This is not the real ending.
*8 years later, after the conclusion of the novel and excluding the previous epilogue*
"Stef, you're freaking out."
"I know."
"You need to calm down."
"I know."
"You look like you're about to have a seizure."
I turned around, a possible crazy look present in my eyes. "That's the OPPOSITE of what I want to hear!" I practically yelled, wishing I could rip my hair out. However, I just had it done so that wouldn't have ended well.
"You look great!" Amber smiled crookedly, her eyebrows slightly twitching as she tried to salvage her own life. "Just maybe... less insane asylum?"
I huffed, sitting back down in front of the mirror. My hair was swept back into a braided bun, carefully constructed curls cascading down the sides of my profile and jaw. In an attempt to lessen my stress, I touched up the makeup that Amber had done to perfection. Blowing air out of my mouth, I stood up in my white dressing robe.
"Where's the dress?" I asked, turning around while I tried to contain a smile. Amber, however, did not as she smiled and squealed, rushing over to the closet that held my future. She brought out the marvellous gown, snow white as it descended downwards full of exquisite design. My bank account had suffered, but it was the most beautiful thing I had ever seen.
After around twenty minutes of struggling, despite the effort of two individuals, I managed to look as presentable as I could. Amber had put on her silver dress, the silk flowing at her feet as she brushed out her dark curls. Her tanned skin glistened against her dress as she seemed to be nervous herself.
"What if I fall on my ass?" I questioned out loud, repeatedly turning around in the mirror.
"At least your ass will look good." Amber shrugged, throwing a wink towards me. I chuckled nervously, the anxiety within me increasing with every passing second.
"That is not the point."
"Oh, but it will be," she said, wiggling her eyebrows. "later on tonight, when you and-"
"Alright! That's enough of that."
"I hope the cake tastes good though," she stated. "Best part of the night."
"Gee, thanks," I said sarcastically, rolling my eyes. "Not even the location? There will be a great view."
"Trust me, I love beaches," she replied. "but food is better. But the beach wedding was a good choice, I'll give you that. Except for the sandy shoes."
"There's a boardwalk anyway," I replied back.
"Thank god, that means I don't have to get my feet out," she said, wiping her brow with relief.
I coughed with laughter, not even having anything to say. It didn't matter, as before I could say anything, there was a crash outside of the room. We were currently residing in one of the beach houses close to the location. It was small, but it sufficed for the day. We were currently in one of the bedrooms, and my thoughts immediately went to the glass vase that sat on a tall stool in the lounge room outside.
"What the f-" Amber started.
"was that?" I finished for her. We gave each other a mutual look of confusion, before realisation came upon us. We both had estimated pretty accurate guesses of what had actually happened. More so, who was involved.
Amber rushed to the door opening it. I stood up in my dress, the heels making it almost impossible to maintain balance without looking like an idiot. Thankfully, I managed it as I made my way to the door to peer outside.
Surely enough, the vase was shattered all over the floor. Glass shards littered the floor, surrounding a body, wearing a nice tuxedo suit, who almost immediately realised his mistake as the door had opened. Nearby, two other geniuses in suits laughed their heads off, practically on the floor as well.
"Blake," I said calmly, drawing the attention to me. "Why are you on the floor?"
He groaned in pain, staring at the glass around him as he got up. "They pushed me and I-" he cut off when he saw me, eyes widening. "Damn. Wow. You look incredible." I noticed the other two had stopped laughing as well, Xavier and Jordan also staring.
"So who pushed him then?" Amber asked, scrutinising her eyes. "Don't worry, I already know." She walked over to Xavier, giving him a light slap on the back of the head. "I told you to behave yourselves! Especially you, Xavier." After flashing her some of his charm, Amber's smile returned quickly and they were forgiven.
"No, but seriously, you look beautiful," said Xavier. The attention was getting to me and my cheeks were flashing red. My hands began to shake as well. Shit.
