" We loved with a love that was more than love." -Edgar Allen Poe
~The wedding~
*Quick important note: I've decided to change Leonard's name to Archer for creative reasons, so don't be confused if you see a different name! Thank you all for your understanding and enjoy!
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After a few minutes of searching, snaking through and around the clumps of well-dressed, sparkling guests, we find our seats in the fourth row. Liam's is marked as my plus one and he smiles and sits down. Everyone is chattering and I crane my neck to see if I can spot anyone I recognize that I didn't see earlier. I notice one of Claire's friends whose face looks familiar but otherwise I don't see anyone else. It's a good thing I ended up bringing Liam. Not that I really had another choice.
"Let's just get through this and then we can relax and you can drink as much as you want at the reception. I'm driving, so you have my permission to get as drunk as you need." Liam's face is serious but his teasing tone tells me otherwise.
"Why did I come again?" I groan, ignoring his comments and checking the time on my phone. It's 4:56 p.m. The ceremony should be starting in four minutes.
"That's a good question, actually, you never did tell me."
"It's a long story."
"I've got time." Right as he finishes his sentence, bridal music starts blaring from the speakers at the front of the setup and everyone reaches to cover their ears. A man in a suit steps to the front of the aisle.
"Sorry about that everyone! Little technical issue!" The music resumes playing at a much more tolerable volume, not that it decreases the sickening sweetness of the song any more.
"Guess not." Liam frowns and I'm secretly relieved. The same man steps back up to the aisle after messing with the speakers again and everyone turns forward from their conversations as he clears his throat.
"Welcome, everyone to the marriage of Lewis and Claire!" Everybody claps and I force my hands to smack together a few times.
"The ceremony will be starting now, so please direct your attention to the aisle!" The man steps aside and I can only assume he's here for technical backup. Lewis never was good with technology.
Bridesmaids and groomsmen start proceeding down the aisles, smiling at their close friends and clutching their petunia bouquets. I hate petunias.
We follow their slow procession with our eyes up to the altar, where Lewis and his best man are now standing. My breath catches in the back of my throat when I see him and an unsettling feeling settles into the bottom of my stomach.
His light chestnut hair is glimmering in the sun and his brown eyes are missing something-a warmth or a depth, I'm not sure. They remind me of all the bad feelings. I quickly turn my head and look back down the aisle.
More bridesmaids, ushers, and groomsmen continue pouring down the aisle, like fish swimming upstream. I spot Joanna, Leilani's friend. She waves at someone in the fifth row and I turn around and realize that Leilani is sitting a little to the right behind me. She catches my eye and smiles. Liam spots her too and quickly faces the front again. Now it's my turn to frown.
Finally, after what feels like a drawn out procession, the bridal theme starts up. A little boy stumbles down the aisle, accompanied by whom I can only guess is his mother. She's not dressed in a bridesmaid dress, simply a floral green dress. The little boy is carrying a box with presumably the rings. Next, a six year-old skips cheerfully down, flinging petunia petals as she goes. Once they've taken their places, everyone turns around and awaits the bride.
Claire rounds the corner, escorted by her father, and an audible gasp resounds through the congregation. Her dress is fitted and silky, dipping down into her chest and bunching up in layers of silk. Her hair is pulled up, similar to mine and her giant pearl earrings reflect into her shining eyes. She looks so pretty, and even though I get an itching feeling to get up and turn her away and walk her back down the aisle, I have to admit that she does look happy. And that makes me happy, even if it is with Lewis.
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Stardust & Smiles ✅
Romance♥️"If this isn't love then I don't think I'll ever fall."♥️ Lily is a young adult with a few disastrous secrets. First, her dark past and the accompanying anxiety formed from the trauma of her past relationship she can't seem to forget, no matter h...
