Tell Me You Love Me

23| Married

Chapter 23: Married (Brielle's POV)

"You may now kiss the bride." 

It wasn't awkward. I thought it would be, but it wasn't. He leaned in and kissed me first but he kept it short and he didn't overdo it. He did it right. 

To be honest, I wasn't as happy as a girl should be on her wedding day, and that's mostly because my father is here. 

Both River and I faced the guests who were cheering excitedly and then leaving to get to the ballroom for the party, but wow, I forgot there was a ballroom in this church specifically for wedding receptions. But this isn't the reception. We decided to host the reception tomorrow night instead of today itself so we can catch a break in between. 

I linked my arm with his, both of us slowly trailing behind the guests. "I vow to protect you from anything, and everything. To be by your side always," I recited his vow. 

He turned to me in confusion. 

"That was your vow, wasn't it?" 

"Hmm," he nodded, looking around the room. "I vow to support you through everything and fight with you for anything. To be by your side always," he said. "That was yours." 

"Did your mom tell you what my vow was?" 

He shook his head. 

"Did your dad help you then?" 

He shook his head again. 

You can't tell me our vows match too without even trying. 

I looked at him. He seemed to be lost in his head somewhere, considering he nearly bumped into a guest. 

I pulled him back, letting all the guests leave. "What are you thinking about?" I asked hesitantly. 

"You cried a lot that night," he said randomly. I understood that he was talking about the night when I woke up for the second time with a nightmare. 

"Hmm," I nodded. 

"And I let you." 

I watched him with confusion. 

"But I wiped your tears too." 

"What are you getting at?" 

"Did I do what a good fiance would have?" He turned to me and the look on his face caught me off-guard. 

I nodded slowly, "Yeah. I think so." 

"Good," he replied. "Because I didn't want to let you cry. But it felt the right thing to do. But even then, just letting you cry also didn't feel right. Don't cry like that again, I don't like it." 

"I'll try keeping that in mind," I shrugged, both of us entering the ballroom last. 

As much as we both need time to let reality sink in... we're married. 

Something is off with him. 

"River, are you okay?" 

He nodded. "It's just weird today. We're married." He sighed, "I'll stop. I suppose we can process that later. Right now, we have guests to entertain, don't we?" 

I blinked, feeling weird. I know neither of us are in the best mood today, but he seems almost... sad. 

"River!" A group of guys came and grabbed him, pulling him to the bar while cheering and congratulating him. 

A second later, a group of girls came and tried taking me too, thankfully, Alia rescued me. "Congratulations!" She hugged me quickly. "You look absolutely gorgeous."