I am hoping its normal for a bride to lose the function of her lungs moments before walking up the aisle. For the past ten minutes my breathing has been some what erratic. Sharp, shallow and quick. I tried everything to restore it to normal but in the end I gave up. Partly because it was a waste of time and partly because my Mum started asking me if I was feeling well when she caught me holding my breath while the make up artist scrubbed mascara tracks off my cheeks. Apparently I was turning blue. I tried to explain what I was doing but my mind was elsewhere so my reply didn’t make much sense at all. So after that embarrassment I resigned myself to an inability to breathe properly.
I don’t particularly know why breathing has become such a challenge. I don’t have Cora ruining my wedding to be nervous about and I’m certainly not nervous about marrying Ollie. I’ve never been so sure of anything in my life. I guess its just anticipation. I don’t see how it could be anything else. I’ve never had a problem with breathing before now.
We walk our way through the grand hall of the stately home. I grip onto Dad’s hand as if my life depended on it as Georgie, Emmie, Kate and Mandy follow us behind. The doors to the ceremony room are opened and I am greeted with the sound of string instruments begin to play ‘One Day Like This’ and the flower girls start to totter down the aisle. The sight before me catches the breath in my throat as I see just what Ollie has done. Flowers adorn the room in such beautiful, vibrant shades you hardly know where to fix your eye. The colours are soft greens and creams with plants such as Ivy entwined here and there. The fresh shades make me think of a forest in the warmth of spring. The sun is streaming in through the grand, Georgian windows lighting up the entire room. It is an intimate gathering of a select choice of family and friends with no bitchy ex-girlfriends insight. Basically Ollie has somehow recreated the image I had pictured in my head of the perfect wedding. The music swells to a crescendo and I step into the room.
At that moment Ollie turns to look at me and in that instant my breathing returns to normal. All the stress of the passed couple of months melt away and finally I feel like my normal self again. The girl who quarrelled with the celebrity she had been thrown with to no end.
The way Ollie’s eyes light up on locking with mine tells me that this is where I am meant to be. No other has ever looked at me in that way and neither would I ever want anyone but Ollie to. I attempt to retain every detail of that one glance and store it in the most important memories of my life. There is no hiding the smile breaking out onto my lips.
Its not usual practice, but I can’t help it, the moment I reach Ollie I let go of Dad’s hand and throw my arms around him. He has to stumble back slightly in order to catch me. The sound of his chuckle ringing in my ear sends a jolt of pure happiness through me.
“You are just…” I can’t even get the words out. So the endless list of words which could be tagged onto the end of that phrase linger. I’ve called Ollie quite a lot of things during the time I have known him. Arrogant, a nuisance, childish and rude for starters. Those words still come into play occasionally but they’ve generally been replaced with words such as: amazing, wonderful, lovely and perfect. But out of all the hundreds of words I have used to describe him, I can’t seem to pick one that manages to sum up all I feel for him now. So instead I just laugh softly.
“I hope I didn’t panic you too much,” he says.
“You nearly caused me to have a break down but I recovered. What you have done is…” and once again words fail me. But he must get what I mean.
“To make things better you didn’t even stumble when you were walking towards me. You displayed a rare spurt of elegance.”
“You have no idea how relieved I am. Speaking of relieved, how on earth did you manage to ditch Cora?”
“While I’d love to tell you that story, I think now is not the time. There are quite a few people waiting to watch us get married. And if it wouldn’t trouble you too much I would like to be able to call you my wife sometime today too.”
“Oh…” I haven’t realised quite how long I have been clinging to Ollie for. Blushing I unravel myself and face the woman who is going to marry us.
After this everything seems to pass in a blur. We’re reading our vows, Emmie is reading out Sonnet 130 and explaining its meaning to Ollie and I, then we’re saying I dos, being declared married, having pictures taken on the lawn, greeting guests as they arrive for the reception. During all this time I have not been able to wipe the grin of my face. My muscles are beginning to ache around my mouth but sheer joy cancels out the pain. Mrs. Daniels. Izzie Daniels. Mrs. Isabelle Eloise Emerson-Daniels. I haven’t quite worked out what I’m doing with my name but the options are bringing a smile to my face.
Eventually Ollie and I take our seats for dinner. I joke that Ollie should opt for the courgette, beetroot and chocolate salad. The expression on his face tells me that he would rather eat cardboard. But Ollie has chosen a far better menu sovinstead we are presented with a creamy, peppery vegetable soup which smelt so good I swear my mouth was watering and tastes even better.
“So are you going to tell me what has been going on?” I ask Ollie while breaking off a piece of my homemade bread and dipping it in the soup.
“The day I left you after we saw Cora’s interview in the paper I sacked her.”
“What about the hidden clause?”
“We can afford the fine. But it doesn’t matter. I don’t think Cora will be bothering us.”
“Why?” I ask with curiosity.
“Sometimes I feel we’re a little too private. Maybe I could reveal to the press what a sterling job she has done on our wedding. Somehow I think her clientele would begin to dwindle.”
“You said that to her?”
“I did.”
