Breathe in, breathe out.

She could do this. Just walk down the aisle and say her vows. Simple, right?

Oh, who was she kidding? She was probably going to trip on the way to the altar, tear her beautiful white dress, and sprain her ankle.

She was basically a huge walking bundle of mess in a wedding dress at this point.

Her wedding dress.

She could hardly believe it.

The beautiful white dress was designed to fit her perfectly. The delicate white lace with a light peach undertone made her shine like an angel with a long A-line skirt that flowed delicately around her as she walked. It really was going to be a bummer if she did trip and rip the beautiful lace— just thinking about it made her heart break.

It was a private event— their wedding. Since Xavier was a favorite among the media, news broke out about their relationship and their wedding a couple of months back. He had apologized profusely for having their photos plastered all over the media, and she did have to admit, she wasn't used to all the attention she was getting. But with Xavier by her side, there was nothing to be afraid of.

As Aurora stood staring at herself in the mirror, she couldn't believe that today was the day.

Today was the day she was going to marry the love of her life and officially become Mrs. Aurora Knight. And she couldn't help but feel the butterflies flutter around in her stomach.

She had already cried once when her mother walked in while she was putting on the dress. Heather immediately had tears in her eyes when she saw how beautiful Aurora had looked in her wedding dress. And of course, that ended up triggering Aurora to cry.

After their little crying session, Maddie performed some magic with her makeup skills and made it seem like she wasn't crying at all. Her best friend was truly an angel sent from above as the woman wasn't even angry when Aurora had cried. In fact, she even cried along with the mother-daughter duo. Aurora honestly couldn't have asked for a better maid of honor than her best friend.

A small commotion outside the room, where she was given a little peace and quiet to gather her thoughts before the wedding started, disrupted her from her thoughts.

"Xavier, you can't see her before the wedding— it's bad luck."

She could hear Isabella's scolding from outside of her room. Having a loud voice definitely helped the woman raise 6 kids.

"I just want to talk to her for a second, ma," Xavier protested, before opening the door. The room was designed in a way where right when you enter, there was a small waiting room for the bridesmaids and maid of honor to rest. To the right, through the open entryway, was the dressing room where the bride would get ready.

"Hi, baby," he greeted casually, leaning back against the wall, not facing the entrance. He knew he was going to get shit if he saw Aurora before the wedding, despite desperately wanting to see her and touch her.

Gasping, Aurora quickly moved away from the large mirror and to the wall. Essentially, they were back to back— only a thin wall separating the two of them. "Babe, what are you doing here?"

"I just wanted to hear your voice," he murmured, loud enough so that she could hear him. "How are you feeling, sweetheart?"

She took a small breath, his voice had a calming effect on her. "Just a little nervous."

"You're not getting cold feet on me, are you?" He joked, hoping to put her at ease. "Why are you nervous, baby?"

He reached his hand back and intertwined his with her perfectly manicured fingers, rubbing the back of her hand soothingly.

"You know I would never," she chuckled, rolling her eyes. She let out a soft sigh, one that Xavier could hear clearly. "I'm just scared I'm going to trip over my feet and fall— I mean imagine— that would be so embarrassing."

Xavier smiled, knowing she truly was worried about falling.

"Even if you do, I'm going to catch you every single time," he stated truthfully, causing her to smile. He always managed to put a smile on her face every single day and she couldn't wait to spend the rest of her life with him.

A knock on the door signaled that it was now time for the ceremony. But even with just their hands intertwined together, she didn't want to let him go just yet.

"I'll see you out there, sweetheart," he could hear her breath quicken, knowing her nervousness was beginning to settle in again. "Just keep your eyes on me, baby."

He gave her hand one last squeeze before reluctantly letting her go. Maddie stood in front of the door along with Stephanie, Megan, and Grace, who were Aurora's bridesmaids. She gave her brother a small pat on the back before going into the room to help Aurora with last minute touchups.

"I can't believe we're actually going to be sisters," Maddie squealed excitedly, causing a big smile to automatically spread on Aurora's face despite feeling the butterflies. They were beginning to walk out of the room and towards the beautiful outdoor wedding venue.

"I can't believe it's happening either," The wedding planner handed her a beautiful bouquet before helping Aurora with the back of her dress. With the long dress and the long sheer white veil that was now attached to her hair, Aurora could feel the weight of everything. But regardless, she felt beautiful. "I remember how we would jokingly say that one day it was going to happen."

"And here we are today, it's fucking happening!" Cheered Maddie, causing Aurora to laugh. "Oh, whoops, dear God, please forgive me for cursing on this day."

Aurora rolled her eyes at her best friend but remained amused. She couldn't be more grateful for Maddie and everything that she has done for her. In her eyes, regardless of anything, Maddie would forever be her sister.

