Gabriel’s POV:
“Hey bro, relax. You looked so tense.”
I felt a tap on my shoulder followed by chuckles from behind. I turned around to see Bryan, my best man holding my shoulder while grinning. We are now standing near the entrance and waiting for my bride to arrive and for our wedding ceremony to begin.
“Relax, she will come,” he added, with amusement dancing in his both eyes.
“Don’t worry Gab, Madi won’t leave you this time,” Martin said, again followed by the laughter of all the boys behind me, including my father.
“She loves you so much, son. They will be arriving soon, so try to relax.”
“I can’t help it Dad, I’m nervous. It’s the first I’ve felt so nervous like this!” Everyone laughed at me but I just ignored them.
I tried to calm my insides but the more I try, the more I feel nervous instead. It’s far from the first time I asked her to marry me or even at our first wedding at Mr. Dioson’s office.
And after ten minutes, the longest ten minutes of waiting in my entire life, we heard the sounds of the bell from the church tower. An indication that the ceremony is about to begin and that means my bride has finally arrived.
I turned around because I wanted to see even a glimpse of her, but they have already closed the door. And the song ‘He has chosen you for me, began to hear in the air.
“Come on, son. The priest is now waiting for you at the altar.” Dad patted me on the shoulder.
I took a deep, long breath before smiling and nodding to him. And at the signal of one of the church’s staff, we started walking towards the altar.
All the members of our family and those who have served as our greatest companions from the very beginning of our journey were all present at the ceremony and on this very important day of our lives.
We both decided to have a simple and private church wedding ceremony, along with our families, closest friends, and some business colleagues, but certainly no media, paparazzi, or any other entertainment press. We only hired a few professional photographers and videographers to cover the ceremony.
When all the members of the wedding entourage were already in front of the altar, I felt the loud pounding of my heart inside. I felt the nervousness, anticipation, happiness, and excitement all at the same time that brought tears to my eyes.
“She’s here.”
I gulped, trying to stay calm when I felt my father’s hand on my shoulder. I held my breath when they opened the church door and suddenly I felt the tears roll down my face when I finally saw my bride. She looked so beautiful in her white wedding dress, exactly the message from the song ‘Beautiful in white’ that was starting to play in the air.
Yes, she looked beautiful in white, the woman who made me smile again and made me learn the true meaning of love was now wearing her white wedding dress as she walked slowly and gracefully toward me. And I felt another set of tears come out of my eyes when she looked at me and smiled. I noticed that she too was crying like me.
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Madi’s POV:
I can’t explain exactly what I’m feeling at the moment. Mixed emotions of nervousness, happiness, love, and feeling of gratitude. The people who were present at our surprised engagement party were also present on this day.
I stood outside waiting for the door to open when Mom and Dad walked inside. And the moment it opened, a gasp escaped my throat when I saw the motif and arrangements of the aisle and the altar. White and peach roses were on either side of the aisle and some petals were scattered on the floor.
I started to step inside and my parents waited for me in the middle of the aisle. But tears formed in my eyes when I saw the man of my life looking devilishly handsome as ever, and was waiting for me at the altar. When our eyes met, I felt the world stop on its axis. I realized that from this day, I will be officially and forever his, and now I can finally call him mine.
He’s wiping a white handkerchief on his face, and that made me smile. Who would have thought that I could make him cry? The well-known ‘devil’ and the famous Gabriel Wilsons is now in tears while waiting for the queen. The ever beautiful, confident, and strong me.
When we reached the altar, Dad hugged me tightly before turning to Gabriel.
“Son, I’ll entrust you with my daughter. I hope you could make your promise that you will take care of her. And don’t hesitate to call me if you need any advice on how to give us more grandchildren.” he winked at him, which caused me to blush.
“Daddy? You are in front of the altar!” I complained as I glared at my father.
But they just laughed at me, including my Mom.
“I will Dad. Thank you.” Gabriel said while hugging him.
“My baby. Finally, I’ve been waiting for this day to come. To walk and take you to the altar, and give your hand to the man you love.” my mother hugged me and kissed me on the cheek. “Gabriel, please take care of my baby. She’s my only baby.”
“I will Mom, I promise,”
“Make it sure, because if you try to cheat on her and make her cry like before, I’ll be the one to chop your precious jewels!” she playfully warned him and he chuckled, shaking his head. And when he looked at me, I knew what he was thinking at that moment.. he now knew where I got the words ‘precious jewels’.
He held my hand and guided me as we took our seats in our dedicated chairs. I glanced at him and found him staring intently at me.
“Why?” I asked him in a whisper.
He smiled and squeezed my hand under the table.
“Nah, you’re so beautiful.”
He whispered back and we shared a smile not realizing that the priest in front of us was just waiting for our little conversation to end. But since we’re both under the spell called ‘love’ we forgot that we’re not in our own world.
“Aherm..” we both flinched in shock when the priest used his microphone to grab our attention. “Good morning to the both of you, may I ask you if you now want to continue the ceremony or are we going to wait for you to finish your romantic staring competition?” the priest asked us, grinning.
I bit my lip when I heard the waves of laughter of all the people inside the church. When everyone has already stopped laughing, the priest started the matrimonial ceremony.
