I can't promise that it's gonna be fine
But here I am if you're ready to try
Setting: Palace of Versailles, Versailles, France
Kylie: After Nyah walked down the aisle the doors closed then Lana got up to start singing but Lisa was supposed to give a cue for everyone to stand up for Demi to walk in, but the doors never opened back up and we were all standing there for like five minutes. I think everyone who was standing by Cristo had figured out that Demi was probably having a panic attack, but we couldn't really do anything.
Once five minutes had passed and his bride hadn't appeared, Cristo glanced at Kylie who shrugged her shoulders, then messed with his frosty blue bowtie in an attempt to calm himself down. But a few more minutes passed and the doors still weren't open. Even though he knew he was going to cause a scene, he walked down the aisle towards the doors that Demi was supposed to walk through. He slipped through the doors, ignoring the whispers from everyone sitting down, then closed it behind him. That's when he saw Demi on the ground, shaking and holding her hand against her chest like she was trying to catch her breath.
"What happened?" Cristo asked Eddie, who looked like he was torn between comforting his daughter and just letting her be by herself like she wanted.
"Panic attack," Eddie mumbled, stuffing his hands into his pockets. Cristo immediately went to Demi's sides, wrapping his arms around her and trying to get her to calm down.
"Hey, hey, what's wrong, ma cherie? Tell me what's going on?" Cristo quietly said, his own heart nearly breaking as he saw the distressed look on Demi's face. She looked like an absolute queen yet she was near tears on her wedding day.
"What if we don't make it? What if everything gets bad after this?"
One day while they were in New York hiding from Kris, Clara, Dianna, and all of their wedding plans, Demi had told Cristo about how after she married Trey, their entire relationship went downhill and it made her question the whole thing. Cristo understood where her fears were coming from, but he didn't know how many times he could tell her that they were going to last because they were different, because he loved her with absolutely everything inside of her, that he didn't want to be with anyone else.
"Demi, I can't promise you that we won't have our fights, that there won't be days where we can't stand each other, days where we question our entire relationship. I can't promise you anything except my love and my willingness to make this work. I love you, ma cherie. And no matter what happens, I'm not going anywhere. You need to get off of this floor so that I can make a vow to stick by you no matter what. Putting up with your bullshit for better or worse, remember?" Cristo reminded her, lifting her chin as Demi released a dry sob.
"I'm sorry I'm like this but my mind wouldn't stop racing and-"
"Demi, I know how your mind works. I'd be surprised if you weren't like this. It's okay, love. I'm right here. When you finally walk through those doors don't even worry about anyone else. Just look at me, okay?" Cristo reassured her as Demi nodded, letting him help her up.
"I love you, Demi, and your mind may make you doubt it, but I want to spend the rest of my life with you. I've never been more ready," Cristo said, kissing her forehead as Demi held onto his hands for as long as she could.
"Are you guys ready now?" Lisa questioned, looking between the couple.
"Yes," Demi confidently answered, never looking away from Cristo. He smiled, brushing his thumb against her cheek before he went back inside. Lisa fixed Demi's veil again and then Demi looped her arm through Eddie's as they approached the door.
"Are you ready, pumpkin?" Eddie asked, patting her hand as Demi slowly nodded.
"Yes. Just don't let me fall, dad," Demi quietly pleaded as Eddie chuckled.
"Never."
And then the doors opened and Demi's eyes instantly landed on Cristo. He looked so handsome in his grey suit that Tom Ford had custom made for him, and he had his sweet, beautiful smile on his face but there were also tears gathering in the bottom of his eyes as he took her in. Demi had never seen him cry before.
Lana began to sing "Young and Beautiful" and the dramatics of the song mixed with the grandiose of the Gallery of Battles made Demi's heart skip a few beats. She really could not believe that this was her life. She looked around the room, taking it all in, but her eyes ultimately went to Cristo. His hands were folded in front of him and a single tear had slipped down his cheek, causing Demi to blink back her own tears. Her graceful glide down the aisle took the entire length of the song, and once she made it to the altar, Eddie placed her hand in Cristo's before taking his seat next to Dianna. Then her veil was lifted and she couldn't help as her smile grew even wider as she stared into Cristo's eyes.
"You may all be seated," the minister said as everyone sat down. Demi stared at the crowd for a split second before looking back at Cristo.
This really was her forever.
Setting: The Orangerie, Palace of Versailles, Versailles, France
"For the first time ever, please welcome Mr. and Mrs. Ghesquiere!" The DJ announced, causing everyone to cheer as Demi and Cristo walked hand in hand down the spiral staircase that led into the Orangerie.
Two extremely long tables were set up inside of the beautiful gallery. It really did look like a winter wonderland and Demi couldn't believe that she hadn't wanted a big wedding before. Everything was really taking her breath away and she would have to find some way to thank Clara, Kris, and Dianna for doing all of this for them.
