LOVE'S QUAGMIRE [18+]

Chapter 58: D-Day

AUTHOR'S NOTE-

Play the song in the background during this part, on repeat, to really feel the emotion and make it even more beautiful and imaginable. Or, if you want to dive even deeper, I'd suggest starting the song from the beginning and letting it play on repeat while you read. Trust me, it'll hit differently.

5 Years Later-

Daphne's POV~

And again *chuckle* I find myself standing in front of a mirror, draped in white, feeling the weight of a moment I never thought would come.

The lace of my dress is soft against my skin, a stark contrast to the roughness of memories that linger in my mind.

It's hard to believe that after everything—after him—I'm here, preparing to walk down the aisle, again.

But this time, it's different.

This time, I'm marrying the man who saved me, who took my shattered heart in his hands and gently, so gently, pieced it back together.

5 years.

5 years had passed since I escaped the nightmare that nearly consumed me.

The faint scars on my body remain, but they don't bother me much anymore. The deeper wounds, the ones etched inside me, have been gently healed by him.

I brush a strand of hair away from my face, my fingers trembling slightly as I adjust the veil.

It's almost surreal, how something as simple as love can feel so powerful, so healing. I never thought I'd feel this way—safe, loved, cherished.

But he showed me that I could, that I deserved to.

I heard the door creak open, I glanced back, and there was Abbey, her phone pressed to her ear.

"Yes, that works. I'll be back in a week—send the files directly to my office," saying this she ended the call quickly. As the door clicked shut behind her, her gaze locked with mine. She just froze, staring at me, and I could see the emotions swirling in her eyes.

I smiled through my veil, knowing exactly what she was thinking.

"You know, Daph, I was just thinking... remember when we were in school how we used to joke about running away to some tropical island, living off coconuts, and avoiding all boys forever?" I giggled and nodded, "God, we were so serious about it back then. I even started saving up for plane tickets in a jar under my bed and sold that expensive handbag that my aunt bought from Paris for me," she joked as I chuckled and playfully rolled my eyes while in tears.

I know she wanted to say something else but instead, she just joked.

She stepped closer, her smile fading just a bit as her eyes searched mine. "But then later, life happened. You got married, and I watched you slip away, bit by bit. It felt like I was losing my best friend to something I couldn't fix. And that... that scared me more than I care to admit. I still remember how broken you were, how you kept everything inside, hiding it from me. I can't get those nights out of my head—the ones where I stayed up, worrying, wishing you'd just talk to me, let me in."

She paused, her eyes welling up with tears, but she blinked them away. "You deserve this, you deserve to be happy, to be loved the way you always should've been. But I need you to promise me something."