Without warning, Austen stopped breathing for a minute, giving himself a moment to take in and admire his fiancée that was standing so elegantly down the aisle. Everything seemed to go quiet as the crowd faded away. In some distant part of Austen's mind, he was convinced it was just him and Valerie, alone. Together.
That's when their eyes met finally, after hours of being apart, they were together again. The amount of happiness and love radiating between the two could equal heat from the sun. Everyone felt it, and when Valerie began her approach, Austen had to contain the plethora of emotions oozing off of him. Emotions that he had so seldom felt in his lifetime. Those vivid hazel eyes Austen loved so much never left his, as if he was Valerie's anchor, her ultimate goal, and she wouldn't stop until she made it.
It wasn't until Valerie was standing in front of Austen that the world seized to rotate. Time stood still for the both of them, and every nerve and doubt either of them had was gone. This was all that mattered. This was everything they wanted, and they were mere seconds away from having it.
And so the ceremony began, the officiant introducing the bride, groom and her queues. From the audience outlook, Austen and Val seemed to remain in their own world, revelling in their own ambience, as if the outside was insignificant to them. After all the years of being together, the struggles while they were both in school and the hassles of the individual careers had all led up to this moment. The laughs, fights and tears had never felt so worth it to either of them, but now they understood that they would make it work.
For Austen and Valerie, being together was almost inevitable. It had been that way ever since they had met, like two opposite magnets. The universe did have a hilarious way of pushing you into situations and leading you to the right person at the right time, even when you didn't feel that way in the moment. This wedding was always going to happen.
"And now Valerie will read the vows she wrote for Austen" the officiant announced.
Taking a deep breath, she gazed into Austen's eyes that were patiently waiting.
"I wish I could tell you the exact moment I fell in love with you, but for some reason I can't. If anything, I fell in love with you multiple times over the years. Like the moment you surprised me with tickets to see my favourite concert, or just a random night when I go to sleep, with me cuddled and wrapped around your comfortable arms. It happened one day while we were having dinner, talking about inconsequential things,...and you revealed that you couldn't see yourself with anyone else."
Valerie paused, her voice was trembling with emotions, but looking at Austen helped.
"There were moments with you that I thought to myself that I couldn't be more in love with you than I am now. Yet, it's clear now, I'm standing here now proving myself wrong again, time after time because right now I'm falling in love with you even more than words can say, more than my thoughts can fathom."
"What we have was never easy and there was no controlling it, but I believe that's what makes we share ever so beautiful. I know for a fact that soulmates exists, and some simply meet them and never recover while others don't even get the chance. Then just a select few actually get to marry theirs, and I most certainly am one of those lucky few."
The knot in Austen's throat seemed to make him teary, his heart screaming and galloping from the ample number of emotions he was immersed in. Everything Val was saying was from her heart,and Austen wasn't sure if he could top everything she was admitting.
"I look forward to spending forever with you, and I look forward to experiencing everything the world has to offer us. But the one thing I look forward to the most is falling in love with you over and over and over again, everyday of my life, until my very last breath."
To be continued...
To access the first part of the story, visit the link below
https://read.cash/@Castle.Grey/a-votive-for-a-forever-until-my-last-breath-078adad8
You have a unique way of telling stories and i love that