Enraptured

Chapter 68

I rolled over to the left side of the bed as the rays of morning sunshine fired through the window, but it was completely cold and empty, notifying me of the lack of my lovely girl's presence.

I groaned unhappily as I buried my face into her pillow, taking in a deep breath of her comforting scent of warm spices and tart fruits to ease my nerves.

My mother insisted on making Belle and I sleep separately the night before the wedding for some sort of wedding tradition and ended up whisking my girl away to my parent's house last night before I could even protest. To make it worse, she also wasn't allowing me to see Belle at all today until Belle walked down the aisle because apparently, it is "bad luck" to see the bride before the wedding.

I sighed at the memory of her words, knowing that I wouldn't be able to see Belle until noon.

I just wanted to spend all day with Belle. I didn't see why we had to follow such absurd rules. They were just superstitions after all.

In the midst of my melancholic thoughts, a small knock rang from my door before it quietly creaked open.

I looked up from the pillow, softening when I caught sight of Theo's sleepy figure in the doorway.

His hair was sticking up every which way with his pajamas hanging lazily off one of his shoulders. He yawned as he trudged slowly toward our bed and asked sleepily, "Dad? Can I stay here until we have to get ready?"

I chuckled softly at his messy state. "Of course you can."

I leaned over the edge of the bed and easily swept him off his feet with a single arm, lifting him straight onto our elevated bed.

He nuzzled up against my chest, yawning again as he settled into the crook of my arm. "When is everyone else going to come over?"

I gently brushed his hair out of his eyes and hummed, "Maybe in about an hour."

He nodded. "Grandpa said that I would be bringing the rings to you during the ceremony. I hope I won't accidentally drop them."

I laughed silently, unable to handle his overwhelming amount of cuteness. I reassured him, "I'm sure you'll do fine, honey, but if it's okay if you drop them too. Nothing would stop me from marrying your mom anyway."

He hummed softly, accepting my answer as he slowly dozed back off to sleep.

I held him carefully in my arm as I reached over to grab my phone. It was still early, so I wasn't surprised that he was still sleepy. But I was much too awake to go back to sleep. I had gotten so used to having Belle by my side that I found it awfully difficult to fall asleep last night.

I unlocked my phone, smiling when I found a message from Belle.

"☀（ 'Ｏ｀）～Good morning, Metri! You're probably not awake yet, but I just wanted to send you a message. Isabella already came over with yummy soufflé pancakes and is helping me with my hair and makeup right now. But Mom said that I couldn't send you pictures because you weren't allowed to see me before the ceremony. (⋟﹏⋞) Anyway, I am rambling, and Isabella wants me to put my phone away now. I love you, Metri. I can't wait to see you later! "

I chuckled quietly as I scanned through her message. Her emotions were all over the place, like a rollercoaster racing up and down and in loops.

Snapping a quick picture of Theo sleeping in the crook of my arm, I replied with the following: "We can't wait to see you too, my love. I think it's because you were gone last night, but both of us seemed to have had a bit of a difficult time sleeping last night, so Theo is catching up on a few quick z's before the other guys come over."