G I O

I was biting the inside of my cheek, wiping the sweat from my hands on my pants while my hands and legs were shaking. Every two minutes my eyes would dart at the clock at the end of the chapel. A hand lands on my shoulder giving it a good squeeze.

"Calm down, brother. Shake any harder and the church will collapse with all of us inside," Eli jokes. I appreciated him trying to make light of my nervousness.

"She's not coming. I can feel it, Eli. She's going to leave." My hands fisted my jacket but I didn't care because I was terrified my biggest nightmare would become a reality. Again.

He turns my body to face him. He fixes the suit on my body, smoothing it out as a distraction. I remember Astrid doing this once when a client offered to buy her from me. "She's not going to leave you. It's Astrid. You've fought for this woman to mom. If she wanted to leave, she would've done it a long time ago but she stayed. Give her a bit of credit here, Gio."

The pace of the beating of my heart sped up when the wedding march started playing. I looked into the eyes of my big brother who instructed me to slowly take a deep breath and let it out. I looked down the aisle to see the groomsmen and the bridesmaids walking down, pair by pair. The flower girl and ringbearer.

The song changed and there was a pause. I stood waiting, trying to remember she wasn't like Victoria. She was my Astrid. The diamond of my life and she is going to walk down the aisle. The seconds felt like hours which didn't help my anxiety.

The doors open to reveal Astrid in a plain white dress with long sleeves. A smile made its way on my face knowing she wouldn't wear the most fashionable dress. She still looked beautiful as the veil rested on her head. Her face brightened while she stared into my eyes with her father by her side. This time when my heartbeat quickened, it wasn't because I was nervous; it was because Astrid was walking toward me ready to promise her entire life to me.

"Take care of my little girl, boy," Mr. Bloom threatened.

"I promise, sir." He smiles, kisses her on the cheek and whispers something in her ear making her glance at him and place her hand on his arm with a smile.

With Blaire's help, she walks closer and stops in front of me. I feel tears welling in my eyes at how elegant she was. She was really here.

"Hi," she whispers, smiling up at me.

"Hello, darling."

As I watched her converse with her mom who was wearing a saree because of her culture, I still couldn't believe that she actually said 'I do'. I almost cried right there when the words left her lips. Eli, who probably knew how much relief that left my body, clapped a hand on my shoulder. We were married. In front of God and our families. I could go home and spend the rest of my life feeding her or pretend to be mad when she ate off my plate after eating the food on hers. We could travel, run a company together and if she decides she can't bear to have a child, we could adopt as many as we could. Whatever her wish would be, is my command.

"What are you thinking about?" My beautiful wife shows up beside me with a plate full of cake in her hands. This was her third slice. She loves wedding cakes, is her excuse. Truth is, she's like her older brother. They both took their fair share of cake and any other food at the buffet that was available.

"What the rest of my life will be with you." I leaned down and planted a kiss on her forehead and took a napkin wiping the icing from the corner of her lips.

"I love you too." She blushes, shoving another fork full of cake in her mouth. I chuckle, shaking my head at how adorable she was. She tries to offer me a piece but I shake my head to which she shrugs and eats it herself.

"I'm going to use the bathroom. Be back in a minute. Try to leave some for the guests, will you?" I mock and she pokes her tongue out at me.

I laugh and head to the bathroom. When I opened the door, my eyes widened and I shouted in surprise, closing the door as quickly as I could. It took my brain about five seconds to process what I saw. Did I just see what I think I saw?

"Liam?"

"Hey there, Gio. Sorry you had to see that." I heard his voice on the other side of the door.

"I'm not at all sorry, Hunky Boss. If you're up to it, we could do a three-way." I wasn't at all shocked by Jeremy's suggestion. He's been eyeing me like a piece of meat the moment he met me. What did catch me off guard, was to see him and Liam kissing while stripping each other naked. I had no idea he was even gay.

Liam pokes his head out, panting heavily. "Sorry you had to find out that way. I'm pansexual by the way."

"I have no problem. Maybe, just a heads-up next time."

"Okay. Thanks for being so understanding about this, bro." He nods and pushes his head back in the bathroom, closing the door properly this time. I walk back, shaking off what I saw out of my head, glad to see my best friend happy and free. I was taken aback to see my wife smirking while eating a new slice of cake.

"You knew?" I pointed a finger at her as I strode closer to her, looming over her short figure.

She shrugged, chewing the piece of cake already in her mouth before replying. "You teased me."

I pretended to be upset with her as I tried not to smile while she innocently ate her cake. I sigh and grabbed the plate and the fork out of her hand and ate the cake in her face.

I may have hated to want her in the beginning but I am damn glad that she wanted me enough to wait and fight for me the way I fought for her, even against all my fears. If I could choose my life all over again, I would make it my life mission that I met her years ago.

THE END

06/05/22    

I can't believe it's been more than a year since I started this book. After rewriting it like three times, I would've never thought the day would come when I would finally complete it. Yet, I did. Pat on the back for me. Thank you for coming on the journey with me. If you made it to the end of the book and loved it, comment, share and vote. Love you all. Au revoir...

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