All of us came back to the venue and Ansell didn’t leave my hand, even for a second.
It felt like he was afraid that I would run away from him but now that I have accepted him, I have done that with an open and clean heart. I have decided not to think about that bitter past and start a new life with him on a happy note.
As we entered the venue, we met with the most unexpected guest. Ansell looked down at me, asking if I had any clue about them but I was equally clueless. I am sure William and and Marvin must have arranged it.
Suddenly, Ansell was hugged tightly. It was his mother. She hugged him tightly.
“I missed you” she mumbled.
Ansell hugged him back. She pulled away and engulfed me in her arms as well. I felt her warmth and love through that hug.
Desy was standing at a hand distance from us, looking at her brother with small tears in her eyes. Two months ago, I came to know that Ansell has cut all the ties with his sister and they haven’t met in the last six years.
I could see longing in her eyes, she really wanted to hug him.
Ansell kept staring at her and there was pin-drop silence around. Desy was also a pawn in the game of her father and according to me, she also deserves a second chance.
After a minute, Ansell spread his left arm and Desy came running to him, hugging him tightly.
“I missed you, brother” she cried.
“I miss you too” Ansell kissed on her head, caressing it gently.
“Mom” Jayden came to me and held my finger. “Where were you?” He asked.
Leaning down, I picked him up in my arms.
“I went to bring your daddy” I said, kissing his chubby cheeks.
“Where is he?” He asked innocently, his tiny eyes shinning with curiosity.
Without saying anything, I just turned my head towards Ansell.
“Mr. Hero?” He asked, unable to accept the fact.
I nodded.
“Yaayyy!” He squealed and jumped into my arms.
Within the next second, he jumps towards his father. He invested so much trust in him that he didn’t even think that he could fall down.
Though Ansell was not ready for it yet, he caught him on time.
“Jayden’s Daddy”
Wrapping his tiny arms around Ansell, he hugged him tightly. Ansell kissed his cheek.
The way Ansell was holding him was clearly showing that he was also waiting for this moment for a long time. He wanted not only me but also his son.
“Where were you all these years?” Jayden asked him with a small pout on his lips.
“Daddy wanted to give Jayden a surprise”
Ansell tickled Jayden’s stomach and he burst into giggles.
“Did you like your surprise?” He asked.
“Jayden loved it” Jayden kissed Ansell on the cheeks.
“Daddy, Marry mommy ” he said, pointing at me.
In the last two weeks, he has been asking so many questions about why we are preparing and for what we are preparing so I told him that I am going to marry his dad and from that day on, we will start living with his dad. I am glad we didn’t tell him about who was going to be his daddy.
Now he seems like the happiest child after getting Ansell as his dad. Somewhere, he also felt that connection but now that he is sure that he is his father, he seems content and happy.
“Go and change your dress”William said to Ansell.
“Come Jayden, I will help you change”
Jayden at his uncle excitedly and they walked to one of the rooms. I didn’t know that they had kept a dress for Ansell as well. Wiliam and Marvin prepared everything as if I were actually going to marry Ansell.
“I am sorry, Nara. Please forgive me” Desy said to me. I could see the guilt in her eyes.
Yes, it is true that if she has told me everything to her brother, then I might not have to suffer but if I see the other side of the story, then she did her best to make me escape from that place and saved me from the wrath of her brother multiple times.
“It’s okay, Desy. I understand you were also caught up in a situation. From this day on, I want to forget everything about the past, especially those months, and start a new life with a new beginning ” I said with a soft smile.
“Your heart is really big, Nara. I hope to become as kind as you one day”
She came to me and hugged her. Ansell’s mother also joined us.
Within 10 minutes, Ansell came out, and I couldn’t take my eyes off him. He was looking exactly the way I used to imagine in my teenage years.
He has never failed to thumb my heart into my chest.
His smiled up at me, his face glowing with the light falling over it.
We were all aware that people around us were looking at us intently but we couldn’t take our eyes off each other.
Marvin nudged him and he towards the aisle. William came to me and hooked his arm with mine, escorting me to the stage where I was finally going to marry the guy who had stolen my heart and already held a part of my soul.
“I am handing over my sister to you and hope you will always keep her happy” William said to Ansell.
Ansell assured him with a nod and a small smile on his lips.
And then it was time for our ring bearer to make the entry.
Jayden, wearing a tiny tuxedo just like Ansell’s walked down the aisle with the wedding ring on a small satin pillow. He looked incredibly cute with his mini bowtie, tiny suspenders, and shiny black shoes. Everyone couldn’t help but smile at his adorable innocence as he made his way to the front, bringing a sweet and heartwarming touch to the wedding.
He stood in between us and looked up at us with his tiny, curious eyes. We picked up our rings.
Ansell slid the ring into my finger and kissed over it.
“I love you” he murmured and I giggled while everyone clapped and hooted.
I slid the ring into his finger. His eyebrow raised as he was also expecting the same three magical words from me but instead of that, a mischievous smile was playing on my lips.
“My ears are longing to hear it, please say it” he requested with those puppy eyes.
I opened my mouth but before anything could come out fit, the priest intervened.
“Do you, Ansell Orion, accept Leonara Eleanor Skyler as your wife?”
“I do” Ansell said without hesitation or wasting a single second.
Our eyes were locked and none of us even blinked.
“Do you, Leonara Eleanor Skyler, accept Ansell Orion as your husband?” He asked me.
“I do”
“I now pronounce you husband and wife ” the priest announced.
My heart swelled with emotions held back for years. My attention was diverted when I heard loud claps and whistles from our family members. My eyes were moving over all of them when they stopped on Marvin. He was standing there with a wide smile on his lips and small tears in his eyes.
In every story, one person has to hurt, even when he is pure and kind and in ours, it is Marvin. He has to sacrifice his love make us one.
But I am sure he will find his love soon.
I was still looking at Marvin when Desy happened to pas him. Her bracelet got stuck in his watch, which made him look down. He got busy separating the bracelet from the watch while Desy was staring at him without blinking.
I don’t know why I felt so happy looking at them together. They looked so cute.
“You may now kiss the bride” my attention diverted when the priest announced.
As my head turned to Ansell, he jumped on me and kissed me tightly. He wrapped one arm around my waist to pull me closer and cover’s Jayden eyes with the other.
The touch of his lips on mine felt like the culmination of journey, a tender, chaste kiss that echoed the longing, battles, and victories we had faced together. In that moment, years of separation dissolved into a single embrace, and the taste of his kiss spoke volumes of a love that had endured. It wasn’t just a kiss, it was a promise fulfilled, a reunion of souls, and the beginning of a a lifetime we had fought so hard to share.
Ansell was not ready to let go of me but I went out of breath and Jayden also started complaining as h couldn’t see anything.
Ansell pulled back and picked up Jayden in his arms.
“Do it again, Jayden can’t see”
Jayden pouted and we all laughed at his innocence.
Amidst laughter, we leaned in together, planting gentle kisses on both sides of Jayden’s rosy cheeks. The cameraman captured our happy family moment.