TWO YEARS
BEFORE EPILOGUE
Adriana
"I can't breathe, is that normal? This dress is compressing all of my organs. I need wine. Ugh, but then I'll spill it all over this fucking contraption. I need Xavier." I ranted as I paced back and forth. "I need him. Can you go get him? Where is he? Is Mat with him? Oh fuck, I need him."
"Mija, it's bad luck if he sees you in your dress," Mom gently consoled me as she fixed my hair. "You'll see him later."
"Yeah, when I fucking get married to him! I need him right now!" I yelled. I exhaled and took a breather. "Okay, I'm sorry. I didn't mean to yell, it's just... I'm freaking out. He doesn't have to see me, I just need to see him."
"I know, Adri. I was the same way and to make matters worse, your bitch of an aunt offered the idea of running away. Can't believe I made her my maid of honor." My mom scoffed and I laughed. Mateo came into the room and quietly opened the door. Speaking of maid of honor's, well in this case: man.
"Where have you been?! I'm freaking out here!" I yelled as I saw him come into the room. "Where's Xavier? Is he okay? He's not gonna run, is he? That would really suck."
"No, babosa. He's not going to run. He sent me to check up on you," Mateo said. "Bouncing between his room and your room is exhausting."
[ idiot ]
"Haul his ass over here," I demanded. "I need him."
"I have wine!" Lily exclaimed. "You know how hard it was to steal this? I worked up a goddamn sweat, but it's all good. Spill this on your dress and I will kill you," she said to me.
"Lily, Mat, I don't care, one of you needs to go to X's room and haul him over here. Put a blindfold on him or something — I don't care — but I need him in the next five minutes. Christ and where's Alora?!" I yelled in frustration.
"I'll go," Lily and Mateo said in unison before they both left towards Xavier's room.
"I'm here! Sorry, Thomas fucking took the wrong turn, but whatever, I'm here now." Alora said as she rushed into the room with her dress in hand. "Thomas, Sal and Gio are with Xavier. Damn, did you know that your husband is friends with everyone?"
"You're a horrible bridesmaid! You were supposed to be here an hour ago!" I exclaimed. "Mom, I need you to pour me a glass of red, I won't spill it. I swear."
"I'll kill you if you spill it," my mom said as she carefully poured me a glass of wine. She handed it to me and I walked into the bathroom to grab a towel. I placed it over my chest and drank the glass. I didn't finish it as I didn't want to be a tipsy bride.
"See, I'm good." I said, showing off my stainless dress. I set the wine down and someone knocks on my door. "What?!"
"It's me," Xavier said. I exhaled in relief and went to open it. Before I turned the doorknob, I asked:
"Can you see?"
"No, Mateo put a fucking blindfold on me." Xavier complained. I laughed and opened the door. I immediately wrapped him in my arms. "Baby, are you okay?" He whispered in my ear after he had wrapped his arms around me. I waved my arm at everyone in close proximity, signaling them to go away. They listened and hurried outside, but I knew they were around the next corner being chismosos.
"I was freaking out and I needed you," I exhaled into his chest. This whole day had been stressful and being in his arms reminded me that it was all worth it. His scent brought me the sense of calm that keep me from killing someone. "Everyone is stressing me out." He kissed the top of my head and chuckled.
"Just a couple more hours and we'll be married. Who would've thought? Us, married?" Xavier joked. I laughed and snuggled closer to him.
"I know, I really hated you at first, you know?" I teased and I felt him shake with laughter. "But that doesn't matter now. All that matters is right now."
"I'll see you soon. Okay, Adri? Try not to kill anyone while I'm gone," Xavier teased and I pouted. I didn't want him to leave, not yet, but it was time. I nodded and let go.
"Okay, baby. I love you," I said.
"I love you more," Xavier said and I leaned up to press a kiss to his lips.
"Okay, lovebirds! X has got to go, because we still need to fix your hair. Bye, Xavier! See you later," Lily chimed in.
"You're such a bitch, Lily." I mumbled as I walked back inside my room. Lily laughed and side-hugged me. Alora and my mom both came back inside my room.
"You good now?" Alora asked as my mom zipped up the back of her dress. The bridesmaid dresses were off the shoulder and an ivory color. I envied Alora with how she looked so elegant with so many tattoos. She was stunning.
"Yes, I'm peachy." I remarked. I took a deep breath and looked at myself in the mirror. My hair was pin straight and cascaded down my back. I wore my mother's veil and on my face was hardly any makeup. I explicitly said I wanted very little makeup. I had a light tinting cream on my face and my eyelashes were curled with clear mascara. I had little highlight since it was bright as hell outside. I had red lipstick on which made my lips look even more fuller. My dress was perfect. It was elegant and everything I could've dreamed of. It was off the shoulder and had a trail. I felt like a princess. I looked behind me and saw my mom crying. "Mom, why are you crying?" I said in a soft tone.
"You're just so beautiful, mija. I have dreamed of this moment, where I would see my princess get married. I'm so happy for you, Adri." My mom sobbed.
"Thank you, Mom. Ah, don't make me cry. My eyes are gonna get puffy," I laughed and so did my mom. I took a deep breath and closed my eyes.
*
I stood next to my father as Mateo went up, stupidly holding a bouquet of roses. I told him he didn't have to, but he's annoying and insisted.
"You look beautiful," Lily whispered as she started walking. I smiled at her and grasped my father's arm tighter.
"Babe, you look hot as fuck. Xavier is a lucky man," Alora more crudely complemented. I chuckled and smiled at her.
