--Dahlia POV--
I never thought I'd be one of the lucky people that gets to get married, but here we are. A ring on my finger, and a handsome man promising me his love. Things couldn't get any better.
"The surprises aren't over yet, my darling," He chimed in, snapping me out of my rose-coloured trance as I looked at him.
"You mean the rest of the gifts?" I asked as he shook his head.
"They should be here by now. Let's head inside." He gently nudged me inside, arm weaving itself around my waist while I walked beside him.
"What?" I asked, but he didn't reply.
"You mean who..." Pausing by the doors that led into the lounge, my eyes widened at the sight in front of me, and for a moment, it truly felt as though I were dreaming.
"...Papa..." My breath hitched, words getting stuck in my throat.
"There she is!" Papa Nico was the first to shout out as he pulled me in for a tight hug.
"We missed you so much!" He sounded like he was on the verge of tears, but I wouldn't know with my face being buried in his chest.
"Let her breathe, you're going to kill her," Papa Oliver spoke this time as he shoved Nico aside to take his turn in hugging me.
"What are you both doing here?" I asked, hugging him back as I did.
"You're getting married, and I'm not going to miss my only daughter's wedding no matter what. Also, it was a good excuse to follow you here, I've been wanting to meet the people you've been gushing about in your letters, especially my little namesake; He's just as handsome as I imagined, makes sense with his name." Papa Nico grinned, holding the younger Nico in his arms.
"How were you even able to get here so fast?" I pulled away, looking around the room to all the other people who made their appearance, still trying to come to terms with it. Just a few days ago, I was the only guest here, but now there are so many people, all who came here for me.
"Ask your future husband that. I took a week's leave off work for you, you better appreciate me," Isaac said this time, moving forward to hug me as I turned to look at Marcos.
"It would have taken too long if they took the jet, then the car, and then walked. I quickly bought some land at the back of this village that wasn't being used, got some villagers to help make a quick make-shift heliport, and that's how they got here. On a helicopter." He sheepishly shrugged as I sighed, not the least bit surprised.
"And I say it's all money spent well. This proposal definitely can't be something that I've misunderstood, right?" Marcos's mother said as I grinned at her, thinking about the very misunderstanding that she was talking about; That truly felt like it happened years ago.
"No, there's no misunderstandings this time, I assure you," Pushing Isaac aside, I went to hug her as she laughed, hugging me back.
"What do you all think of the village? Beautiful, isn't it? And the people here make it so much more beautiful, wait till you see it when the suns up," I excitedly spoke, getting off-topic for a moment which Isaac was quick to bring me back from.
"We can't wait. But before we go sightseeing, we've got a wedding to prepare. We got some stuff for the said wedding, including this..." I blinked, jaw falling agape when he pulled out a small bouquet from one of his bags, it was heavily wrapped up to prevent it from falling apart on the journey, but I didn't need to properly open it to see what it was.
"A dahlia bouquet?"
"The best you'll ever see." He handed it to me as I inhaled the sweet scent.
"Thank you." And I went to hug my best friend again.
"Does this mean I'm forgiven for not keeping your secret?" He whispered as we hugged, to which I responded with a single nod of the head, paying no further attention to the relieved sigh he let out before hugging me back tighter.
"We got some jewellery, perfume, shoes, and some other things for you to pick out. I'm hoping that this will be your one and only wedding, and even if it's not, it's your first, so I need to make sure that it'll be the best one."
"Papa Oliver, don't be so bleak." I jokingly glared as he shrugged.
"Just being realistic." He defended himself.
And so, the next two days was filled with rigorous planning as I got Margot's wedding dress altered to fit me, along with picking out some things to decorate the church, and picking out my jewellery, shoes, and perfume out of all the things they brought over.
Before I knew it, the day was here.
"You look really pretty, Dahlia." Dario complimented, looking up at me as I went to squat down in front of him, Lila, and Nico.
"As do you. My three musketeers." Outstretching my arms for them, they ran into them as we all shared one big hug.
"After you become a Mrs, are you going to go away forever?" Nico curiously asked.
"No way. I love this village too much to even think about leaving for too long. But my home is waiting for me, and I can't leave that place for too long either."
"Sounds complicated." Lila sighed.
