last chapter before epilogue guys ahhhhh...
SCARLETT
We had arrived in France on Wednesday, to get everything ready for the wedding on Saturday. Saying that I'm excited is definitely a euphemism. I don't even know how to describe everything I'm feeling right now. We had landed in Montpellier and we had driven for 45 kilometers to get to our wedding venue.
I and Harry have already seen it in person, considering we had come to France around six months ago to choose the best venue for the wedding and I had instantly fallen in love with this one. The chateau is made of old stone, with arches and plants running all around. The lines are clean and classic, while there's a pop of modernity in the furniture, which contrasts the classic construction of the castle. There's a 3-hectare park and that's exactly where the wedding will be held and what we liked the most, with the beautiful castle as background to all of it.
Another thing Harry particularly liked is that the wines are produced on-site, which have been well-reviewed in prestigious wine magazines. There are 60 hectares of grapevines on this vast property, a 13m swimming pool and a tennis private court, which Harry also really liked.
"This is a dream!" Mia shouts with excitement while she movies the eyes around the architecture of the castle with amazement in her eyes and the lips wide apart. "Yes! Yes!" She keeps exulting, clapping her hands and jumping on the spot. "This is so beautiful!"
"I told you you would've liked it, princess!" Harry tells her, stroking her curly head. She immediately starts walking around the garden and Harry quickly follows behind.
It's only me, Mia and him for now, considering that Andres is coming with Cielo and all the guests are arriving Friday in the morning.
"Can we go inside?" Mia asks Harry, pointing at the door. He nods his head at her and she quickly grabs his hand, guiding him toward it. Mia wasn't too excited at first about the whole trip, considering she couldn't bring all of her toys with her, but she seems to have quickly forgotten about them. What will definitely be harder to forget is that after the wedding I and Harry are going to leave for the honeymoon.
"You have a beautiful daughter!" The man from the agency of the venue that has given us their welcome says, while he gets the keys to open the door.
"Yes, I know!" Before I or Harry can answer Mia quickly precedes us and says in a very frank tone, making Harry and the man laugh.
"Mia..." I scold her with a whisper. She looks up at me and furrows her eyebrows, not understanding what she did wrong. "Say thank you!" I help her to find the solution and she rolls her eyes.
"I meant to say thank you..." she sighs and puts on display a forced smile, while she holds tight her stuffed doll against her chest.
"You're very welcome!" The man kindly tells her, before opening the door for us and stepping aside to let us get in first.
"I don't like it..." Mia's smile quickly drops as soon as she moves her disappointed eyes around the room. I chuckle, knowing exactly that she was expecting the modern furniture by the way the castle looks outside. "It doesn't look like a castle!" She complains and sighs. "It looks like home!"
"Yeah, baby... we can play outside!" Harry tells her, lowering down to take her between his arms. She doesn't protest, she just wraps her arms around Harry's neck and rests her head on his shoulder.
Once that we've made sure everything is in order, we're left alone to unpack our bags in our rooms. We have our own bedroom and Mia's sleeping on her own here too.
"Mommy, do you get married now?" Mia asks me, as she helps me unpacking my bag. I've told her at least one thousand times what the plan is but she still doesn't remember it.
"No, pumpkin!" I smile. "We get married on Saturday, so a few more days..."
"Can I see your dress, mommy?" She asks me, battling her eyelashes at me and pouting. I haven't shown it to her yet just because I already know she wouldn't keep her mouth shut with Harry. "Pretty please?"
"It's not here yet, baby!" I shrug my shoulders, being completely honest. "It gets delivered on Friday."
"Boring!" She sighs and goes to sit down on my bed, deciding that she's helped me enough for today.
"What about a dip in the pool?" Harry asks, as soon as he gets back from his own exploration. I move my eyes on Mia, to see what she says, and she nods her head at him.
"Yes!" She says after, with more excitement, using her words. She jumps off the bed and runs to her room, probably to get her swimwear. When I see that Harry goes with her I don't worry about following her, so I get my favorite Chanel swimwear and I go to the bathroom to change.
Once I come out, Mia's already in her swimwear, a pink one piece, and she has her hair in two pigtails.
"Look what dad did!" She tells me with a smile, pointing at the two pigtails on her head. I smile and I lower to her level to kiss her nose.
"You look gorgeous, my love!" I tell her, stroking her head right after. I always love seeing her so excited for something as simple as some pigtails, but it happens whenever something has to do with her beloved father.