The wedding began as soon as everyone got to their places. She could hear the soft wedding music begin to play as one by one the bridesmaids and groomsmen entered. Aurora wrapped her arm around her dad's arm tighter.

"You ready, pumpkin?" Peter asked, looking down over at his beautiful daughter.

"Of course, I can't wait to spend my life with him, dad. I'm just a little nervous," she replied shakily. She could feel her palms begin to sweat.

He patted her hand with his other arm lovingly. "There's nothing to be nervous about, pumpkin. I know that man standing upfront at the altar will take good care of you."

Towards the end of his sentence, his voice began to get shaky. This was his daughter he was giving away and he couldn't help but feel a sense of bittersweetness. She was his one and only daughter and knowing she was going to be another man's made his heart clench.

Hearing the shakiness in his voice, Aurora looked up at her dad with wide eyes as she noticed his begin to water.

"Dad," she gave him a gentle squeeze on the arm. "You're going to make me cry. You know I'll always be your little girl."

He nodded, trying to get his act together since it was almost their turn to walk down the aisle. "I know."

And almost on queue, the wedding planner gave them the signal that they were about to enter. Full of nervousness, Aurora kept her eyes glued to the ground.

It was time.

She felt her dad lead her outside. Everything was just as she imagined her dream wedding would be like. She had always wanted an outdoor wedding, where a slight breeze could be felt as the sun gently shined down on them. Along the sides of the middle aisle, were beautiful white cherry blossom-like trees. Delicate white flowers were scattered along the aisle.

But all of that didn't matter to her. All that matter was the beautiful man standing at the end of the aisle. It seemed like everything else disappeared from her vision as soon as her eyes locked onto Xavier's beautiful grey eyes— the same ones that had first captured her attention. Him in his beautiful black tuxedo, with his hair neatly styled back, and the same loving gaze that never once left her.

From Liam to both Grace and Daniel, as well as Massie and her family— everyone was there on her special day. Yet as she walked down the aisle, her sole focus was on Xavier.

Xavier couldn't believe his eyes. She looked like an angel and he couldn't believe she was soon to be his forever. The love of his life looked even more beautiful than usual if that was even possible, and he swore he was seeing a goddess walk down the aisle. His eyes never left hers as a range of overwhelming emotions surrounded him.

God, he loved her so much.

Bringing his hand up to his face, he subtly tried to wipe away a stray tear that had escaped. Xavier barely felt Lucas, his best man, clasping his hand on his shoulder from behind as his sole focus was on the one girl who he would give up anything for.

"Take good care of her, son."

Peter brought Xavier in for a hug, clasping his hand on the groom's back. Pulling away, Xavier shook his soon to be father-in-law's hand.

"Always."

Peter nodded with a smile on his face before heading to the seat next to Heather, who was already full-on sobbing.

Xavier gently held onto Aurora's hands as the two turned to face each other. The priest began to speak, but the two weren't even paying attention to the words being said.

"Beautiful," Xavier mouthed, making Aurora's eyes shine with happiness.

They weren't sure how long the priest was speaking, but soon enough, it was time for their vows to be exchanged.

And, Xavier was first.

"Aurora, words cannot even begin to describe how much I love you," He began with a beautiful smile as he stared at her lovingly. "You are my best friend, my lover, and my soulmate. I promise to protect and cherish you until my very last breath. I promise to be there for you whenever you need me. I fell in love with you because of your kind heart and your beautiful soul. You always put others before you and now it is time for me to take care of you. I promise to love you and all of your tiny quirks. I vow to be the one to catch you whenever you trip and fall and to put out the fire whenever you try to cook."

He paused when chuckles rang out throughout before continuing. "I promise to keep you happy and fed, and I vow to buy you bubble tea whenever you crave it, even if it's at odd hours of the day. I will protect you and respect you, and do everything I can to keep you happy, cherished, and loved. I will always be the one that you fall in love with over and over again. I will forever and always be in love with you. And I'm one lucky man to call you mine."

When he was finished, tears were already running down her cheeks from how touched she was from hearing his words. There was no doubt that he was going to keep his promises.

She was also really glad her makeup was waterproof, or she else it would've all been smudged.

Taking a shaky breath, Aurora began her own heartfelt vows.

"God, I should've gone first," She sniffled, earning a few chuckles from the guests. "I don't even know where to begin. Xavier, I- I just love you so much. You were the one who let me see what it's like to be loved and cherished. You are my best friend and the love of my life. Even though I missed the exact moment in which we both first met, I'm so thankful that God allowed our paths to cross again. Fate is telling us that we belong together and I will never take that for granted. Thank you for being there for me through thick and thin, and for allowing me to see the light."

As she spoke, she could see that Xavier was listening carefully to every single word that she was saying.