"It's time, Princesa," my father whispered. "Are you ready?" I closed my eyes and exhaled a long breath. My heart pounded in my chest, but I wasn't nervous anymore. I was excited as fuck. I stood there for a few seconds, listening to the waves crashing and the seagulls doing their thing. It was the middle of spring in California; March 16th. It wasn't too hot nor too cold. The weather was warm and the perfect temperature. Our wedding was outside on the sand, which was perfect for me since that meant: no heels. The doors fully opened and I heard everyone stand up. I looked up at my father and said:
"I'm ready."
Xavier
I never knew standing could be so difficult. I kept moving so no one would notice that I was fucking shaking. I had my groomsmen behind me: Nico, being my best man, Santiago, Giovanni, Salvatore and Thomas. I had met Sal and Thomas in the last year, but they were quick to become two of my good friends.
"She's coming," Nico whispered to me.
I looked up and saw her walking next to Alejandro. My jaw dropped. She looked like an angel. Her hair blew gently in the wind and her skin was glowing. She took my breath away and with every step she took, my heart pounded harder and harder. I was in awe, I had no words. There was no words that could possibly encapsulated how beautiful Adriana looked.
Within a blink of an eye, she stood in front of me and Alejandro was motioning for me to take her hand. I finally gathered motor skills and took her hand.
"Wow, you look... wow," I said as a tear slipped out of my eye. I couldn't even believe that this beautiful human being was choosing to marry... me.
"You look quite handsome yourself," she whispered back.
The whole time, I couldn't keep my eyes off of her. She stole my breath and heart away. Next thing I knew it was time to exchange vows.
Her dimples protruded as she looked at me.
"X, in the weirdest way possible, I'm glad some psychopath tried to kill my family five years ago. Without that, I would've never met you that summer. Regardless, I think we still would've ended up together, because you are the love of life. You're the reason why I wake up with a smile plastered on my face every morning. You're the reason why I opened my eyes to the world. You have made me braver and more courageous. Even after all this time, I'm still finding more reasons to love you. Today, it was because you know how to make me laugh and smile in the most stressful situations. I'm more in love with you today than I was yesterday.
"I vow not only to be the best wife ever, but your best-friend. Sorry, Nico. I'm his best-friend now." I grinned while Nico laughed and so did our friends and family. "I vow to always stand by your side, even if you're completely wrong. I vow not to talk to strangers, we all know where that got me. I vow to love you unconditionally until the end of time. I vow to love you even if you're being a huge pain in my ass. I vow to be your partner in life until death do us part." A few tears rolled down her cheeks and a smile was permanent on her flawless face.
My turn.
"Today is the beginning of my life. I thought the beginning was twenty-five years ago, but I hadn't started living until the day I met you. You... you are my life, Adriana. You are my sun, my stars and my moon. You are the light of my life. Whenever I get good news, you are the first person I want to tell. You're the person I share every detail of my life with, down to what time I wake up. You have made me into a much better man, baby," I bring my hand up to her cheek and gently brush eye falling tears. "Your happiness is my happiness. You are my favorite person and I can't wait to spend the rest of my life with you.
"I vow to be an amazing husband and kill all the spiders we may encounter. I vow to hold your hair back as you're puking your guts out. I vow sit down and watch The Bachelor with you with no complaints. I vow to love you even when you're nagging me. I'm so in love with you and I'll never stop. You are and will always be the only one for me." I finished and she beamed brighter than the sun above us. Fucking hell, I love that smile.
As the priest spoke and I didn't listen, I stared at the beautiful woman in front of me.
She's gonna be my wife? No fucking way.
"You may now kiss the bride." I gingerly lifted the veil from her face and cupped the side of her face. I leaned in and captured her lips with mine.
*
Adriana
"Amor, please stop crying," my father spoke as he handed my mother another box of tissues.
"I-I'm just so happy for you, mija," she cried and hugged me. "You're all grown up and you're going to leave us soon." She started crying even more.
"I'll still come back to visit. Don't worry, Mamá. It's about time I moved out, don't you think? I'm almost twenty-five. Plus, I'll be safe and sound. I'll call you every single day and rant to you about my problems. It'll be like I never left," I consoled her.
"I think someone is looking for you," My father said and nodded his head in the direction behind me. I looked behind me and saw my handsome husband smiling at me. "It's okay, go. I got her."
I kissed my mother's forehead and she reluctantly let me go. I ran over to Xavier and practically leaped into his arms. This whole afternoon we haven't really seen each other as everyone has been talking to us.
"I missed you, Mrs. Xavier Rojo," he whispered into my ear as he gently bit down on my earlobe. I giggled and set my feet down on the ground. "Let's get outta here, yeah?" He asked and I nodded.
*
"Santorini or Bora Bora," he asked me. I couldn't possibly chose. Xavier was in charge in planning our honeymoon and the reason for that was simply because: he would not let me help. He insisted on planning the whole thing himself and I just gave up.
"Bora Bora. Wait, no. Santorini. Wait. Ugh! I don't know," I groaned. "Just tell me, which one is it?" I impatiently asked.
"Actually," he slowly said and I waited for him to elaborate. "We're going to both."
"Both?!" I said excitedly. "Hold on, isn't that really expensive? Baby, how much did you spend on our trip? I love that you spoil me, but—" I stopped talking once he placed a finger on my lips.
"We have the money. I love spoiling you, so just let me. Okay?" I nodded and he grinned. "Good girl." He brushed his thumb over my bottom lip and I lightly kissed the tip of it. "Have any of ideas of what to do now, Mrs. Rojo?" He seductively said with a smirk on his face.
"Oh, I can think of a few." With that, I grabbed his face and kissed him with all the love I had inside of me.