“I imagine she took that brilliantly.”
“It was one of the many moments I wish you were there to witness. Imagine a four year old having a temper tantrum. Then multiply that ten times and you have Cora’s reaction.” Ollie’s subsequent imitation almost causes me to choke on my soup.
“Okay so you got rid of Cora, what happened to everything planned for the other wedding?” I ask once I have recovered from the soup-choking incident.
“That was part of the agreement. If she accepted that we no longer wanted her services and cancelled every single plan she had made herself and explain that it was her fault and not ours to every person then I wouldn’t go to the press. She did it and we got a fresh slate without complication. She got the full blast of any anger it created. I hear Natasha was a delight to deal with.”
“Keep going, how did you manage this,” I prompt him.
“A lot of hard work. I just gathered up every friend and family member I could think of until eventually, between all of us, we managed to pull this off.” I glance to Mum, Dad, Georgie, Kate, Mandy, Emmie, Dom, Ollie’s parents and all the people I imagine have helped Ollie to get this to work. I must remember to thank each and everyone of them personally.
“But everything is so perfect. My Mum didn’t even know that this was my dream wedding venue. How did you possibly…”
“Credit me with some knowledge Izzie, I’m your husband. I know quite a bit about you.”
“You are my husband,” I repeat in amazement.
“You’re my wife.”
“That’s right you’re stuck with me.”
“I’ve been stuck with you for a long time now. It’s hard to pinpoint the exact moment I fell in love with you. But ever since then there was no getting rid of you.”
“Can’t really remember when I stopped thinking you were detestable and started to love you either.”
“Admit it; you were always a little bit in love with me.”
“That’s not even the slightest bit true,” I protest.
“Are you sure about that?”
“Okay, fine, maybe I was just too ignorant to notice at first...”
“But you always loved me.”
“…yes.”
“I’m going to have to hear you say it,” he says with a mischievous smirk on his face.”
“I was always a little bit in love with you.”
“Good me too.”
“You too? Which part of the cold indifference was falling in love with me?” I ask with a scoff.
“I may have panicked.”
“That was panicking was it?” I laugh.
“I’m serious Iz, from the moment I met you…” he drops his voice to a far more serious tone and catches my gaze. Setting down his spoon he places a hand gently onto mine.
“I know,” I say.
Once the eating and speeches are over we all proceed outdoors to where a stage has been set up for the band. The dropping sun still radiates warmth in the evening air as we congregate in the ornate garden. By this point quite a few people have had a lot to drink and so the party spirit is running high. I manage to grasp a few minutes to thank my bridesmaids for everything they have done.
“So I assume you knew about this the entire time?” I ask them.
“We may have helped a bit,” says Emmie.
“Well, thank you, today has been perfect.”
“It really has, a don’t suppose you know anymore famous men for me do you?” Georgie jokes.
“Unfortunately not… wait where’s Mandy? I wanted to thank her too…” I search the crowd for her but can’t see her anywhere. When I look back to Emmie, Georgie and Kate’s faces they are all smirking.
“What?” I ask them.
“Last we saw Mandy and Dom went off on a private walk around the gardens together,” Kate says.
“Mandy and Dom?” My query is met with enthusiastic nods. “Well I think I’ll leave them to it then.”
The party continues well into the night and slowly people become more and merrier with the amount of drinks inside them. Eventually Ollie and I find a moment to ourselves and slink off into the garden together quietly. We don’t get too far as my heels sink right into the grass making it hard for me to move. Laughing, Ollie sweeps me up and carries me to a nearby bench where he then places me down again. We sit side by side with my head resting on his shoulder. In the distance we can hear the noise of the celebration continuing without us but it is hazy as if Ollie and I are in our own little world.
“Who would have thought it, me and you,” Ollie says in a soft sigh.
“The most unlikely couple.”
“Surrounded by our usual chaos,” he jokes.
“I wouldn’t have it any other way.” Our smiles are visible in the increasingly dimming light.
“Well come on then Izzie Daniels, we wouldn’t want to miss the party.” And so Ollie and I lazily make our way back towards the sounds of laughter with his hand clasped firmly around mine. A promise to face the chaos together from now on.
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A/N: That's the end of the sequel of the Isabelle Emerson series. But I will be working on a final, subsequent story of Izzie and Ollie quite soon. Thank you for following her story so far and for all the votes and comments. There will, however, be a bit of a gap as I need to pay attention to some of my other stories. (The Accidental Boyfriend and The Cupid Who Detests Romance will be edited before being updated again.) Also shortly after posting this I will be uploading the opening chapter to a completed story called The Emma Dilemma. While you're waiting for the final Izzie and Ollie story could you give the Emma Dilemma a read? I am hoping to enter it into the Watty Awards as I did with When An Accident Prone No One Runs Into A Celebrity There Will Be Chaos... and I could do with your help and support to give it a chance. I will be posting a link in the comments as soon as it is up. Thank you for all your help and I hope you enjoyed the story :)
P.S.: I know I say this more than I should but thank you for your patience. My exams were a terrible time in which I had no life outside my work but they're over now!