"I'll go change too..." he tells us, smiling in my direction before disappearing into the bathroom.
"Mommy, we didn't bring my water wings..." Mia makes me notice and I right away capture a hint of worry in her blue eyes. "But daddy told me he's going to hold me all the time!" She quickly says, almost trying to impose to herself not to be scared.
"Then you have nothing to worry about, angel!" I try to ease her mind and she smiles up at me, slowly nodding her head at my words.
Once that Harry's read, with his swimsuit on, in the first one to get into the water. Harry follows me in right after and he stretches his arms toward Mia who's waiting on the border of the pool, looking at us with her frightened eyes. Usually, she always gets in with her water wings, she's never been in the water without them.
"C'mon, daddy's right here!" Harry tries to reassure her. She thinks about it for a few seconds, before taking a little step toward him and stretching her own arms toward his shoulders too, leaning in toward him. Harry quickly gets her, holding her tight against his chest. "It's ok, baby... daddy's got you!" Harry whispers at her ear, rubbing her back to comfort her, when he notices the way she shakes, probably by fear.
I swim toward them, bringing my hand to her head to caress it and play with her curls as she likes.
"Nothing's going to happen as long as you're with mommy and daddy, angel..." I tell her with a smile, wanting to hold her in my arms and never let her go very much too right now, but I can tell that she definitely feels safer between her father's stronger arms.
"I don't like water!" She suddenly says, turning her head toward me and shaking her head with certainty. Both I and Harry chuckle at how cute she is and I get near to both of them, resting my head on Harry's shoulder.
"You'll love it once you'll learn how to swim, angel..." I tell her but she definitely gets the message wrong. She immediately grabs at Harry's shoulders with strength, her body tenses up and her face twists in a fearful expression.
"No!" She quickly protests, scared by the thought of Harry actually trying to teach her how to swim. "I wanna go out!" She cries out, trying to push her body toward the nearest borders.
"Mia, relax..." Harry sighs. "None of us is going to try to make you swim if you don't want to," Harry explains to her. "I'm not letting you go, angel!" Mia seems to relax at his words and she slowly wraps her arms around his neck and rests her head against his chest.
"How old were you when you learned?" Mia asks her father. She looks up at him with curiosity sparkling in her blue eyes. Harry thinks about it for a few seconds and I do too, not sure I remember exactly.
"Probably around five or six..." Harry tells her with his eyebrows furrowed, probably not too sure of his own answer.
"And you, mommy?"
"I think I was six!" I shrug my shoulders. That's definitely something difficult to remember with accuracy.
"So I still have one or two years to learn..." Mia observes while I slowly nod my head.
"You have all the time in the world!" I stroke her head and then I start kissing her all over her cheek, holding her tight against me. She chuckles and leaves a loud kiss on the tip of my nose.
The rest of the days until the wedding had gone by really quickly. We had spent Thursday just relaxing and playing with Mia around the garden. On Friday, the guests had started to arrive and Mia had been very happy to finally have Andres to play with.
For Harry's bachelor party they had decided to go out and leave the house to us to celebrate my bachelorette party here. They're going to the casino, or at least that's what they told Harry and us, but I don't have a lot of trust on Poe, who's organizing it all. Other than that, we're also keeping Mia and Andres, so, unlike them, we surely won't do anything crazy.
"God, how am I gonna survive without you for like... thirteen hours?!" Harry sighs once he's finished getting ready. He wraps his arms around my waist and draws me toward his warm body.
"I'm sure you'll be just fine..." I sigh, amused. "Loads of distractions," I roll my eyes, hinting at way more than some games at the casino and he chuckles.
"I already told you, baby... just poker and some other card game, nothing more!" He tells me with certainty and then locks his lips with mine, holding me tighter against his body.
"It better be like that, for my brother's sake..." I joke and he laughs against my lips, nodding his head at me.
"Daddy!" Our attention quickly shifts toward Mia's voice and we move our eyes on the door, seeing her walk in shortly after. She walks toward us once she sees us with a pout on her lips. "Why can't I come with you?" Harry chuckles and gets down on his knees to be on Mia's eye level.
"Because I'm afraid you're a little too young to get in, princess..." Harry sighs and strokes her cheeks.
"Why?" She furrows her eyebrows. "Are there naked women?" I chuckle at her question and I get down on my knees too, wrapping my arm around Harry's shoulders.
