Husband ┗━━━✦❘༻༺❘✦━━━┛ : Husband (Ava's POV) "Ava." I snapped out my zoned-out state and looked at my bedroom door where Ashton stood. "Hmm, yeah?" I asked. "We have to leave soon, start getting ready." "Yeah, okay." I stood up and forced myself into the shower. Today's my big day. The dream every little girl dreams of at some point, most girls my age and around it even have it all planned out in Kilthorne, but I had no plans of getting married at twenty-one, let alone to Rhys. That's exactly what's happening today. I took a shower, taking my time to wash my hair and body. When I walked out of the bathroom with my hair in a towel and my robe on, I was greeted by my mom and a woman that I've never met before. "Um, hello," I said awkwardly. I pulled the towel out of my hair. "This is Margret, she's my friend's sister." "Oh, hi," I smiled. She looked me up and down. Okay, no smiles. "She's here to get you ready for the wedding." I blinked once then twice. "I'm sorry, what?" Not even five minutes later and I'm sitting at my vanity while she brushes my damp hair. "Can you do makeup or no?" She lifted a brow at me through the mirror. "I… can? I- I suppose?" "You sure?" "Yes?" She stared at me doubtfully. "No? I'll take that as a no. I guess I can't?" "You know what, why don't you just do it, Margret?" Mom huffed. "Jesus, all right." She put hair up in rollers that were pulling strands of hair that I couldn't even locate and then she started doing my makeup. "Is this necessary?" I looked up at my mother with one eye while Margret put eyeshadow on the other. "Hold still," she demanded. "I am," I said through gritted teeth. "I could have gotten ready myself." "Yeah right," Margret scoffed. I closed my eyes, letting out an angry huff and just keeping my mouth shut, hoping this would all be over soon. Nearly an hour later, she pulled out the last roller. "There we go." I sighed in relief, standing up. "Finally." She grabbed my shoulders and forced me back into my seat. "We're not done yet, honey." I rolled my eyes and glared at my mom through the mirror. She sent me a pointed look and I prayed to the lord one more time and kept my virtue of patience intact a little longer. ─── ･ ｡ﾟ☆: *.☽ .* :☆ﾟ. ─── I was sitting in the church dressing room, waiting for my dad to come get me. Victoria agreed to be my bridesmaid when I asked her a few days ago and she left just a second ago to walk down the aisle with the groomsman, Ashton. And now I'm pacing. And panicking. And regretting. And looking for a window to run out of. The door opened and I jumped, getting startled as I looked at my father. "Oh, hi, dad." "Are you ready?" He walked over, adjusting the crown that sat on my head, holding the veil that flowed over my hair, behind my shoulders. "No," I chuckled awkwardly. He smiled, "You'll be just fine. It's only Rhys." Oh, well that fixes everything, doesn't it? Except that's the freaking problem. "Shall we?" I linked my arm with his, mumbling a final prayer and then walking from the dressing room to the main church. The doors were still closed. "Ready?" "I don't think I ever will be," I replied, staring at the ground as the doors slowly opened. "Chin up, darling. You're a princess now." I lifted my head, looking straight ahead. Rhys stood with his back to me while soft violins and piano played live. One pianist and a few violinists stood off to each side of the room beside the glass windows. "Oh my god, that's a lot of people," I breathed out, barely moving my lips while my dad started walking, guiding me. I felt like I was just floating, gliding over the crowd and getting closer to Rhys with each second that passed. "Two hundred," Dad whispered. I took in a deep breath and pushed my shoulders back, keeping my chin held high. I'm becoming the princess of Kilthorne in front of two hundred people. I can't afford to show weakness here. I have to do exactly what I would have wanted Brooke to do. Be the princess I'm expected to be and do it with grace. We stopped when I reached Rhys and I slid my arm out of my father's before my father placed my hand in Rhys'. I turned to look at Rhys hesitantly and found him already staring at me. My father went and sat in his seat while Rhys continued to gawk at me. "What?" I whispered so faintly, I thought even he wouldn't hear it. "Well shit," he mumbled, facing the priest. What is that supposed to mean? "We are gathered here today to celebrate one of life's greatest moments." I think that's an overstatement. "And to cherish the words which shall unite Rhys Archer and Ava Grace Robinson in marriage." Oh