"Please clear the dance floor for the first dance," Cristo led Demi down to the dance floor.
She was a little nervous because Cristo had picked the song but she trusted him. After they had their first dance and cut the cake, Demi was going to change out of her dress and into the one that Cristo had designed for her before the festivities really began.
The opening chords of the song began to play and Demi recognized the song instantly. It was "When A Man Loves A Woman" by Percy Sledge. Eddie used to play it for Dianna all of the time. Demi chuckled and shot him a look as he wrapped one arm around her waist and held her other hand, gliding them around the dance floor to the beat of the song.
"This is perfect for us, huh?" Demi questioned, quirking her eyebrow as Cristo nodded.
"Yeah, because it's the way I feel, ma cherie. I would do anything for you. I hope you realize that," Cristo answered as Demi smiled.
"Like bury dead bodies? I'm going to kill Kendall and Kylie for posting pictures of their dresses," Demi joked, causing Cristo to nod as he looked down at her.
"Yeah, then we can escape to Havana and hideaway," Cristo planned, causing Demi to rest her head on his chest.
"I would do anything for you too. I hope with time I can prove that to you."
"You already have. Je t'aime beaucoup, l'amour de ma vie," Cristo cooed as Demi looked up at him.
"What does that mean?"
"The love of my life," Cristo answered as the song came to an end.
Demi cupped his cheek in her hand and used the height from her heels to press a kiss against his lips, everyone cheering as they kissed. Demi almost didn't want to pull away – in September she cut him off on sex because she wanted their wedding night to be extra special – but she did because Kris came onto the dance floor to get them to cut the cake.
Demi was expecting Cristo to shove cake all up in her face but surprisingly, he didn't, and the moment was really sweet. Before they started to serve dinner, Kendall, Kylie, and Law rushed with her back to the hotel to change into her second dress. It was a really simple white dress but the design of it was really pretty, which is what she loved about Cristo's dresses. There was still a bit of a train but it wasn't as dramatic as her wedding dress.
Once they made it back to the palace, dinner was being served and once everyone was settled down, Demi took that as her cue to walk to the DJ booth to grab the microphone.
"Hi, everyone," she shyly greeted, causing everyone to look up at her as she fiddled with the material of her dress.
"I'm not one for public speeches. You all know music is my specialty, so I wrote this song for Cristo and I hope it's alright if I sing it," Demi said, causing everyone to release a round of cheers as she giggled and moved so that she was standing in front of the choir that she had hired. Yes, she was being extra, but she had a hard time finding a wedding present for a man that could pretty much have anything he wanted.
This was the first song that she had written in a while, and she had written it while trying to figure out what her vows were going to be. She was going to actually sing it to him as her vows but that would've taken way too long, so she had opted to sing it for their reception instead. And if she was being completely, honest, she loved the way that the song turned out, and judging by the look on Cristo's face, he loved it too.
"Here's my body that I'm giving to us. Here's my arms that'll hold us up. Here's my life dedicated to love. I'll try to give you everything you deserve. And I can't promise that it's gonna be fine. But here I am if you're ready to try. Here's my tears when you tell me those words. Here's my life for better or worse, for better or...yeah, yeah, yeah, yes. Yeah, yeah, yeah, yes," Demi held the last note for a little longer than necessary before she moved the mic from her mouth and sheepishly smiled as everyone clapped for her. She gave the DJ his mic back before skipping back over to the table and right into Cristo's arms.
"That was absolutely beautiful, ma cherie," Cristo complimented once she sat back down, feeling her nerves settle as she leaned against him.
"Thank you," Demi breathed out, intertwining their fingers as she watched all of their friends and family mingle, dance, and eat. The room was filled with so much love and Demi couldn't ask for anything more.
"I have something for you too," Cristo said once he finished off his food. Though everything looked amazing from the roasted sirloin to the long stem green beans, Demi still didn't have much of an appetite. She needed to eat but she was filled with so many emotions that she couldn't.
Cristo helped her out of her seat and led her through the large gallery, stopping to talk to a few people on the way before they made it to the very back where Odell was with Ashley. But there was someone extra at the table. It was Trey.
"Trey...what are you doing here?" Demi asked, looking between Cristo and Trey. Trey had grown his hair out a lot since August, but now the sides were faded. He was in a classic black tuxedo with a black bow tie, and Trey hated wearing bow ties. She hadn't had any sort of contact with him since they signed those divorce papers.
"Cristo invited me," Trey said, gesturing to her fiancé. Once he saw the look that Demi was giving Cristo, he gave them a little space to talk.
"Why did you...?"