"Yeah, Harry... why? Are there naked women?" I repeat, while he playfully rolls his eyes at me.
"No, no naked women!" He sighs. "You're just too young to gamble, honey..."
"I don't know what that means," she shrugs her shoulders, making us both giggle.
"Well, nothing you need to know right now," Harry strokes her head and then grabs her hand into his. "But I'll come to sleep with you once I come back, what do you think?" He tells her, showing exactly how excited he is. Her eyes immediately light up and she vigorously nods her head. Considering he can't see the bride until tomorrow we can't sleep together.
"Yes!" She jumps on the spot and claps her hands. "I'll wait up for you!" She tells him, jumping into him and wrapping her arms around his neck. I immediately flash my eyes at Harry for telling her, considering I had told him not to. There's no way she's going to bed now and I don't think they're going to come back too soon.
"Good job!" I roll my eyes at him and he immediately realizes I was indeed correct.
"I'll come back too late, my love. You have to sleep way before that, or I'll go to sleep with Andres!" Harry threatens her and it quickly works, considering that she furrows her eyebrows and pouts, without insisting at all.
"Fine!" She huffs and crosses her arms over her chest.
"Ok, so be good, alright?" Harry asks her and she nods her head. "And if you see any naked men you can throw them out, ok?" I giggle, while she nods her head quite confused at her father's joke.
"Yikes!" She says disgusted, twitching her nose and poking her tongue out. Harry laughs at her before wrapping her between his arms and eating her up with kisses all over her face, just as she likes.
Before leaving, he kisses my lips a few more times, not really wanting to let go.
"I'll see you tomorrow?" He asks me with a smirk and I slowly nod my head, feeling the excitement and nervousness just growing and growing.
"I'll be the one in white..." I whisper against his lips, holding him tight against me, against the protest of my brother and the rest of his friends that just want to leave.
"Hey! You'll have him for the rest of your life... leave him to us for a bit, for Christ's sake!" My brother screams at me, while Harry chuckles against my lips.
"Fine!" I give in with a loud sigh, letting him go. Before walking away, Harry kisses my lips again, against the protest of my brother and all of his friends.
"I love you!" He quickly tells me. "I'll see you tomorrow!" He says and then kisses my lips once again.
"Mommy, what do we do?" Mia asks me, as soon as Harry walks out with his friends.
"Good question, honey!" I sigh. I just want it to be tomorrow already so bad. I grab her hand and I walk toward the garden where the party is.
"There won't be naked men, right?" Mia asks me and I chuckle, while slowly shaking my head.
"No naked men, baby!" I stroke her head and she furrows her eyebrows.
"Then who do I throw out?" She asks me with disappointment, making me laugh again.
"No one, I'm afraid!" I shrug my shoulders. "But you can dance with me all night, yeah?" I propose and she slowly nods her head.
"I'm a great dancer!" She says, smiling up at me. "Mommy, once we go back home can I start taking ballet classes, please?" She asks me right after.
"Of course, if that's what you like!" I smile and she does too, nodding her head vigorously.
"I don't wanna be a model anymore, I wanna be a ballerina!" She says with excitement and I nod my head at her.
"You can be whatever you want, my angel!" I get down on my knees and I leave a peck on her lips, before grabbing her hand again and walking out with her to go dancing with everyone else.
After dancing for a while with me, Mia starts dancing with Andres and Cielo, while I go get something non-alcoholic to drink.
"Are you liking the party?" Lucy asks me, distracting momentarily from my drink and from Mia, who's happily dancing with Andres.
"Yes, I love it!" I honestly tell her. I didn't want anything bigger than that. A party with my friends is just fine.
"I'm sorry I couldn't call strippers but it didn't feel very appropriate, considering they left us the kids..." she sighs and rolls her eyes while I just laugh it off.
"I'm actually glad you didn't, I'm already fine with seeing the same penis for the rest of my life!" I honestly tell her. I've never liked bachelorette parties too over the top.
"Wow..." Lucy says with shock, making me laugh. "Heard from no one ever," I playfully roll my eyes while she giggles.
"I guess they just didn't find the right one," I shrug my shoulder and I take a sip from my drink, looking over at where Mia's dancing too, to make sure she's alright.
"Well, I'm glad you did, then!" She smiles at me. "My brother is a lucky man!"
