Chapter 72 Chapter 71:
Arya:
It is my wedding day today.
I have always imagined my wedding day would be in a church chapel with all my extended families screaming on top of their lungs and somebody tipping over the ten layer cake. I imagined taking ridiculous photos with my future husband and all my bride maids, well anyways. That was when I was ten years old, blabbing to Emily, Nicole and Emma just because my parents grounded me.
Things have changed now, instead of a huge wedding chapel, the wedding is taking place on the same cruise ship that we met, that Devon proposed. He said, “It was where we started, Arya.” Who knew my soon to be husband is such a huge romantic?
I stare at the full length mirror, admiring the wedding dress that Clara and I spent a month designing. The white dress is a silk-satin masterpiece, the neckline plunges just enough to make Devon stare at me all day, the off-shoulder sleeves are embroidered with tiny diamonds sparkling against the light and let’s not forget the slit, revealing my amazing legs.
There’s a lot of chatter in the room from the wedding planner and make-up artists. I sigh, I am meant to join Devon in the aisle in like fifteen minutes, I think of all the wedding guests present and shudder, Devon already said he wanted to keep it simple and I agreed with him, so we invited a few of my extended families, they all flew out of their respective homes when they heard I was going to get married to Devon Brookes, Devon’s business partners and our friends.
My mother pushes the door open with a frown. “Arya!” she yelps out, followed behind her is my elder sister, Samantha, who’s sulking.
“Mama?” I turn away from the mirror, joining them by the door.
“You look beautiful, baby sis.” Samantha smiles and takes a look at my mother.
As expected, my mother smacks her arm making her yell out in pain. “Yaa! When will you get married? Arya is getting married today and you are still single as hell! Andrew Roberts is your perfect match, he’s a doctor and our families are linked together!” I watch my family banter with a smile playing on my lips, Samantha makes a face when mom mentions Andrew, he’s Emma and Ethan’s elder brother, he and Samantha were born on the same day, at the same hospital but plot twist? They despise each other.
“I don’t want anything to do with him.” Sam sulks, looking at me expectantly; I just shrug mouthing ‘Girl, it’s my wedding. When is yours?’
Emma and Nicole burst into the room, but Emma is seething. “You invited Jeremy Hart to your wedding?! We can’t even stand each other and now, he’s one of Devon’s groomsmen.”
Jeremy Hart is Nicole and Nicholas' cousin, he and Emma don’t really like each other, they are both competing on whose game company is leading, for now, Jeremy’s company is number one, making Emma dislike him more.
“Xavier Castillo, seriously?” Nicole makes a face, scrunching her brows. “He literally has a gun tucked under his waistband!” Nicole is never worked up but whenever it comes to Xavier, her emotions start to overflow, she’s a lawyer, he’s part of the mafia, they want to bring each other down.
“Girls, it’s my wedding. Can we not despise my soon to be husband’s groomsmen, let’s try to put a smile on just for me, okay?” I attempt coaxing them because the last time Andrew and Samantha were in the same room, Sam ended up slapping him.
“Devon has a horrible choice in groomsmen!” Emma puffs out an annoyed breath and I smile. Ethan, Nicholas wanted to be Devon’s groomsmen and since my soon to be husband doesn’t really like people, it really touched his heart.
Emily joins us in the room, smiling. She looks dashingly beautiful today, with her curly blonde hair flowing down her shoulders. After much decision making, Clara and I decided to go with gold champagne for the bridesmaid’s signature colour, so Emily is wearing a backless dress, with a slit in the leg area.
“Damn, Emily!” Emma whistles and Emily blushes crimson red, walking towards us.
“Do you think Ethan will finally notice me today?” Emily asks me softly, her eyes particularly focused on me, Emily has this huge crush on Ethan, Emma’s twin brother since we were kids but she can’t muster up the courage to tell him, and Ethan is always with different women every day, today his date is someone named Kayla, who has five million followers on instagram.
