46 - everlasting love

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  "The day has finally come!" Brady exclaimed excitedly as Marina beamed with enthusiasm beside him.

"I know, I can barely contain myself," she said, keeping her eyes glued to the double doors in front of them.

"The world's largest candy store has finally been opened!" Brady announced, which caused her to swiftly cast her gaze upon him. He was scrolling through his phone with a wide grin and looking at the pictures of the new store, practically drooling.

"Are you serious right now? Is that what you were talking about? You need some serious help, give me that," Marina scolded before abruptly stealing his phone from his hands, earning a deep scowl from her coworker. She glared at him and gestured toward the double doors. "We have more important matters to focus on! Our friend is getting married!"

"No arguing on my wedding day please," Ali chuckled as she stepped out of the room in front of them. The two immediately turned to her, their faces quickly morphing into one of admiration and awe. Marina's eyes swelled with tears at the sight of her best friend in the most elegant and befitting wedding dress she had ever seen. It hugged her curves beautifully from her chest to her upper thighs, before ending in regal layered ruffles — with her hair in perfectly uniform curls that satisfyingly complimented the ruffles.

"Oh, Ali, you look so gorgeous. This dress," Marina gushed, effusively motioning towards her dress before bringing her hands up to her face. "It's like it was truly made for you."

Brady eyed his supervisor and let out a snort. "I have never seen her this cringey before. She's not wrong though."

"Thank you, guys," Ali said with a smile before tossing him a questioning look. "Aren't you supposed to be with Sawyer?"

"Oh! That's right. I just had to come here and see you real quick to let him know how hot you look. See you down the aisle, soon-to-be Mrs. City Girl!" Brady shouted as he dashed down the hall. Marina shook her head at him, then returned her gaze to the white-wearing angel in front of her.

  "So how are you feeling?"

  Ali stepped back into the bridal suite to stare at herself in the mirror, with Marina trailing behind her. Her eyes slowly traveled down her body, drinking in her appearance, and she smiled at her own reflection. "I feel the most beautiful I've ever felt."

"As you should," Marina affirmed while tidying up the flounce of her dress. "Does everything feel surreal to you right now?"

"Weirdly, no," Ali replied as she fiddled with her engagement ring on her right hand. "Everything feels profoundly real, and more importantly, it feels right. Like this is exactly where I'm supposed to be."

"And Sawyer is exactly who you're supposed to be with," Marina added with a small sentimental smile, to which Ali gratefully returned. Her support meant a lot to her, and she was so thankful for Marina's understanding throughout the years. Although she may not have always approved of Sawyer, and vehemently tried to protect her heart from him in the beginning, she always had good intentions. After seeing how well they were suited for each other, she was able to put her personal bias aside and support them — which was definitely not an easy feat.

  "Thank you for being my maid of honor, Marina. You've always made me feel welcome ever since I first came to town, and I've made sure to never take your kindness for granted," Ali told her, causing Marina to almost melt with emotion.

  The redhead, who she knew as both her supervisor and close friend, quickly pulled her in for a hug and sighed deeply. "Of course, Ali. You genuinely have the biggest heart I know, and I treasure our friendship so much. I'm so happy you've included me in this special day, despite my criticisms of your relationship early on. Damn, we're seeing how wrong I was now, huh?"

  Ali laughed as she wrapped her arms around her friend, who carefully made sure not to ruin her hairstyle. After a moment, they parted and smiled cheekily at each other. "I wonder what the guys are talking about right now."

On a separate wing of the venue was the groom's suite, where the two coworkers sat beside each other and waited for the time to pass. Sawyer was on his phone, scrolling aimlessly, while Brady watched a reality show on the TV across from them. The sweet tooth stuffed his hand into his suit pocket and pulled out some assorted candies that he had prepared beforehand.

"You want some?" Brady offered to him without tearing his gaze away from the show. "I brought some dark chocolate ones for you. You should probably brush your teeth after you eat it though, you don't want your bride tasting that on the first kiss of your marriage. Or maybe you both are into that, I won't judge."

"I'll take a dark chocolate piece," Sawyer said, ignoring his rambling.

Brady handed him the candy and smiled. "I bet you wouldn't even mind if Ali had chocolate or worse all over her teeth, you little love-sicko."

  "Of course not. She's my wife," Sawyer responded without thinking, then paused. Brady stared at him in amusement as he processed what he had just said. "My wife. Alice is really my wife."

  "Well, technically, she's not your wife yet—"

Sawyer cut him off with a sharp glare thrown his way, inciting a grin from the lollipop lover.

  "Alright, alright. Tell me though, how do you feel about this whole marriage thing now that it's finally hitting you?"

  The unreadable groom mulled over the question for a long moment, while his groomsman waited impatiently and dramatically checked the time every five seconds. Four and a half candies later, Sawyer finally answered.

