She didn’t want to believe he ant every word he spoke, but her heart believed them anyway. Her eyes stung as she realized that he now held the power to hurt her far more deeply than Eryx ever had, if this turned out to be a lie.
She felt the priest turn toward her, and she knew that it was her turn to give her vows. Nervousness crept inside her as she belatedly realized she had forgotten almost everything she had morized to say to Eryx.
Elle searched her mind, but only fragnts of the vows ca back to her. When she hesitated to speak, she felt a gentle pressure in her hand, the one Angel was holding, as if he were silently encouraging her to speak, reassuring her that it was all right.
"I... I, Arielle Hathaway..." She cleared her throat, her voice shaky but audible. "I swear before everyone here to be a faithful wife to you, and loyal... to stand by you in sickness and in health... to be your friend and your partner..." Her words faltered there as she struggled to find more, her mind unable to make up anything that could possibly match the weight and sincerity of his own vows.
As if understanding her struggle, Angel turned slightly toward the priest, who imdiately took the cue that the bride was finished. The priest began another prayer, his voice echoing through the church, and then he announced, "With the power invested in by Almighty God, I now pronounce you husband and wife."
No one clapped among the guests except the Dagons and the bride’s family. People were murmuring and sneering at the wedding.
But Finn, determined to make up for his mistake in ever introducing Elle to a scumbag like Eryx, turned toward the crowd. With a subtle use of his demon powers, he compelled them into clapping and cheering, the sound booming against the high stone walls and beneath the multicolored windows of the church.
Elle turned toward the suddenly cheering crowd and felt a fragile sense of reassurance settle over her. She found herself beginning to relax, when the priest continued,
"You may now kiss your bride."
Her heart thudded as her eyes snapped back to her groom. Never in a million years had she imagined she would be marrying Angel today, let alone standing here waiting to share a kiss with him. He had never kissed her on the mouth before, and she felt her fingers clench tighter around his hand, which still held hers steadily.
What would kissing Angel be like? she wondered as she waited for him to lift her sheer veil. She hadn’t liked Eryx’s kisses; they had always bruised her and left her dreading the next one, making her wish never to be kissed again. She wondered if it would be the sa with Angel.
He released her hand slowly and reached out, carefully lifting her veil.
Her eyes widened as she was given a clear view of his breathtakingly handso face so closed to hers. She clenched her fingers against her dress as he leaned down towards her. She braced herself for the force she expected against her mouth.
But instead of kissing her on the lips, her groom kissed the side of her lips.
It was a warm, gentle touch that sent a fluttering sensation through her stomach. She felt sothing soft and unfamiliar blooming inside her chest.
Before she could dwell further on the sensation, he straightened almost imdiately, a small smile playing on his face.
She felt herself flush beneath his gaze and ducked her head shyly, her heart still racing.
---
After the wedding, the planned reception didn’t go through as it was ant to, as the guests were in a hurry to leave, especially since most of them were Eryx’s relatives. The family returned to the Hathaway residence in silence, but the mont they reached the house, the silence fell away. The mothers took their children into separate rooms to have a word with them.
Belle held her younger son’s hand and took him to an empty bedroom, with her daughter following behind them. The mont they entered the room, Finn spoke quickly.
"I am sorry, Mama. I really didn’t know he was a bastard—"
He didn’t complete the word, as he had been warned by his mother to refrain from using curse words.
"I really didn’t know him that well. Aryen and I were running an errand for Aunt Evenly last year when we t him in a shop and beca friends since then," he began to explain hurriedly.
They had known Eryx before they began their demon hunting, and they had known him as a man who enjoyed nightlife. But after he t Elle, he had stopped going to places like that, because Finn had not even seen him there during all of their hunts. He had told his mother many tis that Eryx was a good man and that he ca from a respectable family whenever she asked whether Elle’s fiancé was good.
Now he couldn’t help but feel his father was right when he said he was bad at judging character.
"It was my fault. I played a matchmaker because I wanted to be praised when everything turned out well, Mama," Finn said, looking down at his boots. "You always talked about how Brother Max saved Elle’s life and everything he did for Aunt Evenly. I wanted to also do sothing, so I matched her with a man who liked to explore, because she also liked to hear about every place I could go to with my powers. I really didn’t know he was soone like that..." Finn whispered as he wiped at his eyes.
Belle stared at her younger son for a mont before she pulled him forward and hugged him. Finn was rarely emotional, and when he beca emotional, it ant sothing had truly touched him deeply. This ti it was remorse.
When she pulled him into her embrace, he began to sob silently, saying,
"Brother M-Max will bla , Mama. H-he warned a few days ago t-that if Eryx turned out bad for Elle, he and I would have a long discussion. M-n don’t discuss for long, he’ll beat and then hate . I really didn’t an to ruin anyone’s life..."
"Shh, I know. No, your brother won’t bla you for this nor will he beat you," Belle whispered, stroking his broad back. Though since Finn was little, she had noticed he carried so much of his father’s qualities. Where he might appear unbothered and destructive on the surface, his heart was soft, and he felt too deeply.
Sotis she always thought and believed she had gone wrong sowhere as a mother, that her younger son felt the need to always prove himself by doing sothing that only turned out terribly bad. This wasn’t the first ti sothing like this had happened, where he tried to do sothing similar to what Angel had done in the past, just to be seen as a hero.
Many tis, she couldn’t help but bla herself or think she had gone wrong sowhere in raising them. Angel was now hurting, going through emotional pain he couldn’t even share with her, when until now he had shared everything with her. Her daughter liked her father more because she believed he understood her better than Belle did, and her son always tried to prove he could do everything his elder brother had done.
Many tis, she found herself crying at night in her husband’s embrace when she thought about how her children were turning out to be and how they were slowly growing away from her. She pressured Rosey to dress like a lady because she wanted her daughter to experience the love of a partner and act less manly, not because of anything else.
But witnessing what had happened in the church today, Belle realized she wouldn’t mind keeping her daughter to herself forever if she chose to never get married, for n were really scumbags, just like Rosey always said.
"I am sorry..." she whispered into her son’s ear as he bent further into her hold. She stroked his hair gently.
Rosey, who had never seen Finn break down in tears like this in front of her, pressed her palm against her mouth and moved closer to stroke his back.
"Don’t bla yourself. The outco wasn’t outrageous; everything turned out well. Angel got married to soone best for him, and Elle too. If what happened hadn’t, their marriage would never have happened, for they had grown apart from each other," she said, looking at her mother’s teary hazel eyes.
"Mama, none of this is your fault either. You two are crying, and now I feel like crying too," Rosey said, pursing her lips as she wiped tears off her face. "Hell, I hate crying because it takes away my voice! But you two are making cry now."
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