~ almost three years later~

*Aris POV*

I finished sprucing myself up, doing double checks to assure myself that there were no rips or tears in my suit. I tugged at the tuxedo and smiled at myself. Mikayla always loved when I had a light beard, the kind where when she leaned in to kiss me, the hairs would tickle her lush cheeks. My hair was in its usual style; The longer hair swooped over my head and on to the other side. The sides of my head had been lightly buzzed.

"Hey, you're looking hella sexy, man." Brandon commented as he watched me examine myself thoroughly in the mirror. As years progressed, Braydon and I grew significantly closer. He became one of my closest friends and someone I could trust. Despite our twisted past, he was one of the only men who knew about my situation before it was exposed to everyone. Even though it was hard to realize he was truly there for me, deep down inside I was aware of his potential.

Overall, I was proud with my image, and I was ready to marry the girl I was destined to wed.

*Mikayla POV*

"Mom, please, you're running the do!" I sighed, bringing a hand to my face as my mother attempted to attach the veil to my hair.

She let out a sigh as she reluctantly backed away, "Honey, I don't see how dying your hair blonde was the smartest idea." She critiqued.

"Mom, this is her big moment, leave her alone." My older sister, Lucille, chimed in.

I smiled brightly at her, acknowledging her act of kindness towards me. Mom looked away from us and towards the door. I could tell she had been hurt, but she was not giving me my space.

"Oh my god, Mikayla you look gorgeous!" Sienna, my best friend, gasped at the sight of my appearance.

"Thanks, Sienna." I replied, "Could you help me attach my veil without ruining my hairdo?" I questioned.

I chose Sienna as my maid of honor while Lucille and a few other good friends were my bridesmaids.

"Of course!" She responded, her voice ringing with happiness as she strolled over behind me.

"Mom, how do I look?" Cameron asked, walking in with a large grin spread across his face.

Tears filled my eyes as I saw my oldest standing in front of me in a tuxedo. It still had not dawned on me that he was seven- almost eight. He had turned out to look a lot like his father. Same face shape and eyes as him. He had my hair though, which was a positive feature.

"You look so handsome." I smiled, wiping the tears off my cheeks.

My eyes scanned Cameron's face before I planted several kisses on his cheeks, just like I always did when he was a baby.

"Mom, stop!" He groaned, trying to retract from my grip.

"Can you bring Rose in here?" I inquired of him.

"Yes." He obliged, sprinting out of the room.

"I can't believe Cam is almost eight." Lucille sighed, as she put an arm around me.

"Me neither, Luce, me neither."

~

Time passed and it was time for the wedding to begin. Makeup had been caked on my face to cover up the prominent bags under my eyes since I had not slept at all last night.

The nerves were kicking in as I made my way to the entrance of the chapel. I looked at my father beside me and the row of bridesmaids and groomsmen, arm and arm.

"You ready, Mik?" Dad whispered in my ear.

I swallowed over the lump in my throat, "Yes."

He nodded and smiled at me. As he did so, I was almost positive I saw a hazy mist forming in front of his eyes. My dad never cries, but was he about to?

Suddenly, the distinct sound of the oregon erupted from the church, alerting me that the doors had opened. In front of me, my five year old niece, Hailey, was carrying the basket of petals. She looked adorable with her shimmery pink dress.

Before I knew it, it was my turn to proceed down the aisle, arm and arm with my father. As I looked at the many relatives and friends in the pews, I felt the heat rise to my cheeks. Keeping my cool, I took a deep breath and avoided any eye contact with them while they filmed me and looked at me with tears in their eyes and corny smiles on their faces. My heart pounded and my legs felt wobbly. Despite the pressure, I continued hopefully.

*Aris POV*

I had not seen my fiancé yet today and she was feet away from me. I could see her veil draping behind her as she took slow steps forward. A tall bridesmaid blocked my view of her and I knew it would only be seconds until I saw her for the first time in her dress. My heart was racing as the image of her would soon appear before my eyes.

Just like my childhood dreams, she appeared behind the bridesmaid, looking extremely beautiful. I wanted to kiss her right now, but I had to wait until we said our vows. I attempted to halt the tears trying to escape my eyes, but I just couldn't. 

We locked eyes for a milisecond and Mikayla flashed a toothy grin at me before turning to face the congregation.

We said our vows while hand-in-hand. It was different to stand in front of my family while marrying the woman they watched grow up. They'd seen her trip and fall in my front yard after stumbling over the soccer ball that I kicked to her. My mom even helped Mikayla learn how to tie her shoes. Liz admired Mikayla so much as a kid, that she practically mimicked her every move, even though Liz was older than Mikayla in the first place.

My Mikayla was not only my wife, but she was my best friend. When we kissed there was more passion. In that moment, we were more in love than ever and it was hard for me to let go. When the claps from my family and friends subsided, I could see Cameron cringing at us. Seeing us kissing in front of him and family was equivalent to the worst possible event one could imagine. Suddenly, the organ began to play and that queued us to begin to walk back down the aisle. As we began to walk, I glanced at my mom who was crying and Liz, who was beaming with happiness. Josh, his wife, and their daughter, Eliday sat next to him. Eliday offered me a swift wave before I continued. My other brothers sat in the row behind my other family members. When I walked past them, they acknowledged me with a soft nod. I was glad they came, but it was definitely unexpected.

