Chapter Two Hundred and Forty-One

Chapter Two Hundred and Forty-One
Rose

“Are you ready, Rose?” my father asks from next to me. 

“Yes. I have never been so ready for anything in my life, Dad.” I gush.

The music starts, and that is our cue. I take a deep breath before the doors open for us to walk in. I hold tightly onto my father’s arm. My stomach is doing flips, and my heart is pounding in my chest. The second I step inside, everyone stands, and all eyes are on me, people smiling and gushing over me. I look at them smiling, but with all of them watching me, it is making me more nervous. 

Eyes front, I find Jayce. The second I see him, my heart skips a beat and my pulse races. He looks so handsome. He stares at me with the biggest smile on his face. The closer I get; it is then I see the tears in his eyes. He isn’t the only one crying. I am trying to hold mine back, but I am not doing a very good job of it. Thank God for waterproof make-up. 

“Rose, you look absolutely breath-taking.” Jayce whimpers. 

“Thank you, my love. You look very handsome.” I reply and kiss his cheek. 

My heart and stomach are going crazy. I think I just fell in love with him all over again. 

“I trust you take care of my daughter, son.” My dad says, letting go of my arm. 

Jayce hugs him. “I promise to spend the rest of my life loving and taking care of her.”

Once they part, I hug my father and thank him, kissing his cheek before he goes to sit with my mother. Jayce and I step closer. He reaches for my hips and pulls me against his chest, kissing me passionately. I kiss back, but blush because everyone can see us. 

Jayce parts and takes a couple of steps away from me. “Sorry, I couldn’t help myself. Are you ready for this, pretty eyes? Are you ready to marry me? I swear, you have never looked as beautiful as you do right now.” 

“Yes, I am more than ready to marry you, my love. I have never been so ready for anything in my entire life. I love you so much. Jayce.” 

He takes my hand in his, tears still in his eyes. He seems in complete awe of me. 

“Are we ready to begin?” the officiant asks.

“Yes.’” We say in sync. 

I am nervous about reading my own vows, but it is much better than saying someone else’s words. She goes through everything she needs to. Jayce and I keep our hands together, our eyes connected the entire time. 

“Am I right in saying you have written your own vows?” she asks.

We nod, and she encourages Jayce to go first. I can feel his palm sweating against mine. He draws in a breath, closing his eyes for a moment, and then he starts. 

“Rose, the first time we met, I never thought you would be the woman who would turn my entire world upside down in the best way possible. The moment I met you, I was drawn to you. I knew there was something special about you. Things haven’t always been easy for us. We have had our ups and downs, but no matter what we went through, we went through it together, and it made us stronger. You made me not only a better man, but a better person. I couldn’t imagine my life without you. Rose, I love you with every part of me, heart, body and soul, and I am ready to spend the rest of my life with you. I never knew love could be so strong and real until I met you. You have become my entire world. I love you, I know I already said that, but I want to say it again. Today is the happiest day of my life, and I can’t wait for what has to come for us. I am ready to go through every chapter with you.” 

His vows send me over the edge. I sob, tears streaming down my face while smiling brightly. I have never felt so loved as I do in this moment. 

“Jayce, those were so beautiful.” I whimper. 

He reaches in to wipe my tears away. “I meant every single word of it.” He smiles and pecks my lips. 

I take a moment to pull it together before it is my turn. I hope mine are okay, especially after hearing his. I worked hard on them, and I hope that comes across to him, too. 

“Rose, are you ready?” 

I nod, taking a deep breath before I begin. “Jayce, before I met you, I was shy and not willing to give my heart. I knew from that first day you were going to be a pain in my ass, but in the best way possible.” My words earn me laughs. “But that first time was the night my life changed forever. I never thought a man like you would fall in love with me. I know we have been through a lot, together and apart, but in the end, we were always there for one another, even when it felt like the world was trying to tear us apart. I couldn’t imagine a day without you anymore. You helped me in so many ways, Jayce. Because of you, I found a fire in me I didn’t know was there. You are my entire world. I want nothing more than to spend the rest of my life with you. I love you, Jayce, so much. There are not enough words in the world to explain how much. Standing here before you, I know everything will be okay because I have you. I am ready for us to make a life together and grow old together. “ 

By the time I finish, I am sobbing again, and Jayce is crying again. 

“Perfect, pretty eyes.” 

The rings are handed to us, and we slip them onto our wedding fingers. 

“With power invested in me, I now pronounce you Mr and Mrs Blakely. You may kiss your bride.” 

Jayce doesn’t waste another second. He pulls me close, kissing me with everything her has in me, dipping me down in the way you see in the movies. The room erupts in claps and awe. We parted after a moment. 

“I love you so much, Mrs Blakely. I can’t wait to spend the rest of my life with you.” 

“I love you too. You are stuck with me now.” I beam. 

“I wouldn’t have any other way.” 

Jayce steals another kiss before he takes my hands, and we turn to everyone who is standing and clapping. There seems to be a lot of tears. I am officially a wife! Jayce’s wife. We walk away, everyone snapping photos. 

“You can’t get rid of me now, sweetness.” 

“Good, I don’t want rid of you.” 

Today has been perfect. It couldn’t have been more perfect. It is everything I dreamt of. I am more than ready to start my life with him, well, not start it, continue it with him. 

“Tell me, pretty eyes, was today every you dreamt of?” he asks. 

“And so much more. All I needed for today to be perfect was you, Jayce.” 

I reach over, kissing him before everyone else followed us out. We have a little time for celebratory drinks before we need to go get some photos taken just of the two of us, then get them taken with everyone else. We hired a photographer and videographer. We wanted every perfect moment captured so we could look back anytime we want and share it with our children and grandchildren. I want to remember this day for the rest of my life, even when we are old and things start to fade. I don’t ever want to forget it. 

“It has been perfect. Every moment with you has been perfect, angel. I can’t wait for what has to come next for us.” 

“Me too.” 

We all go to grab some champagne to celebrate before we get taken away for photos. We have three locations on the ground to get them taken. There are so many beautiful places here. It was hard to choose. 

“I still can’t believe we got married in a castle.” I giggle. 

“It is where you deserved to get married, my beautiful queen.” Jayce gushes. 

I felt like it today. It has been something like a fairy tale, something I never imagined when I thought about getting married one day.  

“Thank you, my king.” I giggle and peck his lips. 

I hope the rest of the day is as perfect as the first part of it.