My heart pounded in my chest. It felt like each beat was booming in my ears. My hands were aching, and it felt like it was absurdly hot in the chapel, even though I knew that it was pouring outside with meters and meters of snow.
I had never felt so nervous in my life before. It was completely unlike me to feel nervous, but it was a good kind of nervousness. The kind that also felt so exciting that I simply couldn’t wait for it anymore… The kinds of emotions that were only ever brought out of me by Jane…
Probably noticing my restlessness, the priest gave me a warm smile and reassured me, “She loves you. I can tell by how she talks about you… It’s the same way you talk about her… Like she’s your whole world… She sees you in the same way, so please rest assured, my child.”
I nodded, releasing my breath shakily as I looked around the room.
The interior of the chapel was touched up like how I promised Jane. My contractor fixed up and repainted all the benches, neatly lining each one along the side of the room. All the nooks and dents in the walls were patched up, including the hole that used to be in the corner of the ceiling. But all the mosaic windows were left completely untouched, preserving the historic feeling of the chapel.
As the afternoon glow shone through the colored glasses, all sorts of vibrant light beamed through the window, lighting up the interior of the chapel beautifully. It was honestly breathtaking.
But none of it could even compare to the woman stepping through the double doors at the moment.
A pure white dress flowed down her thin frame with a train of delicate white flowers following her every step. It hugged her waist perfectly as the top of the dress traveled all the way up to the top of her breasts before fading away into sheer fabric ordained with intricate lace and flowery design all the way down her arms to her wrist.
Her light brown hair was simply done in a half-up and half-down style with the pins that I gifted her holding it in place and make-up lightly done. Loose strands perfectly framed her bright violet eyes as they peeked over the lavender arrangement of flowers in her hands towards me.
She truly looked like a goddess at that moment.
My father held her hand gently as he walked her down the aisle. He had volunteered to walk her down the aisle the moment he found out that her parents had passed away already.
He had a soft smile on his lips as he watched her from the corner of his eyes, almost as if he was actually giving his own daughter away.
My breath hitched when she finally stopped in front of me.
Placing Jane’s hand into my own, my father told me, “You only get one love in life, Rafael. Treasure her and make sure she knows how much you love her every day of your life until you can’t anymore.”
Squeezing Jane’s hand lightly, I replied breathlessly, “Even after death, I’ll continue to show her how much she means to me.”
My father nodded acceptingly as he stepped down from the altar and took a seat next to my mother.
I walked Jane up the last few steps, noting out from the corner of my eyes how her long lashes flustered ever so elegantly as she carefully stepped up each stair.
Once we reached the top, the priest cleared his throat and started, “Dearly beloved, we gathered here today to witness the union of Rafael and Danary. I am sure that we have all seen how flourishing their love has been like a flower in spring, a devotion is never seen before. It is a love I have never seen before in my life, and I can only wish for it never to die… Rafael and Danary, your marriage will be a lifelong promise to love, respect, trust, and honor each other through good and bad, sickness and health, thick and thin, and all other unexpected or expected events. It is a strong bond that not only strengthens each of your beings individually but also your strength as partners. Today, you gain an equal partner that will be your confidence, your defender, and your motivator. Every accomplishment and every setback will be shared, but I know that it will never hinder either of your growth. No matter what the future may throw your way, I hope you will always come out stronger together.”
He raised his head and gestured, “Now, Rafael and Danary, please join your hands and face each other. If you have any vows to share, please allow yourself to share them now, as we will gladly bear witness to them.”
An overwhelming wave of emotions flooded across me as Jane’s dainty hands slipped into my rough counterparts.
Love, adoration, overwhelming joy…
An unwavering sense of protectiveness and neverending dedication to my one and only…
A tad in disbelief that I actually landed such a perfect partner, but still proud to be the one she picked…
“Danary, I can’t even begin to describe how I feel right now in words… I feel like I have an entire storm crashing about inside my chest, but I don’t hate it in the slightest. Rather, I treasure this feeling more than anything else in the world because it comes from you and only you… Before I met you, I was only a shell of a man compared to who I am now. Everyone would talk about how intelligently I spoke, how successful I was with my company, how invincible I was in comparison to the rest of the world… But none of it mattered all that much to me… I just happened to be good at the role given to me… But then you came crashing into my life… We didn’t exactly get off the best start. I nearly sent you into a panic attack on your first day of work and then pushed you away when I realized I had feelings for you… But I am glad everything turned out the way it did because I don’t think I would ever be even a fraction as happy as I am right now if I had let you walk out my life instead. So I want to thank you for giving me the honor of being your husband. I may not understand your emotions all the time and be a bit oblivious at times, but I promise that I will try my hardest to become a better man for you. I promise that I will do everything in my power to make a safe world for you, our son, and any other children we may have in the future where none of you will ever need to ever feel afraid again, a place where you can all flourish to your heart’s content.”