"I feel quite lucky too, actually..." I admit with a smile while looking at Mia dancing and laughing with Andres. I feel pretty damn lucky.
"Are you nervous for tomorrow?"
"No, not really..." I honestly say. "It's only a formality, after all... we've been living like a married couple for almost six years now."
"So you're excited?!" Lucy almost exclaims with a big smile while I vigorously nod my head.
"Very!" I sigh. "I can't wait for it to be tomorrow already!" I dramatically battle my eyelashes, bringing my hand on my heart.
"Me too!" She tells me. "We're going to share the same last name, Mrs. Styles..." she throws her arms at my neck and holds me in a hug.
"I know!" I match her excitement and rub her back in the hug.
HARRY
"So you were serious when you said no naked women?!" Rod says with disappointment to Poe once we get into the car to go back home, making us all laugh.
"Yeah, man... you don't know my sister!" Por sighs. "You never know she'll fake her death and frame me for it!" He blurts out and I'm quick to hit him in the head with a slap.
"Poe!" I flash my eyes at him.
"Sorry, I'm drunk!" He laughs, rubbing his head right where I've hit him. It has been a quiet night, we've just played and gotten some drinks. I've also not gotten drunk, considering that it's already late and I don't want to wake up with a killing headache the day of my wedding.
"How do you feel, Harry?" Spencer asks me, who, like me, is sober too, considering he doesn't drink.
"Fine... quite excited!" I tell him, not able to contain my smile.
"Not even a doubt? No worries about spending the rest of your life with one woman?" Poe asks me, wrapping his arm around my shoulders.
"No doubts, no worries!" I confirm with certainty.
"I wouldn't have a problem either, man... she's hot!" Rod drunkenly blurts out making us all laugh. He's definitely right.
"Well, sorry if I can't see it, mate!" Poe rolls his eyes. "She's my sister!" He reminds our drunk friend, who seems too out to understand his words.
Once we get back home, I go straight to Mia's room. Once I take a shower and get into my pajamas, I silently try to lay down next to her without wake her up, but as soon as I do so she opens her blue eyes and looks at me, without saying much. She's probably not completely awake.
"Hi, daddy!" She says after a few seconds.
"Hello, angel!" I kiss her forehead and I wrap my arms around her to hold her against my chest.
"No naked men, daddy!" She whispers and I chuckle at her words while I stroke her curly head.
"Did you have fun, honey?" I ask her and she slowly nods her head.
"Yes!" She says. "When we go back to LA I wanna take ballet classes..." she tells me with her sleepy voice.
"Ok, angel!" I whisper back. "Now sleep, that tomorrow is going to be a very long day."
"Ok!" She says. "I love you, daddy!"
"Love you more!" She rests her head on my chest and finally closes her eyes again to sleep, so I do the same, just wanting it to be tomorrow already.
The alarm in the morning starts ringing very early and I immediately stop it to make Mia sleep a little longer. She doesn't take as long as us to get ready so I slowly get up and go straight for the shower so that I can wake up quicker with the cold water.
When I come out of the bathroom, Poe is sitting at the table of the room, which is now full of food for breakfast.
"You have to wake Mia up, eat that and then come with me to get ready..." he tells me in a whisper and I nod my head, walking to Mia to wake her up. I start leaving kisses all over her face while softly chanting her name, just like I do every other morning.
"Rise and shine, angel..." she slowly opens her eyes and looks at me with a smile.
"Wedding day?" She asks me and when I nod my head her grin only grows.
"You have to go to mommy, she's waiting for you with your breakfast and clothes to get ready," at my words, she immediately jumps up from her bed.
"Yes!" She screams with excitement and gets her slippers on her feet. "I'll see you later, daddy!" I kiss her cheek before letting her run away and then I start eating my breakfast with Poe. Once we finish, Poe lets in the hairstylist to do my hair and another woman with my suit to help me get dressed and check if everything is alright with the measurements of it.
"Have you arranged what I had asked you for?" I ask Poe and he immediately nods his head.
"Did you take a peek?" I ask him, knowing already the answer by his annoying grin.
"Maybe."
"So what it is?" I ask him, feeling extremely curious right now.
"You'll find out with Scarlett, now shut up and get ready!" Por scolds me and I roll my eyes at him, knowing that he's right but I'm also quite impatient to find out. I've organized a surprise for Scarlett; a gender reveal during the wedding reception.