“You have to stop this thing you have for my dumb brother,” Emma sighs, “If he doesn’t notice you, then that’s on him. You are one of the most beautiful, smartest, funny and rich women I know, there’s a lot of men out there who will worship the ground you walk on.” Emma says.
Emily sighs, and I pat her shoulders with affection, gazing at her softly. “Emma is right, babe. It hurts to watch you loving someone who doesn’t even see it. Ethan is your best-friend, we know that, but he is too blind to know your feelings.”
The look Emily gives me is enough for my heart to break on my own wedding day, her lower lips tremble and it seems like she is going to cry, she has been through a damn lot, her childhood wasn’t easy. And now, knowing that someone she loves doesn’t even see it is enough to make her hurt.
Nicole steps forward and crushes her cousin into a tight hug, Emily’s body heaves gently as Nicole pats her hair. “Is therapy doing well?”
Emily nods, sniffing. “I can’t just forget about him, it’s hard.” She says and I know what she is saying, love is a damn bitch, if you ask me.
Wanda enters the room, after much debating and in agreement with the ladies, Wanda decides to be my maid of honour and right now, she looks like royalty. Scratch that- she is royalty, standing there in her emerald green dress, the satin hugs her curves in all the right places, and that thigh-high slit? If anyone falls from staring too hard, then that’s their problem.
Her brown skin glows under the night and her long black braids are swept into a bun with just a few braids falling along her cheeks. Suddenly, this overwhelming dam of emotions rushes towards me. I know people say that it is normal to get emotional at your wedding when you see your soon to be husband standing in the altar, but right now, I am feeling very emotional just by seeing my ladies.
We grew up together, did everything together, and in college, I met Wanda and she just flipped my whole life upside down, in the best way possible, I mean. And now, they are all going to watch me get married to the man of my dreams.
“You better not ruin your make-up with tears.” Wanda mouths, before turning towards the rest. “What’s going on? I thought only the bride was meant to cry on her day, where’s Clara? Come on, ladies. Our best-friend is getting married today, so we have to get everyone together.” Wanda has put on her ‘boss mode’ making everyone scamper in the room.
She claps her hands together, looking at my sister, Sam. “No offense, but the guests are already waiting to see their bride,”
“I get it, I have to leave.” Samantha grins, I begged her to be part of my bridesmaids, but she refused vehemently, saying she was better off as one of the guests. Samantha leaves the same time that Clara enters the room, I give her a warm hug and compliment the way she looks beautiful. Her cheeks flush bright red.
“Okay,” Wanda says, “Let’s get our best-friend married.”
We all assemble out of the bride’s personal room with me clutching my bouquet of flowers. The music swells, soft and elegant echoing across the deck of the cruise ship. My gown flows behind me, the wind kissing my face gently.
The guests rise. Smiles. Gasps. A few tears, I can see my mother smiling happily while also sobbing, my sister, Samantha pacifying her, Axel gives me a thumbs up, brushing a tear away from his face. Roy is here with his girlfriend, Isabella and their friend, Hudson. I got officially introduced to them last month and we all decided to start afresh. Leto nods her head as a sign to tell that she’s happy and I smile back, waving at all the guests.
My father joins me, entwining my hands with his as we walk up the aisle together.
“You have made it this far, we are so proud of you, darling.” He says when we reach the aisle. He kisses me softly on your cheek. “Go meet your man.”
I stare at the face of the man I deeply love.
Devon.
Standing there in a black tailored suit that fits him as hell, his dark hair slightly tousled by the sea breeze. And those eyes-God-those light green eyes are already glistening. Right now, he doesn’t care about composure, he’s grinning at me like I just stepped out from his wildest dreams, and the tears swimming in his gaze says the rest.
I catch a glimpse of Jeremy Roberts, Andrew and smile, my little brother, Collins, dabbing the corner of his eyes with a napkin, looking like he is trying his best not to cry, Sabrina, Emma’s and Ethan’s little sister, she is the same age with Collin. And there she is, my three year old daughter, Vera standing in her puffy dress, her teddy bear clutched in one hand and the other waving at me in pure joy.
