desiderium- Jasper Hale

61: Till death do us part.

"Gosh Micah, you look so dang cute!" Bella exclaims as she picks him up off the ground from where he and I had been playing all morning.

She wasn't at all wrong. Jasper and I had chosen the cutest little tuxedo for him to wear for Bella and Edward's wedding- and all I'm saying is that Eddie boy has a little competition.

Getting up from the ground I reached out to grab him from her.

"Nuh-ah, bro," I say as Bella pouts at me for her nephew. "I am not dealing with Alice today if he pukes on your dress."

"Fair enough," She whispers, as she turns towards the vanity mirror.

"You look truly beautiful Bell," I tell her as I stand beside her shoulder, her long gown hugged her perfectly. It honestly reminded me of her- the elegant long sleeves and small lace details. Let alone the perfection of her hair and makeup that Rose and Alice had done. She looked perfect.

Although this, I couldn't help but notice the hesitance dancing behind her eyes. "What's wrong, B?"

"Oh nothing, I just had a bad dream last night- that's all..." She replies, turning towards me and Micah with a smile. "Honestly, I'm fine- beyond happy, actually. Just a little nervous."

"Well, that's definitely understandable," I say with a smile. "You're going to be very happy Bella- I feel an overwhelm of it for you."

"It's time!" Alice squeals as she skips into the room, her purple bridesmaid dress flying at every movement her body makes. "Soph, we need to go outside. Our guests are arriving!"

"You mean Bella and Edward's guests are arriving?" I smirk, sending a wink Bella's way.

"Of course, of course," Alice says. "Come, now!"

With a small nod, I watch as Alice leaves, skipping with excitement, just the same way she entered the room only moments before.

"Well, I'll see you on the other side," I whisper, gently hugging my sister- sure not to ruin Alice's 'masterpiece', before turning towards the door, Micah giggling on my hip.

"I love you," Bella says, as I turn towards her with a smile.

"I love you too."

"How are you feeling Dad?" I whisper, looking between him and Jasper who was entertaining a very happy baby.

"Strange," Dad replies almost hesitantly. He never was one for words, or feelings, really, but I knew exactly what he meant. "Have you spoken to your Mum yet?"

I instinctively roll my eyes as Jasper's attention draws to me at the mention of Renee.

"Only briefly," I tell him honestly. "I introduced her to Micah- that was nice."

"Good," Dad whispers, looking over my shoulder at mum and Phil who was sat laughing with each other. "I think that's good."

"Charlie, it's time to get Bella," Alice whispers as she steps over to us.

With a small nod at Alice, Dad gives us a smile before almost awkwardly walking in the direction of the house. It made me giggle as I watched him- Jasper doing the same as he placed his arm around my waist, with a smirk.

"To think we could have had this, with all these people," He whispers. "Thank God you stood up to Alice."

I couldn't help but laugh as Alice gestured us to our place on the front row.

I could feel everything- the nerves, excitement, awkwardness and so much anxiety as I bounced my leg up and down in its place. Just as soon as I registered my emotions I could feel calm wash all over me, making me stare up at Jasper.

He tried to hide his smirk as he looked everywhere but my gaze. I couldn't help but let out a small giggle as my eyes moved back over to the alter.

Interrupting my thoughts, everyone around us started to stand to their feet as Jasper and I stood too, turning to look towards the house where I could see perfectly the details of the bride and my father.

I couldn't help but smile as my eyes welled with small and impossible tears.

Bella and Dad walked perfectly as the sounds of the piano echoed beautifully around the small clearing. Jasper's hand wrapped around my waist as Micah laughed and clapped at the sight of his aunty and Poppy.

I looked up at Edward as Bella came closer- almost as if he was entranced by her, his smile was small but his eyes showed every ounce of love he had for her.

As the ceremony continued, and we listened to Bella and Edward share their vows with each other, I couldn't help but look up at Jasper- the energy of love and passion seeped throughout the air. I found myself once again reminded and grateful to have my husband by my side.

"Hi, I'm Sophia Cullen- the maid of honour and Bella's older sister- which has always been a bit of fun..." I smirk into the microphone, as small laughs echo around the reception of seated guests. "I want to first thank you, on behalf of both the Cullen and Swan family for being here today to witness the marriage of Edward and Bella.

"I know I'm supposed to say something slightly funny, yet incredibly embarrassing about life with Bella, and maybe a bit of advice for Edward... but as most of you would already know, just my being up here in front of you now would have Bella rolling in her grave... and let alone the fact that Edward is normally the one I would go to for advice about... well, anything, really. He's surprisingly given me quite a lot of good advice...

"Anyway... rather than boring you all to death with the cliches that we've all heard before, I'm going to say this," I pause, my words catching in my throat as I try to take a steady breath. I could feel the tears welling behind my eyes as I looked over at my baby sister and her new husband.

"Growing up- between Bella and I, I was the difficult child. Whilst I was running around the world escaping any and every inconvenience that happened, Bella became a sense of stability for all of us- a stability that none of us realised we needed, nor ever thought to thank her for, let alone recognise the fact that she should never have been holding that responsibility in the first place...

"Nonetheless, I knew that no matter what was happening, no matter where I was, or no matter how angry I was with the world, Bella would be there, ready- and excited, for when I returned...

"Bells, thank you for always saving me- even when you didn't know that was what you were doing. You accepted me for all that I was, and all that I was ready to be at each stage in life- you showed me the importance of love- an eternal and fiercely unforgiving type of love... and I want to use right now to thank you abundantly for all that you've done and continue to do for me. You are my angel.

"Edward, it's a little hard for me... that is, giving her to you. It wasn't until Alice had me rewriting this speech a dozen times, that I truly realised all that Bella was to me... and even after all this, I have only come up with one thing to say to you.

"You now have a strong minded, persistent and good woman, choosing to stand beside you forever- you will never see the day that she gives up on you and I know you will make this rare and honest display of love worth it...

"And for everyone wondering how I could possibly know such a thing," I pause. "I married Edward's brother for a reason- there is literally no escaping me now."

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Alrighty! I'm back! And so so sorry that it has taken me so long to upload. I'm in my final year of University and it's killing me...

But otherwise, I hope you're all staying safe and well! I know everyone is struggling so much with the ways of the world at the moment so it's good to have a space to escape for a while.

Peace and love to you all xx