"Fine!" I sigh, not insisting further on that.
While the hairstylist is working on my hair, Mia runs in. She's wearing a pale pink glittery dress, that looks a lot like a ballerina's dress. Her hair is curled and she has a flower crown in her hair, the same color as her dress. She looks absolutely beautiful.
She runs toward me, with her eyes sparkling with excitement and I immediately welcome her between my arms.
"Daddy! Daddy!" She says with excitement, waving her hands in the air. "You should see how beautiful mommy is!" My smile immediately grows bigger at her words. "She's wearing the most beautiful dress... like a princess!" I can imagine. I'm practically dying to see her and her words only make my desire grow bigger.
"He'll see her very soon, Mia!" Poe tells her. "So don't do any spoiler!"
"What's spoiler?" Mia asks with her eyebrows furrowed and confusion in her eyes while she looks up at Poe.
"Nothing, don't think about it!" He chuckles.
"Ok..." she shrugs her shoulders. "I'll go back to mommy now, ok?" She asks me and I nod my head. She kisses my cheek and then she runs toward the door again, disappearing behind it.
It really is almost time.
While waiting for the hairstylist to finish my hair I'm quickly distracted by the screen of my phone that lights up with Scarlett's name on it.
I think my makeup artist hates me.
I immediately smile, reading her text.
Why? I'm sure she doesn't.
I type back.
I've cried a thousand times so far, while writing my vow and she had to adjust it 999 times.
I chuckle reading her text that comes right away.
I'm tempted to say: "I'm sorry, I'm pregnant!"
God, I love you!
I simply type back, not wanting to tell her anything else.
Don't make me cry again.
Sorry, I'll save that for the altar.
Thanks.
I chuckle, before locking my phone again once that I have the ok from the hairstylist to dress up.
Once that I arrive on the altar, which is in the garden under an arch of white peonies, I start feeling slightly nervous and impatient. I'm not scared or nervous about what's about to happen but just because I want it to happen as quick as possible, I want to do it now. There's nothing I want more.
The guests don't take too long to take their seats and it's soon enough completely filled up. I can see my parents, Celine, Annalise, Cielo and Andres in the first rows. Andres has the job to bring us the rings, while Mia is the flower girl.
Soon enough, as soon as I recognize the song that starts playing, I see the bridesmaids in their pale pink dresses starting walking down the aisle, in one line. They're followed by Mia that spreads rose petals on the ground with a beautiful smile on her lips. Right behind her, there are Scarlett and Aaron.
As soon as I see her, as soon as my eyes meet hers, I feel like I couldn't be any happier than right now. I've spent weeks teasing Scarlett about how she would cry and now I feel like bursting into tears right here and now, because I feel like the happiest man alive.
She smiles at me, with her already watery eyes, and every time that she's a step closer I feel my heart beating faster.
Before letting her go, Aaron kisses her forehead and she smiles at him, before stepping aside me.
She's wearing a beautiful white gown in satin, with a voluminous skirt, and that gets tighter around her waist and then hugs perfectly her chest, making her look absolutely breathtaking. Her veil isn't long, considering that her dress already has a very long train, and her hair is just waved, let loose on her shoulders, just as I like. Her makeup isn't heavy either, her lips are glossy and her cheeks are blushed, but kept on very natural tones, exactly as I like too.
The moment of the vows comes really soon and the wedding solemnizer makes us turn toward each other. I'm the first one to go, so I quickly get my papers from my pocket.