I raised my eyes from our hands, hoping that she liked my vows. I had tried to write it ahead of time, but there was so much that I wanted to say that I was never able to cut it down to a single page and ended up deciding to simply say how I felt at the moment instead.
Worry bubbled inside of me when I caught sight of the tears brimming in the corner of her slightly puffed-up eyes.
But before I could release her hand in a panic, she tightened her grip. She flashed me a weak but happy smile, reassuring me, “Achi, it’s happy tears, not sad tears. I would never hate such a heartfelt vow.”
I nodded warily, feeling a bit embarrassed for misreading again but eliciting a soft giggle from my lovely bride instead.
Taking in a deep breath, she started, “To be honest, I never thought I would ever stand on an altar like this. I lost my parents so young I barely even remember them. I grew up in an orphanage and didn’t have much besides my older brother. He was like my hero, saving me from bullies, teaching me how to read, feeding me when I got hungry… So it felt like I had lost everything when he died… The one person that I relied on all my life had disappeared in a snap of a finger… I wasn’t able to get along with many people, and they often picked on me… I grew fearful of men to the point that I could barely get an arm’s length of them without feeling like my lungs were collapsing… It felt like the world wanted me to be alone for the rest of my life… I had closed myself off in fear of being hurt again, but you were so patient with me… Every time I fell to my worst, you gave me the room I needed but never left my side… You showed me what it meant to be loved… what it meant to be treasured… how to be confident in myself… to hold my head up high… You accepted both me and Liam even though we were nothing special. You lifted us off the ground, completely turning our lives around for the better, and I will never be able to thank you enough for it. All I want you to know is that you are a God-given gift to me. I may not be as strong or as powerful as you, but I can still pick up the pieces where you may be lacking, whether it be understanding human emotions or clumsily fumbling with arts-and-crafts projects.”
She had a soft smile gracing her pink lips as she neared the end of her speech. Looking up at me, she vowed, “I want to be someone who you can think of as home, a place where you can always seek comfort even when you think the whole world is against you. I want to be a pillar of your strength, not your weakness. You have become my everything in such little time, and I promise to do my best going forth until death may part us.”
Practically bouncing in joy, the priest giddily started, “Having pledged your love and promises to one another today, by the power vested in me, I gladly pronounce-Ah, I forgot!”
Cutting himself up, he suddenly straightened up and asked, “Rafael Achilles Cordova, do you take Danary to be your wife?”
I smiled warmly at Jane, replying, “I do.”
“Danary Jane Belcalis, do you take Rafael to be your husband?”
Squeezing my hands, she beamed, “I do.”
The priest nearly cooed at our responses and continued, “Then, I now happily pronounce you husband and wife! You may now kiss the bride!”
But before we could even lean in, the elderly man suddenly exclaimed again, “Oh wait, I forgot one more thing, exchanging the rings!”
Jane and I laughed softly at his flustered expression as he hurriedly waved for the rings.
Looking down, we eventually found Liam bounding up the stairs toward the altar. He had a bright smile as he fished out the little velvet box from his pocket and opened it for us, revealing the two rings hiding inside.
Taking the thinner of the two rings, I gently pulled Jane’s left hand up and carefully slipped the ring over her ring finger, stacking it right on top of her engagement ring. Both of the rings glimmered under the light streaming in through the window, making them reflect just as radiantly as the woman in front of me.
Mirroring my actions, Jane took the other ring from Liam and took my oversized paws into her dainty little hand. She looked down at the thick band fondly, seeing the newly cleaned heirloom for the first time, before slipping it onto my thick digit.
We were so lost in our little moments that we didn’t realize that we were still staring at each other until Liam suddenly chirped up from between us, “Kiss! Kiss! Kiss!”
I chuckled softly as the rest of our witnesses looked up at us expectantly.
Taking Jane’s flustered expression into my hand, I gently lifted her chin. Her eyes sparkling under the afternoon light.
My thumb brushed lightly over her dusted cheeks as I took in her appearance. To think I got lucky enough to marry this woman.
She bashfully diverted her eyes away from my eyes and down to my lips, probably feeling a bit embarrassed with all the onlookers, but I couldn’t care less.
I slipped my other arm around her thin waist, pulling her into me in a single swoop. Slightly lifting her off her feet, I leaned down to tenderly connect our lips together, sealing our vows for a lifetime.
Her arms wrapped delicately around my neck, pulling me down even closer as she deepened the kiss.
An explosion of inexplicable emotions burst in my chest as I melted into her hold. An emotion that could not be explained by such a simple word as “love.”
It was more than that.
Our foreheads naturally rested against each other lovingly, smiling at each other as we took in each other’s presence in silence.
Jane peered up at me through her eyelashes innocently. She whispered breathlessly in slight disbelief, “You’re my husband now…”
I chuckled softly and playfully whispered back, “And you are finally officially my wife, Mrs. Cordova.”