Listen to the song added above for better feels.
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[Calum Achorn]
The music begins on the other side of the door, which indicated the entry of the bridesmaids. The door opens slowly, and Neave's best friends, six of them, walk in, their feet following the slow rhythm of the music.
Ambrosia's hand clasps mine tightly, nervously. I give it a small squeeze and smile down at her. She's breathing heavily, probably afraid of tripping and making a complete nuisance of herself.
"I won't let you fall," I lean down and whisper in her ear. She lets a shaky breath out and nods.
The music climbs in pitch, indicating entry of the best man and the maid of honour. Ambrosia gives an encouraging smile to her sister and nods at me that she's ready, and clutches me for dear life.
I take a deep breath myself and guide her, keeping pace with the music. Everyone smiles at us as we enter, and Timothy gives me a discreet thumbs up. Her mother has a sour expression on her face, as if she was waiting me to bolt out of the door any second.
We reach the aisle quickly enough, and Ambrosia takes her place next to the other bridesmaids. I stand behind Paul.
A hush falls on the room when Neave enters with Mr Bellemore. She looks likes she's gliding a few feet over the floor, with the white dress trailing a few feet behind her. She's smiling radiantly at everyone and Paul looks almost lost in a trance.
When Mr Bellemore hands over Neave to Paul, I see a tear sliding down Paul's face. In an instant, my gaze snaps to Ambrosia's face. She's already watching me.
"Dearly beloved, we're gathered here today to see the holy union of two beautiful souls under the watchful and loving gaze of Jesus. Paul and Neave, this is your day and thank you for letting us be a part of it," The priest begins the ceremony, but my eyes remain on Ambrosia.
The priest reads excerpts from the holy text, but I can't seem to concentrate on his words. Something in me changed the moment I saw the tears in Paul's eyes, and I can't seem to take my off of Ambrosia.
"What?" Ambrosia mouths, concerned. I must look lost in thought. I shake my head, smiling softly.
The priest asks Neave to read her vows. Ambrosia hands her a small notebook, and she starts reading from it.
"Paul Harper," She says, her voice cracks a little, but she's smiling.
"I'm not sure about what makes up the universe and I'm not sure about where I will be in 20 years. I'm not sure about what I want to wear, or what I like to eat, but I am sure about this. I love you and want to be with you. To be unsure about things together is something I want for the rest of our lives," She says. Ambrosia and I stare at each other, unblinking. Ambrosia's eyes shimmer a little, filled with tears.
"Though today seems like the beginning of a long journey and I can't help but feel like I'm finally home," Neave reads, tears freely falling down her face as Paul clutches onto her hand tightly.
"I will treat your goals, dreams, and ambitions as my own. I will be ever supportive to you and to make sure that our collective dreams will always come true." At this, Ambrosia nods at me with a small smile. I feel my heart clench.
The priest asks Paul to read his vows. I hand him the parchment.
"I promise to find a way to show you how much I love you every single day of our lives." Paul reads. Ambrosia mouths 'I promise' and averts her eyes in a hurry.
"You fill my life with meaning. Thank you for taking me as I am, loving me, and welcoming me into your heart. I promise to always love you, respect you, and to be faithful to you forever." I wait for Ambrosia to look at me, and when she does I mouth 'I promise' and give her the biggest smile I can muster.
"I do," Paul declares.
I nod at Ambrosia.
"I do," Neave smiles.
She nods at me.
Everyone starts clapping. We join in a little too late.
The ring ceremony goes by in a flash, and my eyes kept finding Ambrosia once in a while. Something had changed, I was sure about that but I wasn't sure what to make of it yet. Ambrosia was smiling like she knew some trade secret though, so I was a little wary.
Neave and Paul are asked to kiss, and everyone claps as they're presented as Mr and Mrs Harper. Paul leads Neave out of the church, and I take Ambrosia's hand to lead her. She smiles up at me with gratitude when I take hold of her waist at the stairs.
"Thank you," She breathes out.
"Likewise," I say. She gives me a confused look.
Ambrosia is asked to stand with the other bridesmaids so as to proceed with the bouquet throwing ceremony. Neave gives me a small wink before turning around and throwing the bouquet in the general direction of Ambrosia. The bouquet lands directly into Ambrosia's hands, to the disappointment of the other bridesmaids.
Ambrosia gives me a wide-eyed look, and I'm pretty sure I was wearing a similar expression. But before we could ponder more, or talk about it, we're ushered into different cars to be taken to the reception ceremony.
The reception is at the Woodhaven Manor, which is a ten minute ride. Ambrosia and I are in different cars, but my thoughts kept reaching out to her.
What the Hell happened today?
Somehow, my views on marriage had changed drastically. Neave and Paul took their life long imprisonment like a blessing, and everyone was crying, but in happiness. It was weird.
My father used to tell me that marrying the same woman for so long is a stretch, but if you find the woman made for you by the Heavens, it seems like a short time. I used to laugh at him then. Someone made for you in the heavens is a concept I had a hard time swallowing. How can someone put up with my goals and ambitions without hampering them? Girls wasted precious time, they wasted money.
But Ambrosia never asked for my time, nor for my money. She never wanted anything but her salary. She was driven, passionate like me. She wanted to rise on her own accord. Which is why my father was giving her a promotion, of which she knew nothing, of course. Yet.
Maybe Ambrosia was the woman for me. The woman I'm supposed to spend my life with. Fate has given us a lot of signs, maybe I'm supposed to sucker up and ask for her hand.
I shake my head vigorously. What was I thinking? I can't ask her to marry me so soon! Maybe someday in the future, sure, but not now, when we're still trying to work this thing out. But she'll be the one, I decide, she's the one.
And when during her maid of honor speech, she says,"A dream you dream alone is a dream. A dream you dream together, that is reality and that reality starts right now," I promise myself that one day, I'll declare myself the happiest man in the world. That day, I'll make Ambrosia Bellemore my own.
~•~
Weddings are done! And let me tell you guys, that they're very, very tiring. I've watched a dozen wedding videos to write this chapter and I'm overwhelmed, to say the least. I know this chapter isn't that funny, but something has changed between Calrosia and let's just appreciate that, please guys.
Fyi, the next chapter will jump one year, which means that it will be the LAST CHAPTER, which also means that something huge is going to happen!
See you guys soon!