she's busy.
And if I'm busy, she would come to my office and wait until I'm available.
As I took my first step down the aisle, everything around me seemed to fade into the background.
The guests, the flowers, the soft musicâall of it blurred into a gentle hum as my focus locked onto him, standing at the end of the aisle.
My heart pounded in rhythm with each step, but there was a lightness in my stride, as if I was being carried by the love that filled the room.
Tears welled up in my eyes, and as I moved closer to him, they began to spill over, trailing down my cheeks. But I didn't careâI couldn't stop them if I tried.
We had taken our relationship very slow after we made up in his office.
It took time to earn back each other's trust and that was fine because good things take time.
We started off with a few simple dates to get to know each other better.
Then, a month later he asked me to be his co-CEO. He said things weren't the same without me at work.
I gladly accepted it of course.
At six months, we began to sleep over at each other's place, at eight months we fully moved into each other's, and at a year and a half, he proposed.
He was hesitant about marriage, considering his marriage with Olivia didn't end well.
I didn't expect him to until I saw him kneeling in front of me.
It was on the Paris trip he took me on for my birthday, right in front of the Eiffel Tower under the stars.
The whole scene felt like it was straight out of a romcomâunbelievably perfect, almost like a dream.
His eyes stayed glued to me as a bright, welcoming smile appeared on his face.
All the nerves that I was feeling before instantly vanished as my comforter smiled at me.
I revealed my real smile to him, the smile that I once had at 18 years old.
We finally reached the altar and both of my mothers hugged me before Elliot took my hand.
E L L I O T
I watched the love of my life, my temptress, pull out the paper she scribbled her vows on.
Sereia was glowing so bright in this dim cathedral that I felt blinded.
She cleared her throat as her hands began to shake atrociously.
I smiled harder as I held her hands.
I didn't even know it was possible for me to smile so hard.
I don't even recall smiling once at my first wedding. That day felt more like an obligation than a celebration.
The joy that should have been there was missing, replaced by a sense of duty that weighed heavily on me.
Looking back, it's clear that my heart wasn't fully in it, and the lack of smiles was just the first sign of that.
But today was not like that.
There were smiles everywhere.
I couldn't even sleep last night because I felt so impatient to marry her.
Never have I ever thought that I would be impatient to marry someone.
Hell, never have I ever thought that I would want to marry someone.
Sereia being the one woman that sparks me is no surprise.
She's drop-dead gorgeous, amazing, fierce, intelligent, hardworking, and honest. The list go on and on, but if I continue to list them I won't be finished anytime soon.
Her hands continued to shake as she silently stared at the words on her paper.
"It's okay," I told her. "You're doing so good."
She nodded as she wiped away her nervousness and began to read her prepared vows.
"Elliot Harrington," she began. "Our journey together has been anything but ordinary. I started this relationship with a vow to ruin you. Now, I'm here today with a vow to love you forever."
I smiled and gave her an encouraging nod.
"Today, I embrace every part of our storyâevery battle we had and every win. I promise to always be honest with you, even when I don't want to."
"We were raised in such different worlds, but destiny had other plans, making us each other's perfect match."
She held her stomach.
"I promise to love you forever," she said. "Just as much as I will love our unborn child that you'll meet in a few months."
She paused to look at me nervously before I could process what she was saying.
"What?" I asked confused before my eyes widened. "You're-"
She nodded and I immediately pulled her into a hug as I became overfilled with joy.
S E R E I A
I giggled as he rocked me back and forth while hugging me.
"Stop, you're going to suffocate both me and our baby," I laughed as his big body squeezed us.
He pulled away before kissing me all over my face.
I could see the audience laughing at us.
"Stop," I laughed.
"I love you," he told me, his happy expression now turned to a serious one.
"I love you too," I told him and before I knew it, his lips were already on mine.
I pulled away trying to hold in my smile and desire for him. "We're supposed to kiss at the end of the wedding."
"Who cares about the order? This is our wedding," he said before he wrapped his arms around my waist and kissed me again.
I started off this whole plan with anger and a hunger for vengeance.
I was so sad and lonely before I met him.
My days were a relentless pursuit of retribution, each moment steeped in bitterness and a desperate need to right the wrongs that had scarred me.
I can't believe I used to practice how to smile because I couldn't do it naturally anymore.
But Elliot came into my life and changed my whole plan.
He's made me happy and makes me feel so loved.
When I'm with Elliot, loneliness is no longer a part of my world. I've found a happiness that is deep and genuine, rooted in the love we share.
He's even given me a baby to grow that happiness.
The happiness that I'd found is worth every struggle, every moment of doubt, and every ounce of pain I have endured.
And as I stand here now, looking towards a future with him, I am filled with a sense of peace and contentment that I never thought I'd find.
This is what Violet would have wanted.
For me to be happy again.
The End
...
Thank you guys so much for reading this book. Please give it a vote and I'll see you again in the next one.
Love you always <3