"You know better than anyone how much, in my life, I thought this moment would never come. I've always said I wasn't cut to be with the same person for the rest of my life, to get married, to start a family..." My eyes quickly go to Mia and I smile to myself, while I try hard not to let my voice shake. "I never thought I would become the person that I am today, but you swiped away every stupid prejudice I had about life without any difficulty at all," I look up at her, while I read the words written on my paper, just to find her looking back at me. "I've already told you that I don't remember a moment in my life when I didn't love you, no matter how hard I had tried to fight it and you at first, with everything I had, but you never gave up. You've always been tenacious, always fought hard for everything you believed in, and, for some reason, you believed in me. You thought I was worth it." She smiles at me and she bites her lips, probably fighting the urge to start crying. "I've made so many mistakes... we both have, actually," I chuckle and she does too. "I've lost you, then found you again and lost you again but not even once I had a doubt that life wouldn't have brought you back to me. Destiny works in a funny way, but it has made you for me and I strongly believe in it," when I look up at her again, her tears are streaming down her face, unable to hold herself back anymore. "You've made me the man I am today, you've changed me for the better and gave me the life I didn't know I wanted and deserved," I smile at her and she does too, between her tears. "You loved me when no one else did. You stayed during my darkest and worst times," she sobs. "You didn't give up and I'm thankful to you for that every single day of my life," I smile at her. "You're my best friend, the love of my life, the reason why I breathe, together with Mia, Andres and the little one that is about to come," She smiles and automatically brings her hand to her stomach at my words. "You're the strongest woman I know and I'm in awe of you every single day and I'll always be," She sobs and then takes a deep breath, to focus on my word. "I promise you I'll take care of you the best I can, I promise you I'll laugh with you and that I'll be the one holding you while you cry," She chuckles at my words, trying to dry up her tears the best she can. "More than anything, I promise you that I'll love you, Mia and the baby that is about to come, when life is simple and when it is an effort," I look up at her, feeling on the verge of crying too while I look into her blue eyes. "Today, and for the rest of my life."
I get her wedding band from the small velvet cushion Andres is holding and I attentively put it on her finger, while she tries hard to stop crying now that it's her turn.
"I used to dream of this life when I was only a kid," she starts saying, once she gets her own paper with her speech. "There have been times in my life, very dark times, when I thought that it wasn't going to be anything else but one of my countless childhood's dreams," she chuckles, keeping her stare low. "When I first met you I didn't know what to expect from it, what I knew is that, for some reason, I felt incredibly drawn to you and, the second after, I felt like I couldn't live without you," She looks up at me and smiles. "Since the very first moment I could see how you truly were, no matter if no one else, you in the first place, could see it," She looks up at me again, finding the same eyes, wetter than before, looking back at her. "I didn't give up, I didn't stop believing in you, not even for one second," not even for one second. Thank you, my love. "As you said, we've both made our mistakes. There have been times that life made us apart and we've taken advantage of that time to heal and grow. I've grown on my own, learned from my mistakes and asked for forgiveness. You've given it to me and you've taught me more than anything that I'm worthy of it, that I'm worthy of you and of my life with you." Soon enough, my tears start streaming too, listening to her beautiful words, knowing how hard it has been for her to write it and read them in front of everyone. "I've also grown with you, other than on my own, and I want to keep growing with you for the rest of my life," She looks up at me and takes a deep breath. "Now, I just want you to realize that you made my dreams come true. You're still making my dreams come true every day of my life. You're my dream. Mia is my dream, together with the baby that is about to come. This life with all of you is my dream." She sobs, bringing her hand to her stomach and I sob with her. "You, Harry Styles, saved me. You saved me so many times, without ever wanting or asking for anything back. You brought me back to life, you taught me how to breathe again. You gave me the life I was unaware of deserving for so long. You loved me when I thought I was so undeserving of any kind of love and more than anything I want to thank you for that, for making me see that I deserved it all along, that I deserved a second chance," I take a deep breath, not feeling able to stop my tears while I listen to the words of this woman in front of me. This strong, brave woman, that keeps surprising me with her strength every day. "You're my soul, my love, my heart, my guide and my lifeline. Today, I give myself completely to you, because, after all, my heart has always belonged to you and always will for the rest of my life. In times of comfort, in times of sorrow, I promise to love you for the rest of my life."
She gets the wedding band from Andres and then takes her time to put it on my finger, considering how shaky her hands are. I, on the other hand, I have to stop from kissing her right here and now.
"Scarlett and Harry, you have expressed your love to one another through the commitment and promises you have just made. It is with these in mind that I pronounce you husband and wife," the solemnizer says. "You have kissed a thousand times, maybe more, but today the feeling is new," I bring my eyes on Scarlett and she looks back at me. "No longer simply partners and best friends, you have become husband and wife and can now seal the agreement with a kiss. Today, your kiss is a promise," he tells us and I feel shivers all over my body while waiting for his famous last words. "You may kiss the bride."
Without letting him repeat it more than once, I take a step toward her and I bring my hand on her cheek, before cutting the distance between our lips. I can taste our own tears on our lips, while I hold her against me, and feel what the solemnizer was talking about. This time, it's different. I'm kissing my wife for the first time, the one I'll spend the rest of my life with. We've finally made it.