"Alright that's enough, stop freaking her out even more," Amber said, dusting Blake off and making sure his suit looked as if it was brand new. "Go find Ethan and make sure he doesn't come anywhere near here."
"Will do, boss," Blake said, saluting Amber as he began jogging out of the house. The others followed promptly.
"Half an hour until show time!" Amber said. The minutes passed by like seconds, and before I knew it, I was waiting outside of the door. Amber had helped me attach the train to my outfit, as well as handing me the bouquet of red roses that I would hold. My dad stood with me while Amber and Xavier were the last ones before me to walk out.
"No matter what we say," my dad said, aiming to calm my nerves. "Your mother and I will always be proud of you."
"Thanks Dad," I said, giving him a warm smile. The music began to play, a heart attack brewing inside my chest. Instead of passing out, my dad took my arm and began to walk me outside of the door.
The aisle sat on a large boardwalk placed on the beach, the alter end of the aisle using the sea waves as a backdrop. The waves were small, barely any wind flowing through the bright sky. The weather could not have been better, and I silently thanked the heavens.
White flowers were strewn around pillars set up around the chairs and aisle. The chairs had been organised into neat rows, where less than sixty of my close friends and family sat among others.
And finally, at the end of the aisle stood the man I was set to marry.
My feet were moving on their own accord as everyone turned around to watch. I barely paid attention to them, I was busy attempting to maintain my balance while staring at my fiancé. Xavier, Blake and Jordan stood next to him, grinning and smiling at me. Ethan himself presented as the most handsome man on Earth, a charming smile resting on his face as he watched me come towards him. My heart almost exploded.
After what seemed like hours, but was really seconds, I reached the end of the aisle as Ethan took my hands in his, guiding me to stand across from him.
The officiant began his speech, the ceremony had begun. I was invested in every word, the time passing quickly. Before I knew it, the vows had been said. We kept it short, hoping for an easy going ceremony with a lesser amount of people.
"I now declare you husband and wife," said the officiant. "you may kiss the bride."
Those words shocked me back into reality, filling my heart with the most joy a human could feel. As we had done a million times before, we leaned in and share a kiss only filled with love. His hand on my waist, it felt right.
The crowd erupted in applause, especially the three groomsmen. I barely noticed, pulling away after a long while to stare into those beautiful eyes.
The reception began quickly after that, everyone sitting down at circular tables ready to eat the catered dinner. I sat next to Ethan on a table consisting of us two, Amber and the three groomsmen.
While watching Blake and Jordan attempt to start a food fight, Ethan leaned over to me in a whisper, "You are the most stunning woman I've ever seen."
"I love you," I replied, pecking him on the cheek.
"And I love you," he said while grinning, giving me another kiss while the antics at our table drew our attention again.
Jordan stood, tapping the edge of his fork against a wine glass to catch the attention of everyone. Ethan and I looked at each other with worry, almost terrified of what he was about to say.
"Now I'll keep this short and quick so that we can move onto dessert and dancing," he started, earning a few cheers. "But I'd like to congratulate two of my best friends on their wedding. I know I speak for the groomsmen when I say that they're obviously soulmates," he smiled. "And we couldn't be happier for them. To Ethan and Stef!" He raised his glass, a toast going around the reception. My heart swelled at the thought.
"Now, can we put some music on?" he asked, people beginning to get up from their seats and move onto the dance floor that had been set up near the front garden of the beach house. A few lingered to chat, eyeing the cake that would be cut. Ethan took my hand, lifting me out of my seat for a dance. The music began slow, playing a simple tune that we danced to, alone on the dance floor while everyone stood watch.
My head rested on his shoulder as we only swayed, my two left feet preventing me from doing anything else. Eventually people joined in. I spotted my parents dancing, Amber and Xavier. It was a lovely sight until Blake and Jordan started dancing goofily as well, earning them a few laughs.
As the sun began to set, the slow music quickened into party music where everyone began to let loose a little more as the alcohol set in. Watching it was entertaining, and I even joined in myself when Blake asked me to dance with him. He wasn't exactly sober.
