Page 99 of Retribution

“I think you mean we look beautiful,” I chuckle and grasp a firm grip of her hand.

“Come on or we’re going to be late.” Lo pulls my hand and yanks open the bathroom door.

She pulls me along the corridor, our attire feeling completely overdressed in this seemingly normal part of the city hall. I find myself admiring the drive behind Lo right now, seeing her eager to get me to the correct room so that I can marry her father.

We pass through a set of double doors and the interior shifts to an old-fashioned oak style hallway, filled with vintage photos and antique looking furniture. I admire the history as we continue, desperate to cloud my mind with thoughts of anything but what is about to happen in the next ten minutes, to curb the nerve-wrecking thoughts.

“I think this is it.” She stops.

I look at the huge double doors, analyzing the intricate design carved into them. A thousand and one thoughts are rushing in and out of me all at once, his wife, the first time we met, the proposition, the contract, the intimacy, the suspicion, the confession of feelings, the missing ‘I love you’, today. I begin to feel lightheaded and steady myself against the frame of the door, the sickness beginning to overpower again. I can’t tell if it’s the rush of adrenaline or the fear of what’s to come, I’m about to sign my life away to someone else, someone who has been oscillating between every emotion I can think of.

The familiar feeling rises from the time we met up for coffee, only this time the daisy I’m picking is ‘does he love me’ and ‘does he not’. I’m mentally tugging the petals away from the flower, desperate to know the answer, but the petals are never-ending as if I’ll never find the answer.

The only way I can figure it out is to walk through those doors and face it head on.

Before I’ve even had chance to decide if I’m going to walk through the doors or not, Willow pushes both handles down and swings them open, the weight of them echoing throughout the entire hall.

My eyes fixate on him, standing directly parallel to where I am, and my heart stops, completely frozen with fear and love and lust and vulnerability.

He planned all of this, he wanted to surprise me, he wanted to prove to me in other ways his kindness, his thoughtfulness. His gaze burns holes through my dress, once again making me feel exposed and naked as the fierceness between us overpowers anything rational I was thinking previously. The one thing I’m sure of is I want him, I want him to be my husband, but not temporarily, I want him to be mine for eternity.

My eyes shift to the ones that are peering right back at me, and that’s when I notice them. A hand pulls upwards to my mouth, it’s Lola, it’s Greg, it’s Gracie, it’s Harrison, a woman seated next to him that I don’t recognize, and it’s Britney.

Oh my gosh, it’s Britney.

My eyes swell and I let out a slight sob as she smiles at me softly, assuring me that she’s here for me and that she supports me.

How did he manage to convince her? We haven’t spoken in weeks since I broke the news to her, she was beyond furious that I was not only joining forces with her sister’s husband, but her enemy. I just want to rush towards her and wrap her in my arms and tell her about everything that’s happened since we’ve been apart, tell her how sorry I am, tell her how much I’ve wanted to call her. But I knew she needed her space, knew that I was doing this for a good reason that she may struggle to accept now, but will appreciate in the future.

The music draws me out of my state of shock, and I almost burst into tears from his choice. It’s ‘Landslide’ by Fleetwood Mac, one of the first songs we ever listened to together. I can’t deal with the emotions pouring through me right now.

I feel like I’m just going to melt into a puddle of adoration right at the beginning of the aisle before I even get a chance to experience what life has to offer me from him.

“That’s me,” Willow sings as she skips in front of me, her lilac dress swishing around as she begins her descent through the middle walkway.

I close my eyes and enjoy the beautiful strums of the acoustic guitar and the soft tones of Stevie Nicks’ voice. I let out a shaky breath and reopen my eyes, courage surfacing, finally.

I keep my focus on Reed at the end, conscious that I’m going to look around for possible escape routes.

He stands with his legs slightly apart and his hands held together at his waist, his black suit and bow tie pristine. He’s wearing a crimson rose in the pocket of his suit, the perfect color match to my dress. The both of us certainly look the part.

Flashes catch my eye and I take note of the photographer in the corner, snapping images, I look back at Reed and he is grinning at me. It finally draws a smile from my own lips, the pressure of getting married evidently melting away, along with the devil on the shoulder.

Flash.

I come to a pause at the end as Reed takes my hand and kisses it gently, grasping the other one and doing the same. We stand to face each other, our hands still holding, as our eyes glisten between us and my heart flips.

The officiant begins his speech with his usual ‘we are gathered here today’ and my mind can’t concentrate on his words, only the man standing before me. It feels surreal knowing that only days ago, I was the bridesmaid to Lola’s wedding and watched her do this exact same thing, wishing for the exact same.

And here I am.

“The happy couple will now exchange their vows.” The officiants voice startles me, knowing I obviously have nothing prepared.

Reed coughs slightly and reaches into the inside of his suit pocket and pulls out some folded paper. I watch on in awe as Willow appears beside me with a pillow and two silver wedding bands between, one considerably larger than the other.

“Indie, I wasn’t sure where to begin with these wedding vows, but not because I had nothing to say. It was because I had too much to say. There are so many qualities about you that I adore completely and cannot wait to experience for the rest of our lives, we are going to go on so many adventures together through the sunrises, the sunsets, the storms, and the aftermath. Every single second of my life has built up to this point, the most rewarding climb of all and I am ready to conquer it with you. I make a promise to you today and to the people in this room as our witnesses, to cherish you with my love, to be faithful to you, and to ride our battleship head on into war together. As much as I know you want me to hear the words ‘I do’, my choice is ‘I will’. I will love you when life is peaceful and I will love you when life is painful, I will love you for every one of your successes, but love you twice as much for every one of your failures. Today is just the beginning of our story and I already know how it ends, we are going to have our happily ever after, Indie. I am going to devote my life to you and Willow, till death do us part.”

My breath is lost and my eyes are betraying my orders to keep the tears contained. I let out a sob and bring my hand to my mouth with a slight laugh, trying to stop the inevitable.

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