"It's not really. I'm just lucky to have more than one home," I chuckled. "Now, are you all ready for the wedding? You're outshining me, the bride, today," Kissing each of their foreheads, I stood up straight as I took one last look at my reflection.
Margot's, or rather, my, wedding dress was finished with all its alterations just in time for the wedding. It was a pure white trumpet dress with short, off-the-shoulder sleeves and an A-line bodice, trailing down into a short train that dragged behind me. With my hair done into a neat bun, my long veil which belonged to my mother-in-law sat under the bun, and I did my own simplistic make-up, finishing the look off with a pearl necklace that came with matching earrings which my dad's had gifted me; I truly felt as beautiful as the little ones called me.
"Ready, darling?" Papa Nico asked as Oliver followed him into the room.
"As ready as I'll ever be," I sheepishly smiled as they smiled back, taking turns to kiss me on the forehead.
"He'll make you happy," If it's Papa Oliver that's saying this, then I know it's true.
"I know."
The kids ran ahead of me to the church where everyone was already waiting with Marcos stood at the altar, and as I linked arms with my dads' on the way to the church, I couldn't help but feel excited. The only nerves I had were the ones of messing up and embarrassing myself in front of everyone, but other than that, I was just purely excited.
"Your other dad and I have been talking about this day for years, but now that it's finally here, I can't bring myself to believe it," Nico chuckled as he spoke, and when Papa Oliver didn't say anything to refute his claims, it only meant that he agreed.
"I've imagined this day too, for so long. And you both would always be the ones to walk me down the aisle, I'd have it no other way,"
"When did you go and grow up without me knowing?" Nico sniffled.
"Dahlia's always been mature, there's nothing new there. Even when she was a teenager writing her and Marcos' name in love hearts in her diary, it's almost heart-warming how she's marrying that same boy that she had a massive crush on, the only person she's ever loved... I still have that diary by the way." Oliver unnecessarily found the need to bring up the embarrassing memories, ones I wish I could have the luxury of forgetting.
"You better burn that." I threatened.
"Not until my grandchildren and great grandchildren see it." He stubbornly refused, and somehow, I found the perfect reply to that, smiling to myself as we came to a pause in front of the church doors.
"Well, the grandchild is already on the way..."
"That's nice... Wait, what?" They both shot their heads to look at me, but before they could say anything, the two large wooden doors of the church were getting pushed open.
"Come on, let's go get me married," I didn't give them more than a single moment's notice to regain their composure as I stepped forward, bringing them with me into the church as all heads turned to look at us.
This was my first time seeing the church after it got decorated for the wedding, and it truly felt like a fairy-tale. Decorated with flowers and candles, it added to the natural architectural beauty of the old structure.
And at the very end of the aisle, stood with the priest, was my groom, looking as dashing as I had expected for him to look, the largest, most excited grin lighting up his face, and I'm certain the same look sat on my face.
"So... I hear I've got a grandchild coming soon." Papa Oliver started as we came to a pause in front of Marcos whose face fell, blinking in surprise.
"Not now, Papa," I almost laughed, and thankfully, he let go, handing me over to Marcos after kissing me on the temple, and Papa Nico followed to do the same.
"Make her as happy as you know she deserves to be," He said.
"I promise." Marcos nodded.
"May everyone be seated," And before I knew it, the priest had started speaking.
He held my hands in his, smiling down at me with the stars shining in his eyes, it didn't leave a single question of doubt in my heart, in fact, if anything, I'd only hoped the priest would speak a bit faster so I could hurry up and call him my husband. I've waited for this moment my whole life, so I guess a few extra minutes is nothing.
"I... really, really, really... love you. So much." I whispered for only him to hear, and hearing my words he coughed out a laugh, trying to hide it as he rolled his eyes at me.
"That's a lot of love, it's almost intimidating," My face fell into a glare as he chuckled, squeezing my hands tighter.
"Until I realise that I love you so much more than that." He redeemed himself as I went back to smiling, trying to hide it from him as I turned to look at the priest who, very clearly, heard our exchange, but smiled it off as he continued to speak to the audience.
"Now for the vows... Do you, Marcos Romano, take this woman to be your lawfully wedded wife? Do you promise to-"
"-I do."