I sat down at one of the tables alone, exhausted but ecstatic. Amber came and joined me, also puffed. "What a night."
"The best night of my life," I said. We watched as the four guys moved onto shots, which as you can imagine, didn't end well.
"So Xavier and I put together a little last minute wedding present," Amber said as I sipped some champagne. "It's in the beach house."
"What is it?" I asked, sipping again.
"Think Fifty Shades of Grey," she said, grinning and beginning to laugh.
I practically spat out my champagne, coughing in surprise as my drink went all over the tablecloth. "What?"
"Just some.. uh.." She looked around quickly. "Equipment for later." She winked.
I sank down in my seat, covering my red cheeks. "Oh god, you went full red room on me! What have you done?"
"Oh please, I'm sure you'll put it to use."
I spluttered, not knowing what to say. "This is too much to handle."
"I'll be right back, I'm going to pack it into the car for you guys," she said, bouncing away with speed I hadn't seen before. I debated her murder for a few minutes before turning my attention back to my now husband. What a weird thing to say now. Husband.
I walked back onto the dance floor, having abandoned my heels quite early into the night. "So what's going on here then?"
"We tried to have a drinking contest but Xavier and Ethan tied for the win," Blake said, pouting while slightly swaying on his feet.
"I definitely won," Ethan scoffed.
"Yeah, right," Xavier replied. "So when are we gonna be hearing about kids?" said Xavier, swiftly changing the subject.
Ethan coughed loudly while my eyes bulged out of my head. "You and Amber are horrible people."
He winked at me. "So you got the gifts then?"
"Sometimes, I wish I didn't have ears," I contemplated out loud, purposely ignoring his questions. Ethan raised an eyebrow, taking a hint from the expression on my face and not saying anything.
Amber returned shortly after, saying that the car was packed. After chatting for a while, I noticed my bouquet of roses sitting on one of the tables. I rushed over, grabbed it, and gathered the girls attending into a crowd. Ethan's sisters had attempted to participate, but he had them wrapped in a bear hug for protection.
"Ready for me to throw it?" I yelled, turning around. I shut my eyes and threw it behind me, spinning around quickly to see who got it.
Not surprisingly, Amber had cleaned up easily and caught the bouquet. She grinned from ear to ear and squealed. However, I wasn't looking at her for very long. I looked straight to Xavier, who wore an expression of mixed confusion and extreme fear. I, much like the other guests, packed up in laughter at his reaction. Definitely karma.
I walked up to him, elbowing him in the stomach playfully. "So when are we gonna be hearing about kids?"
He groaned in what seemed like physical pain. "Shut up."
After it had gotten dark, guests had begun to come up and say their goodbyes, retiring for the night. Eventually it was only the friends and families remaining, some of which had gone anyway.
I hugged Ethan's mother and sisters tight before they left, leaving only the boys, Amber and myself. "What do we do about this mess?"
"I'll sort it out, you go have fun!" Amber said, waving her hand.
"Are you sure?" I asked.
"Yeah, I got three slaves to help me," she said, earning scowls from the apparent slaves. "You go, get to the hotel. You fly out tomorrow."
I hugged them all goodbye, getting one more round of congratulations as Ethan and I walked to the car we had packed, hands intertwined.
I had ditched my wedding dress somewhere in the night, now wearing a simple white tight dress without shoes. My hair had also become a mess, but no one seemed to mind.
We hopped into the car, waving goodbye to our friends as we drove off into the night. Ethan's hand rested on my thigh as the stars went by in a blur outside the car window. With my emotions all over the place, all of them positive, I reminisced on the day that had passed.
After that, I pictured what the future would be like and smiled.
"What're you smiling about?" Ethan asked, a small smile on his own face.
"Nothing."
A/N: You asked, I delivered (a year and a half later lol). You can decide if this was a better or worse ending. If a sequel was to be made, I would be open to continuing either.
Anyway, a bit of a sad and happy ending, but cheers to 2020 and Happy New Years to you all.