Page 90 of Eternally Yours
A black cloth covers the whole table with golden plates and silverware wrapped in black napkins. Tall vases filled with glass pebbles and white rose bouquets at the top are used as centerpieces, with champagne glasses placed for every seat. Beside the seating area, a wooden platform was built for the dance floor where Cecilia andI will have our first dance.
String lights are hung around for when night falls and the party keeps going. The whole thing looks magical. Simple yet extraordinary, and I can’t believe my girl came up with all of this. Well, with the help of Emma and Morgan.
Amanda Wilson, Cecilia’s boss, also offered her help when needed. And today, she’s taking care of making sure everything is going as planned so that Cecilia can concentrate on only getting married.
On cue, a soft melody begins to play by the string quartet we hired. The guests quiet down and turn to look toward the house. One by one, the bridesmaids descend the aisle. First Aubrey, then Morgan, and finishing with the maid of honor, Emma.
They all look lovely, but the only one I want to see is my bride. The music slows and a new song starts, ‘Canon in D’by Johann Pachelbel, and then my future wife appears.
Everything slows while my heart picks up. I no longer hear the music, no longer see anyone else but her.My beautiful bride.Her eyes are on mine when she smiles, tears glistening in them.Fuck.
My eyes grow misty as I blink and clear my throat. I bring a hand up over my mouth, like that may help. All I know is that right now, I need to hold onto something before I run down the aisle to her.
She looks jaw-dropping, heart-stopping, earth-shattering, magnificent. Nothing in this world is as stunning as my bride in this very moment. The dress is purely exquisite, and I can’t wait to take it off.
I can’t do it. I can’t hold back any longer.
“Fuck,” I say under my breath as tears make their way out. My hand comes to my eyes, and I wipe them away immediately. Not from embarrassment, but because I don’t want to miss a second of this moment.
Clay pats me on the back, then squeezes my shoulder in a supportive way. I never thought I’d be one to cry at my wedding, but watching my future wife making her way to me makes that impossible.
The tears she was holding in begin to spill when she sees my reaction to her. She smiles and giggles softly, which makes me laugh quietly, too.I can’t believe I get to marry the woman of my dreams today.
Finally arriving in front of me, Lance passes her over and I take her delicate hand in mine. She passes her bouquet to Emma as I bring her into position and wipe the tears off her cheeks.
“Minnie, you look...” I start then shake my head. “There are no words todescribe how breathtaking you are.”
She lays her hands over my chest and looks up at me. “I could say the same,” she says while I lower myself to kiss her perfect pillowy lips.
A throat clears from beside us and we pull apart to look at my father, who smiles with a raised eyebrow.Right, wedding.We both take a step back and hold on to each other’s hands while my father begins his speech. The words he speaks aren’t registering. I can hear him, but my focus is on Cecilia.She’s so beautiful.
“The bride and groom have each prepared their own vows that they will now read. Silas?”
I look to my father, who nods, indicating it’s my turn to talk. I take a deep breath and look back to my bride. “Cecilia, I never dreamed of a love like this, a love so profound it consumes you eternally. I knew it existed, I had the honor to witness it with my parents, but I never thought it was for me. I never thought I’d get to experience it. But then you came out of nowhere and stole my heart. Changed my life forever.”
Tears form once more in her eyes as I rub my thumb over her hand in small circles, trying to soothe her. “I know one day I’ll lose you, one day life will take you away from me, or me away from you. But until that day, I vow to love you, to laugh with you, to cry with you. I vow to hold you until my arms give out, to kiss you until my lips turn numb. To look at you and only you until I can no longer see. I vow to be your best friend, your confidant, your savior... your everything. I love you forever,” I whisper the last four words to her.
The whole crowd is sobbing by the time I finish my speech. Cecilia’s hand trembles in mine while she wipes beneath her eyes with a handkerchief.
“Cecilia, you may say your vows now,” my father informs her. She nods his way, then turns her gaze back to mine. She lets out a few shaky breaths before clearing her throat and beginning her speech.
“Silas, before I met you, my life had no purpose, no meaning worth exploring. I may have smiled, I may have laughed, but I was numb to the world. Then you showed up and gave me a reason. A reason to believe that there was more out there for me, a reason to want more for myself. And you became that reason.” Tears streak down her cheeks as she holds the softest, most loving smile.
“You brought me light through all my darkness, joy through all my sadness. You gave me everything I could have ever wanted, and even things I didn’t know I needed. You gave me a friend, a lover, a home... a family.” Her voice starts to quiver with every new word. My eyes blur more and more as I sniffle.
“With everything you’ve given me, I vow to fall in love with you a little bitmore each day. I vow to always make you laugh when you’re feeling down. I vow to be your biggest fan cheering you on in the crowd. I vow to be your everything. I love you forever,” those four last words are whispered once more.
By the time she’s done, my cheeks are soaked. Clay taps me on the shoulder and hands me a handkerchief to help. Cecilia and I both laugh when we realize our similar state.
Once we’re mostly settled, my dad starts his speech again. “And now do you, Silas Hayes, take Cecilia Rose to be your lawfully wedded wife? To have and to hold, in sickness and in health, for richer or poorer, as long as you both shall live?”
I look at my girl and smile. “I do.”
“Do you, Cecilia Rose, take Silas Hayes to be your lawfully wedded husband? To have and to hold, in sickness and in health, for richer or poorer, as long as you both shall live?”
She smiles lovingly back at me, a tear rolling down her cheek when she says, “I do.”
Joy spreads through my veins as my father continues to speak. He asks for the rings and Milo comes strolling down the aisle with a cushion tied to his back that holds both our rings. I slip one on Cecilia’s finger, lining it up with her engagement ring while she places the other on my finger.