  "Good. I feel good."

  Brady blinked slowly, his mouth slightly agape. "That's it?"

  "What more is there to say?" Sawyer retorted casually as he took another candy from him. Brady remained stupefied until he finally shook his head and let out a short breath.

  "You're right. I guess you feeling good is enough, as anticlimactic as it seems," Brady remarked, returning his attention to the reality show. "By the way, I forgot to tell you that Ali looks really hot in her dress."

  Sawyer abruptly stood up from his seat. "I'm feeling more than good now. Let's go."

  "Bet those feelings are more towards your wedding night than your wedding day," Brady muttered under his breath with a mischievous chuckle, then raised his hands in surrender when he was sent a pointed look.

  The two of them made their way through the venue before entering the ceremony room one by one. Sawyer briefly glanced over at his father, one of the few guests at their intimate wedding, as he walked down the aisle. Once he arrived at the altar, he took a moment to look around and remember everything for the future. He didn't want to forget a single detail.

  Soon enough, the bridal entrance song sounded throughout the venue and all of the guests stood up. Marina appeared in a satin red dress, her gaze immediately landing on Brady's, causing him to hastily finish chewing his last candy and straighten his back. She narrowed her eyes at him before plastering on a smile, giving Sawyer an encouraging thumbs-up when she passed him — as if she was wishing good luck to a child.

Then, he caught sight of her. In all of her glory.

  His dark and stormy eyes shined upon seeing her, as if lightning bolts had struck within his irises. His heart began to race in anticipation and exhilaration, void of anxiety. He could barely remain still at the altar.

  She walked down the aisle with her father, who was already holding back tears. She quickly glanced at their guests and waved to a few of her old college friends that she had invited. Her eyes inevitably found its true target a second later, and a smile appeared on her face in the same instant. The green and brown hues in her eyes danced beautifully, twinkling with joy when it met his.

  Sawyer stared at her lips for a moment, realizing that he would have the pleasure of seeing that bright smile of hers for the rest of his life. And she stared into his eyes, realizing that she would have the privilege of learning all about that complex mind of his for the rest of her life. They couldn't wait for all of the words and experiences they would share together.

  Now, as they stood in front of each other with intertwined hands, they could almost foresee their mutual happiness in each other's eyes. Their future held nothing but hope. Marriage wouldn't be easy, just as their prior relationship wasn't, but they both wanted it more than anything. Despite the hardships, despite the difficulties, they wanted to be together.

  Because at the end of the day, their everlasting love was always worth it.

  And by sealing this promise with a kiss, they began their wedded journey with hammering hearts. Their guests cheered and clapped for the newlyweds, with their two favorite coworkers being the loudest.

  Sawyer and Ali descended the aisle to celebrate the occasion at the reception. He paused to look at her when they were alone for a brief moment, holding her face in his hands. Her caramel-colored hair was vibrant in the light, and he was almost overwhelmed by her beauty. She, too, was entranced by the sleekness of his suit and his perfectly styled black hair.

  "You look beautiful, Alice," he whispered softly to her. "My wife is beautiful."

  Ali leaned into his touch, a shy smile hanging from her lips. "Thank you. My husband is beautiful too."

  Sawyer slid his hand down to her jawline and pulled her in for another kiss, a deeper one. They only parted from each other when their guests began to roll in, congratulating the couple as they found their seats.

  Mr. Price appeared before Ali when she stood alone, waiting for Sawyer to finish speaking with the DJ. He cleared his throat and cast her an unreadable look. "Congrats, Ali. I thank you for inviting me to an event that I had initially attempted to prevent. Your kindness is beyond me."

  "Thank you," she said as she absently smoothed down her dress with her hands. "Although Sawyer didn't want to admit it, I knew he'd want you here. After all, regardless of everything that's happened, you're still his father."

  He sighed, nodding, and reluctantly continued. "You're an admirable woman, Ali. I'm...glad my son was able to find someone who could give him what I never could."

  Ali smiled and patted his shoulder as she walked past him. "Who says you still can't?"

Leaving him with some food for thought, the newly wedded woman met her husband on the dance floor. The two of them wrapped their arms around each other and rocked to the music. No words were needed in that precious moment as their eyes bored into one another, both of their hearts feeling full.

They leaned their foreheads against each other and closed their eyes. Ali's voice, gentle and soft, was barely above a whisper as she uttered the following words for the first time but not the last: "I love you, my husband."

Sawyer smiled and hugged her tighter. "I love you, my wife. Forever."



A/N: we're #1 in humor!!! thank you so much to everyone that interacted in any and every way with this story; i am so very grateful. next chapter is the epilogue! so sorry for the wait, but i appreciate all of you that stuck by me very much.


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