"Because of what you said about still wanting him in your life. I don't know what rules you guys need to establish in order to have a working friendship, but I don't want you not being friends with him because of me. I'm secure enough in what we have for you to be friends with him if that's what you truly want," Cristo explained, and that's when Demi knew that she had made the right choice, that Cristo really was her forever.
Her ongoing issue with Trey had always been trust, and even though they had been together for six years, they never fully trusted each other. That's why Demi had cussed him out as soon as he came home from tour. That's why he accused her of cheating every time she so much as looked at a guy. Yes, they were different now. They had obviously changed and explored different relationships. But there was so much wrong with theirs that although Demi loved Trey, she couldn't put herself back into that situation.
With Cristo, it was so different. Even though Demi had given him plenty reason not to trust her – her track record with him wasn't that great – he still did. In no way was Cristo perfect, but just the fact that he had invited Trey of all people to their wedding and he hadn't flipped out over the fact that she expressed that she still wanted him in her life made her realize that Cristo was the man she needed, the man she deserved. Everyone always told her that she deserved much better, and now she felt like she had her "much better" in Cristo.
"Thank you," she whispered before Cristo kissed her then went to talk to Odell about football or fashion or whatever it is that they had suddenly bonded over.
Trey stuffed his hands into his pockets as he approached Demi again. He hadn't made it to the ceremony for obvious reasons, so he didn't get to see what her actual wedding dress looked like, but she looked absolutely gorgeous in the dress she was wearing now. White really was her color. It stuck out perfectly against her bronzed shoulders and brought out the honey speckles in her eyes.
"Thank you for coming today. I know it's probably not easy for you," Demi said, folding her arms behind her back as Trey carefully thought about what he was going to say next.
He could say something about still being in love with her, and that being in her life as her friend was actually better than not being in her life at all. He could convince her to sneak away with him and explore the place a little more, really make her see what she was missing out on and make her question her choice of marrying Cristo. Or, he could be a good friend, a friend that she wanted, a friend that her husband had invited to their wedding even though he didn't have to. So, Trey chose the last option...to be a good friend.
"This isn't about me. It's about you. Some reporters are already calling it the wedding of the century although I think they're being a bit dramatic," Trey joked, causing Demi's entire face to light up as she laughed along with him.
"How long are you staying for?" Demi asked as Trey shrugged.
"I'm actually leaving back out tonight. My mom isn't too thrilled that I missed Christmas, but she understood that this is important," Trey answered as Demi glanced around the room.
"Well, the photo booth is here. Breaking our streak before New Year's would probably be considered bad luck," Demi said, gesturing to where some of the guests had lined up to take pictures.
"I don't need any more bad luck in my life. Let's go," Trey said, letting Demi lead the way. Once they saw that the bride was coming to take pictures, they let her jump the line, and Demi promised that she would take pictures with them as soon as she was done with Trey.
"Okay, goofy!" Demi said, sticking her tongue out as Trey crossed his eyes.
"Um, resting bitch face!" Demi called out, dropping her smile as Trey did the same.
"Okay, now-" but she didn't get to finish because Trey simply wrapped his arm around her and pulled her close, the photographer catching them mid laugh before they both pulled away and went to look at their pictures.
"Definitely Instagram material," Demi giggled as she looked at the pictures.
"Definitely. I'll let you get back to your fiancé. I hope you have an amazing night, Demi. You deserve it," Trey said, squeezing her hand before he headed back to where Odell was.
Before Demi could go and find Cristo, Maddie called her over for a photo and then she got stuck taking pictures with nearly all of her friends and most of her family. After what felt like an hour, Demi was finally able to sneak away and go and find her fiancé who was talking to his mother.
"Hey Clara, do you mind if I steal him away for a quick second?" Demi sweetly asked, causing Clara to grin at the young couple as she nodded.
"He's all yours."
With that, Demi intertwined their fingers as they began to walk back towards their table, dodging the excited – and nearly drunk people – on the dance floor as they sat back down.
"You didn't have to invite him here, but I'm glad that you did," Demi said, placing her hand on his knee as he kissed her forehead.
"Like I keep saying, I just want you to be happy."
"You make me happy, Cristo. In fact, I wish we could just hop on your jet and go on our honeymoon. I'm just so ready to go away and be with you alone. No weddings to plan, no interviews, no cameras...just us," Demi said, tangling her fingers into the hairs on the nape of his neck as she settled herself on his lap.
"As amazing as that sounds, Kris would have us dragged back here if we tried to leave early," Cristo chuckled as Demi groaned in annoyance.
"I love you, ma cherie."
"Je t'aime beaucoup, mon tout," Demi cooed before connecting their lips.
Demi: I think today was definitely the best day of my life. I had the wedding of my dreams and married the man of my dreams. I still can't believe that all of this is real but I'm so happy and I hope this feeling lasts forever.
I know I've been fucking with y'all this entire book but did y'all really think that I was gonna not have them get married????