35
IVY
I’ve never worn anything so beautiful in my life.
The gown molds to me like a second skin, glittering faintly beneath the candlelight flooding into the ballroom.
The lace sleeves hug my arms, delicate and floral, while the full skirt sweeps behind me like some fairytale dream. My fingers tremble slightly as I grip the bouquet. Not from nerves, but from the sheer feeling of being awestruck that I’m about to walk down the aisle to my future husband.
To a man who would die for me.
A man who almost has.
“You look beautiful,” Lettie says from my left.
I turn to her and see that she’s already tearing up, a cloth handkerchief patting under her eyes to catch the tears before they fall and smudge her makeup. A laugh escapes me even though it’s really not that funny.
Behind her, my parents are still fussing with my father’s tie, desperately trying to fix the pin anchoring it to his white button-up underneath.
Surprisingly, I’ve felt an overwhelming sense of calm today, peace in a way that I haven’t felt in a long, long time. Maybe this is my sign from the universe that I’m making the right choice, marrying the right man, expanding the family that was always meant to be ours.
“Thank you for walking me down the aisle. It really means a lot to me. I wouldn’t want anyone else by my side for this,” I tell my sister.
She huffs at me, more tears coming. “Can you stop?”
I laugh again. “No.”
“Matvey’s going to think I look like a troll if you make me cry all my makeup off.”
I lightly smack her arm with my bouquet. “Then that means he’s not the one.”
Suddenly, that turns her mood instantly. “You’re so right. I bet Lev wouldn’t care.”
Amused, I reply, “Or Andrey.”
“So true.”
Soon, the music inside the ballroom swells, causing the coordinators to get into their positions in front of the door. My parents are waved up first, coming together to walk down the aisle arm-in-arm to start off our procession.
I breathe in deeply.
“Mama? Are we starting?”
My eyes dart over to my son who’s eying the closed doors curiously. I reach down to smooth his curls back from his face, tucking a few strands of them behind his ear. “Yup. You ready?”
He holds the box in his hands up in the air like a prize. “Ready!”
As soon as the doors are opened, my heart flutters.
Maksim stands at the end of the aisle beneath an arch of white roses and flickering gold lanterns. His usual stoicism cracks the moment our eyes meet and only then does he smile.
I float down the aisle like my feet don’t quite touch the ground, following after Leo beaming proudly in his tiny suit. Lettie’s arm is hooked around mine while we walk, only parting when reach the altar and I’m handed off to my groom. She stands on the other side of me, a walking vision in emerald silk, her smile too wide to be anything but proud.
When Maksim takes my hands, the room fades into silence. The vows he speaks are not rehearsed or traditional in any sense, but they’re everything I needed to hear.
“Ivy Bennett, I will protect you with my life. I will love you with what’s left of my soul. And if I fail at everything else, let me never fail you. You’ve made life worth living and for that I am forever grateful. I love you more than you will ever know and more than I will ever be able to put into words.”
My throat closes, but I manage to whisper mine back, tears burning in my eyes. “You make me feel like I belongsomewhere. And that somewhere is with you. I can’t wait to spend the rest of my life with you. You are my home. My peace. I love you.”