‘Mama loves you too.’ I whisper, my heart aching in the best way possible.
Devon reaches for my hand when I get to him, his grip steady and warm. The priest signals for us to start our vows, we knew the words already because we wrote it ourselves.
Devon starts first, his voice deep and thick with emotion. “I didn’t expect you, Arya. Not on that cruise ship, not even in my life. But gosh, you changed everything. You challenged me, you softened me, you scared the hell out of me. I didn’t know love is supposed to be this way- like home. I vow to always protect you, to fight for us and to be yours, completely. Always.”
My throat tightens but I manage to breathe, saying my vows. “I guess no one has the correct meaning of love, what is love truly? We can’t define it, but we can feel it and you, Devon Brookes, have made me feel love in the raw, most honest and achingly beautiful way. And, I want to continue to experience this love with you. I promise to keep choosing you. To love you at your worst and laugh with you at your best. You are mine. Always.”
The priest steps in, his voice calm as he asks the final words, the ‘I do’ comes next, and then we seal it.
“I now pronounce you husband and wife. You may kiss the bride.” Devon removes the veil from my face and gasps.
“You look perfect.” He whispers and kisses me, his lips brushing gently against mine. The guests all coo and after the kiss, the exchanging of the rings came next.
Devon slips the cushion cut diamond ring into my finger and I slipped mine into his finger, our smiles wide. I hear someone whisper to the guests ‘That ring is worth at least nine hundred million dollars.’
I perk my brows at Devon and he simply shrugs, still smiling.
Across from us, Devon’s groomsmen stand in a neat line, in black suits. Ethan, Nicholas, Theo and Xavier, and let’s not forget Liam, Devon’s twin brother, there’s a tiny smile on his lips as he witnesses his only sibling get married.
I don’t know if it is the wind, the sea, or the way everything shimmered in this hour, but for one perfect second, everything stilled.
Just Devon and me, our people standing around us like a circle of stars, and this moment- honest and forever.
Wanda catches my eye and wink. I almost laugh. Even in a wedding dress, standing on a cruise ship in the middle of the ocean, marrying the cold billionaire who once terrified me, I’ve never felt more like me.
The music changes to a slow song, ‘Perfect’ by Ed Sheeran. The guests start dancing to the song, Devon and I step onto the dance floor, swaying along the music.
“I feel whole,” Devon whispers. “I love you and Vera with all my heart.”
“I love you both too.” I say, from the corner of the room, we see Emma and Jeremy arguing about something and she doesn’t look happy, Nicole and Xavier shooting dagger looks at one another. “I feel a love story blooming between Emma and Jeremy.”
“Really? Since when did you become a love expert in romance?” Devon teases me.
“What? I started reading Emily’s romance books; I think their love story is called ‘Enemies to lovers’.” I smile, feeling the joy bursting in my heart.
“Damn it, I love you.” Devon says.
Later that night after the champagne glasses had been drained and the guests danced themselves breathless under the stars. Vera is already asleep curled up on the sofa, her teddy bear tucked under her arm. I step onto the balcony of our suite, standing barefoot by the glass doors.
Behind me, I hear his footsteps.
“You still awake?” Devon asks softly, his voice lower.
I nod. “I don’t want to miss a second of this.”
Arms wrap around my waist. His warmth sinks into my back. “It’s not going anywhere, Arya. This is it. You’re mine. I’m yours. The storm is over.”
I smile. “You are saying it like there won’t be more storms.”
He kisses the side of my neck. “Let them come, we will win.”
We stand there for a while, the two of us staring into the night. No more games, no running. Just peace- real, earned peace.
Devon whispers against my skin. “Who knew that one night on a cruise ship would lead us here?”
I turn to him, my finger lacing with his. “It’s not fate.” I say, “It’s not luck.”
“What then?” He tilts his head.
I lean in, pressing my lips softly to his. “Choice.”
People have a choice to love, you either choose to fight it or let it go and we choose it. We fought for it. And now, we’re living it.
Together. Till the end, it’s me and him forever.