"Every accomplishment and every achievement that you make makes me so unbelievably proud and I promise that I will make you proud as your wife. I vow to listen and learn from you and to laugh and cry with you. I promise, well I'll try to promise, to not burn the house down when I cook. And I promise to laugh at all of the silly dad jokes that you've been learning from my dad. I'll love you forever and I am so lucky that you're mine."

When she was done, despite her own tears that were beginning to obstruct her view, she could see that Xavier, too, had tears in his eyes. She gave his hands a squeeze, to which he responded with one of his own. Sniffling could be heard coming from all of the guests as there were no dry eyes in the room.

"Xavier Knight," the priest began. "Do you take Aurora Young to be your lawfully wedded wife? Do you promise to love her, comfort her, honor and keep her for better or worse, for richer or poorer, in sickness and health, and forsaking all others, be faithful only to her, for as long as you both shall live?"

"I do," Xavier slid the beautiful band onto her ring finger. It was a simple diamond-encrusted silver band compared to the beautiful diamond engagement ring, yet it was still perfect in her eyes. She already knew she was going to keep both of them on her finger forever.

"Aurora Young, do you take Xavier Knight to be your lawfully wedded husband? Do you promise to love him, comfort him, honor and keep him for better or worse, for richer or poorer, in sickness and health, and forsaking all others, be faithful only to him, for as long as you both shall live?

"I do."

With shaky hands, she slid a similar ring onto his finger— one that was going to mark him as hers forever.

"You have expressed your love to one another through the commitment and promises you have just made," The priest smiled at the happy couple, who were too lost in each other's eyes to even head what he was saying. "It is with these in mind that I pronounce you husband and wife. You may now kiss the bride."

And that was all the indication he needed. Xavier wasted no time and immediately brought Aurora close to him, placing a long and passionate kiss on her lips.

Cheers immediately erupted among the guests and their family as Xavier continued to hold Aurora close to him.

This was it.

He was never letting her go.

❤︎ ❤︎ ❤︎

"My offer still stands, babe."

Aurora threw her head back in laughter as Elijah twirled her around the dance floor. Both the wedding and the reception had gone on without any slip-ups, thank fucking god.

Today was truly the best day of her life. Her dream wedding had become a reality and she couldn't have asked for anything more. From the wedding to the reception, everything was perfect, and it was all thanks to the help and support she had received from all of their friends and family.

She had changed into a different dress for the reception— one that was less heavy and more comfortable to move around in, yet still retained her beauty and grace. Her favorite part of the beautiful dress would have to be the mermaid skirt that hugged her figure before fanning out slightly.

The reception was held inside and fit everyone comfortably. Large circular tables and chairs lined the outside of the grand ballroom with a large dance floor in the middle. Each table was decorated with a beautiful bouquet and beautiful chandeliers hung down from the tall ceilings. Time had gone by quickly, with Aurora crying after every speech that was made from her parents to Maddie, her maid of honor.

All of the men had gotten their turn dancing with her, including Alexander, the oldest Knight brother, Liam, Lucas, and Ethan. Even little Colton had gotten a turn as he laughed and giggled when Aurora twirled him around. Connor had ultimately opted out from dancing with her, which she honestly wasn't complaining about.

Now, much to Xavier's dismay, she was dancing with Elijah. She could tell her husband wasn't too happy with the daggers he was glaring at Elijah. The Knight brothers were surely a hilarious bunch— all wanting to annoy the hell out of each other. Besides, Xavier knew Elijah was only doing this to tease him.

"Yes, but you have to remember Elijah, I am a married woman now," grinned Aurora, waving her left fingers in front of Elijah.

Elijah winked at her playfully. "That never stopped-"

"You better not finish that sentence," Xavier's voice called out from behind Aurora. She felt him fling Elijah's arms off of her, replacing it with his. "Now, I believe my wife owes me a dance."

"Yeah, yeah, as I said earlier, babe, whenever you get tired of this asshole right here, you give me a call."

Xavier glared at his younger brother with a look of distaste. Elijah snickered, walking away nonchalantly after getting a reaction out of Xavier.

Rolling his eyes, Xavier turned Aurora so she was now in his arms comfortably. A slow song began to play and Aurora brought her arms up to his neck. She played with his soft hair on the back of his neck as his hands rubbed circles along her waist.

"He won't ever stop, will he?" He pouted, causing her to chuckle. Just hearing her laugh made a smile form on his lips. And he was blessed to be able to hear that sound for the rest of their lives.

Aurora shook her head with amusement.

"I can't wait to spend the rest of my life with you, baby," he murmured lovingly, leaning forward so that their foreheads were touching. "You're mine, forever."

"Me neither," she smiled, leaning in to lightly brush her lips against his.

"After all, I am yours, forever."

❤︎ ❤︎ ❤︎

And... that's a wrap! 

Thank you all for joining me on this amazing journey. I will be posting a final author's note with some really exciting news!

And stayed tuned— I'm not ready to let this couple go yet.