my fucking god, it's happening. "Their decision to marry has not been entered into lightly and today they publicly declare their devotion to each other." Devotion, my ass. "The essence of this commitment is the acceptance of each other in entirety, as lover, companion, and friend. Marriage, ideally, is a sharing of responsibilities, hopes, and dreams. It takes special effort to grow together, survive hard times, and be loving and selfless." I think we'll be the ones giving each other the hard times. "Do you, Rhys Archer, pledge to share your lives openly with one another, and to speak the truth in love? Do you promise to honor and tenderly care for one another, cherish and encourage each other, stand together through sorrows and joys, hardships and triumphs, for all the days of your lives? Do you vow to stand by each other for richer or poorer, for worse or for better, in sickness and in health?" "I do," Rhys said calmly, his voice echoing in the church. "Do you, Ava Grace Robinson, pledge to share your lives openly with one another, and to speak the truth in love? Do you promise to honor and tenderly care for one another, cherish and encourage each other, stand together through sorrows and joys, hardships and triumphs, for all the days of your lives? Do you vow to stand by each other for richer or poorer, for worse or for better, in sickness and in health?" I blinked, looking up from the floor and at the priest. "I do." "Rhys, repeat after me." And he did. "I, Rhys Archer, take thee, Ava Grace Robinson, to be my lawfully wedded wife, to have and to hold from this day forward, for better, for worse, for richer, for poorer, in sickness and in health, till death do us part." And so I followed. "I, Ava Grace Robinson, take thee Rhys Archer as my lawfully wedded husband," I paused, the words getting caught in my throat. I could feel Rhys' gaze on me while he gave my hand a squeeze. Not a threatening one. A reassuring one. And so I kept going. "To have and to hold from this day forward, for better, for worse, for richer, for poorer, in sickness and in health, till death do us part," I exhaled. "You have declared your consent before the Church and I now pronounce you husband and wife. Rings please." Rhys went first, taking the ring from Ashton and turning to me. He grabbed my hand and brought it closer to himself, sliding the delicate ring onto my finger. It looks absolutely beautiful, better than the first one. The single, small diamond looked fragile on the band and sat perfectly on my finger. It looked dainty, and I absolutely loved it. I grabbed the ring from Victoria and slipped it onto his finger, my gaze holding his the entire time. "You may now kiss the bride." My eyes widened at Rhys but before I could say anything, he leaned down, pressing his lips to mine for just a few seconds. Almost as if he counted them in his head. He had one hand under my chin, tilting it up before he pulled away, blinking down at me while the room cheered and clapped and photographers snapped all the pictures they could for the media. After the room quieted down, the priest spoke up again. "Can everyone please exit the room so the husband and wife can exchange their vows in private, thank you." Only the priest remained. So the husband and wife. Husband. He's my husband. "They're not vows, sir," Rhys told the priest, taking out a folded piece of paper from his pocket. "It's poetry." Victoria had mine with her which she slipped into my hand before leaving. "Would you like to read them out loud?" We looked at each other. "No," we answered in sync. Even the priest can't be trusted, damn it. What if he tells everyone what our 'vows' are? "Then exchange the poems, you have my blessings and congratulations on the new journey you're starting together." He bowed his head once and then he too, left. We stood in the completely silent room and then I spoke my vows first because I wanted to get it off my chest. "I vow to hate you, Rhys." That's it. No poetry, no promises of love, understanding, or companionship. The piece of paper in my hands? It's blank. "I won't read mine for you. You can read it on your own." He took the blank sheet out of my hands and slipped it into his pocket, placing his paper into my hands instead. I unfolded it, my eyes scanning the words repeatedly. . . . . . Chapter 15 "The thought of leaving you scared me. But the thought of losing you terrified me. And I thought it must be better to suffer in silence and let my wounds cut deeper if it meant I could keep you around and love you, just for a little longer, in silence."