"Can you believe we are married now?" Mikayla exclaimed, jumping lightly into the air.

I kissed Mikayla before she could say anything else, "and to think this only the start of so much more." I whispered in her ear.

"Well Mister," Mikayla started, "you need to finish college get before you get any crazy ideas."

     "Yeah, yeah," I answered, kissing Mikayla on the cheek.

     "You are married now!" Rose cried happily as she scurried over to us.

     Rose hugged my leg and looked up at me with her hazel eyes. She looked identical to her mother; she was basically her a miniature version of her. I placed an arm on her shoulder and smiled.

    "We are, princess!" I replied as I picked her up from the ground.

     She was wearing a beautiful white dress with pink accents. To match, she had on light pink shoes and a headband with a small pink flower. Her brown hair was tied up into a perfect bun- no wisps of hair in sight. She giggled as I spun her in the air. As I spun her, I began to reminisce about the day I proposed to Mikayla. She was speechless so I picked her up and spun her around, identical to what I just did with Rose.

     "Ari!" A voice called from a distance.

     I turned to the sound of my childhood name. None of my friends from my childhood were invited to the wedding nor attended anyway. Their was only one person who called me Ari, and that was my older brother Christopher.

      "Chris!" I remarked with a grin.

        We walked up to each other and hugged. I had not seen him since I held Christmas at my house. That interaction was quite brief anyway. Christopher had prominent muscles and blonde streaked hair. It was almost painful to see such a close resemblance to my father in him, but I knew that Christopher was a different person.

      "Damn, you look different, bro," Chris commented as he looked at me, "hey man, I'm sorry for not being there for you. I mean, that was a weird ass time for you and all of the family. I'm proud of you, man. Plus, you have two kids and a smoking hot wife before your older brother, so you deserve some credit for that." Chris laughed as he patted my shoulder.

     "Aris!" Liz intervined as she engulfed me in a hug.

      "Hey Liz, thanks for coming," I thanked. I spotted Chris chatting with Mikayla and I felt a twist in my stomach.

     "I'm so proud of you! You thought you were going to be a single dad forever, but you ended up getting married to the one who birthed your freaking kids!" Liz stated, beaming with happiness.

    "That means so much, Liz. Now, I know the kids are probably dying to speak to you. They're playing over their by the tables." I motioned towards Cameron, Eliday, and Rose who were playing tag.

     "Thank you! I'm going to go annoy the crap out of those kids and soon they'll know who their favorite aunt is." Liz rubbed her hands together maliciously, "see you at reception!"

    I waved as she jogged over to the kids. I turned around to watch the kids' reactions, but then I saw Mikayla stop her in her tracks.

    *Mikayla's POV*

     "Liz!" I called in a whisper-shout. She didn't seem to hear me so I hoisted up my dress as much as possible and walked over to her, "Liz!"

      "Oh my God, you scared me!" Liz shrieked, her eyes wide with fear.

      "I'm so sorry," I apologized, "I-um, I have a problem. Can you come with me for a second?" 

      I looked over her shoulder and spotted Aris looking in my direction. It was difficult to avoid his stare, but I was in desperate need of Liz's help.

     Liz squinted at her as if she was a piece of fine print, "Okay?" She answered, question ringing in her voice.

    Liz glanced back at the kids playing and sighed. She would give it another chance at the next family gathering.

      I grabbed Liz's hand and pulled her across the hallway and to the nearest bathroom. I was sweating and my hands were extremely clammy. I had nearly five minutes to explain things before the limo was coming to escort us to the reception. Panicked, I shut the bathroom door and locked it. I bent down and picked up the pregnancy test that I left in the corner of the stall. Liz's face lit up at the sight of it and I immediately covered her mouth before she could say anything. Even though she could not speak, her eyes said everything she wanted to.

         "I don't know what to do, I just found out now! I can't tell him here or now, it's our wedding!" I sighed, covering my face in disgrace, "don't even ask me why I had one with me." I stated before Liz spoke.

    "Hey, hey," Liz reassured as she bent down, "it's all good. Just tell him, okay? It'll be worse if you don't. I mean isn't communication one of the most important factors of marriage?"

     "Yeah-" I began.

   "Exactly," she interjected, "so talk to him for God's sake. Don't end this marriage already, it's been like a half hour."

      I stood up from the toilet seat and patted my dress. I glanced back at Liz and she nodded at me. I sighed and reluctantly opened the door.

     "Aris?" I called, interrupting his conversation with his brother, Tyler.

     "Sorry, Ty, just a second," He excused as he turned to me, "what's wrong? Is everything okay?"

     "Uh, no not really," I stuttered, motioning him to come towards the other side of the church, "I need to talk to you."

     "Okay. . ."

     "Aris?"

     "Yes?" He urged, massaging his temples in result of the suspense I was creating.

    "I'm-I'm pregnant."