And when it’s time to mention our vows, Gabriel was the first to speak.
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Gabriel’s POV:
“Madi..”
I looked at her, taking her hand as my other hand held the microphone.
“Three years ago I offered you a deal. A deal to be my wife for a personal reason. But there’s one thing I haven’t told you yet. The moment I laid my eyes on you in my office, you have already captured my heart by being exactly who you are. The intelligent woman who answered all my questions with confidence, the only woman who has the courage to roll her eyes and raise her eyebrows at me when she thinks I am not looking at her.”
She chuckled, perhaps she also remembered those moments.
“The woman who makes my coffee three times a day, and the woman I offered my stupid deal was the same woman who I fell in love with, and once dreamed of being in my arms forever. Madielyn Davis, you have been my friend and my advisor three years ago. You have been the reason why I learned to smile again and bring my life back to normal. You believed in me when no one else would, you have shown me the real meaning of love and happiness.
That’s why today, in front of you, our family and friends, I promise to spend the rest of my days by your side. To laugh with you when times are good. To cry and struggle with you when they are bad. To wipe your tears with my own hands. To comfort you with my body, to share all of my riches and honors with you, to play with you as much as I can until we grow old, and to never take one second for granted.
Madielyn Davis, I promise to be the best man I can be, to love you unconditionally, and to cherish you every hour of every day in our lives. And I promise to be your partner, your best friend, and your husband now and forever, ’till death do us part.”
I wiped her tears before slipping the ring onto her ring finger.
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Madi’s POV:
“Gabriel, three years ago, before you offered me your ‘stupid deal’, I became your personal assistant. And yes, at that time I was really brave enough to raise my eyebrow and roll my eyes. Because by that time, you were the handsome Greek god in my eyes even though you were cold, distant, and loner. You didn’t even know how to smile, that’s why I often called you ‘zombie’ for being cold and lifeless. And ‘bipolar’ for having mood swings, arrogant, rude, heartless, and grumpy most of the time.”
I paused when I heard the chuckles around us, including the priest who was standing in front of us.
“But after three years, you showed me the different side of you, the real you. And I also want to share a secret with you. I fell in love with you, the very first day you smiled at me and showed me your cute dimple. And the real reason I accepted your offer was that I wanted you to see me, not just your PA but a woman who can love you and care for you unconditionally. And I took that opportunity, hoping that maybe one day you will notice me and learn to love me.
But here we are, after my three years of waiting, I have finally caught your attention and you’re now madly in love with me!” I winked at him and he chuckled, along with all the people watching us.
“On this day, in front of all the important people in our lives, in front of God’s representative, I promise to always stay true, to listen, and to honor you as your wife, your friend, and your partner. I promise to live with you, to laugh, stand by your side, and sleep in your arms. I promise to always work things out even when we fight, I will take care of you and always have your back.
I promise to be the joy to your heart and the food for your soul. To always encourage and inspires you, to do my equal shares, and to never give up on you. I’ll try to do my best to fulfill your every need, support your goals in life, give you honor, trust, and respect, help you succeed, and build you up when you are low.
Gabriel Wilsons, I promise that you will always have my deepest love, and my fullest devotion. Today, I give you my hand, my heart, my soul, my love and my fidelity, completely and forever, ’till death do us part.”
When I slid the ring onto his ring finger, I witnessed the tears that rolled down his cheeks. And that also made me smile with my own river of tears.
“Bride and groom, you have heard the words about love and marriage, have exchanged your vows and made your promises, and celebrated your union with the giving and receiving of your rings. It is at this time that I now pronounce you as husband and wife. Those whom God hath joined together, let no one put asunder.
“You may now kiss—–” but before the priest could finish his speech, Gabriel already lifted my veil, cupped both my cheeks, and captured my lips into an excited kiss. “—–and you are now kissing the bride! Congratulations!”
I smiled through the kiss when I heard the round of applause and cheers of all our witnesses on this important day of our lives.
“Yes! You’re now my wife!” he screamed suddenly when he pulled back.
I chuckled at him. “But I’ve been your wife since three years back!” I also leveled my voice in his excitement.
“Yes, but today is different. Because I can’t touch you before, I can’t even kiss you longer even if I really wanted to,” he smirked and I raised my eyebrow. “But now, since you’re officially mine, I can do all your father’s suggestions and advice. We’re going to make more and more babies!”
I blushed as my eyes widened at what he said.
“My gosh, Gabriel! You’re such an… argh!” I glared at him while controlling myself not to laugh.
“Don’t worry, love. I’ll be gentle.” he even whispered to my ear.
“Oh, God!” I muttered lowly and I closed my eyes as I felt the blush creeping down on my neck. He just chuckled at me. And a loud gasp escaped my lips when he bent down and picked me up in a bridal style.
He walked again down the aisle towards the door, while I was in his arms and our family members were cheering and clapping their hands behind us. And right outside the church, his new Maybach Exelero is waiting for us, to take us to our reception venue.
Finally, I am now officially, Mrs. Madielyn Wilsons, the best friend, partner, and wife of the famous Gabriel Wilsons.