A fleeting moment of stunned silence passed until all the guests erupted into laughter at his actions, and with their laughter, my face lit up with a blush as I covered my mouth to hide the amused smile. Cutting the priest off at the vows is something he would definitely do; I can't even say I'm surprised.
But no one minded, including the priest who laughed aloud at this man's actions.
"Well, love isn't something we need to be afraid of fading for this couple. Nonetheless, do you promise to love her, cherish her, honour, and comfort her in sickness and in health?... Now, you can say I do,"
Glaring at my husband, he sheepishly grinned at me, picking my hands up to kiss my knuckles before firmly nodding his head.
"I do." And the priest turned to me, asking me the same question.
"Do you, Dahlia Tarantino, take this man to be your lawfully wedded husband? Do you promise to love him, cherish him, honour, and comfort him in sickness and in health?"
Unlike Marcos, I purposely took a moment to answer the question as he strengthened his grip on my hands, somehow looking nervous despite the clear answer that I would give.
"I do."
"Then, without further ado, with the power vested in me, I pronounce you husband and wife, Mr and Mrs Romano. Congratulations, you may now kiss your bride."
And he didn't waste a moment, wrapping an arm around my waist as the other nestled itself on my neck, pulling me up to his chest as his lips caught mine in a warm embrace.
"Mrs Romano." He whispered into my ear.
"Mr Romano." I did the same to him as he laughed, peppering kisses along my shoulder as we hugged, the audience cheering as they threw flower petals at us.
"That's enough! I'm hungry! Stop kissing and let's go outside before the food gets cold!" Isaac shouted from the front of the audience, my dads' nodding in agreement with him as I agreed, feeling my stomach grumble in hunger.
As we all exited the church through the back, my eyes lit up at the wondrous sight in front of me. The plain green stretch of land had been decorated for our wedding reception, and if the church's interior looked like a fairytale then I didn't know what word to use for the outside.
It was enough to leave me breathless, with wooden chairs and table's lined with flowers, candles, and fairy lights, a large dance floor was set up at the centre with a stage in front of it, and a small group of people stood at the side as they played some stringed instruments.
"It's beautiful." I laughed, hugging Marcos as he kissed the top of my head.
But what stuck out to me more than the beautiful view, was the man that stood on the stage; Blonde hair, blue eyes, dressed in a royal blue suit with a mic in hand, and a smirk on his face.
"Isn't that..." I started.
"Lucian Vandenburg?" Marcos finished the sentence for me as the said man stepped off the stage, coming to stand in front of us as he patted Marcos' shoulder.
"You really thought you could quietly go get married in a little village without even inviting me? I'm hurt, Marcos." He fake pouted.
"To be honest, I wasn't even thinking of you. It was originally supposed to just be me, my wife, and the priest. How did you even hear about my wedding? Let alone get here?"
"Wow, I'm not surprised by the cold treatment, but it still hurts... I went to your company for some business, but you weren't there, and Carlos, that sassy secretary of yours, told me you went somewhere to get married. So, of course, I had to track you down. And I brought my yacht."
"Your yacht?"
"Yeah, I was going to bring the helicopter, but I wanted to be comfortable, you know?"
"Whatever." And the conversation ended there.
"Thank you for coming," I greeted, smiling at him.
"It was my pleasure, Mrs Romano. How you ended up with this man, I will never understand, but I'm sure he'll treat you well." He moved to hug me, failing in his attempt as Marcos stepped forward between us.
"Please, you know I'm not interested in marriage. Let alone adultery, I'm a good person," Lucian glared, offended, to which Marcos shrugged his shoulders in reply.
"Can never be too safe. My wife is beautiful, you know,"
"No offense, but she's not my type,"
"Oh yeah?"
"Yes, I've dated a lot of people in my life, and I've already dated someone that looks like her, and I've realised that she's not my type. So, you have nothing to worry about," He innocently grinned as Maros' eye twitched.
"I don't know if I should be happy or angry about that..."
"Take your time to decide... Now, if you'll excuse me, I'm going to go speak on stage to humiliate you on your wedding day. Think of it as a sort of sweet revenge. Prepare yourself, dear friend."
"Don't you dare, Lucian... Lucian... Lucian!"
It was truly, such a beautiful day.
...