The Tale Of Hearts

Chapter 119

Hyden's POV

God, what's taking so long?

I've checked my watch twice, smoothed my jacket more times than I can count, and still... nothing. Every second drags, the air thick with the scent of flowers and the low murmur of guests settling in their seats. It should be a calm moment. I should be standing here with that confident smirk everyone expects from me. But my chest feels too tight, my pulse keeps hammering like I've just run a damn marathon.

"Are you sure she didn't run away from the bridal room?" I whispered to Kevin, who was standing beside me. The priest shot me a look over his little book, clearly having heard what I said, so I gave him my most innocent smile.

He rolled his eyes. "For the third time, man—yes. I saw her in the dress. She's ready to walk down the aisle." Kevin whispered back in a pissed-off voice, narrowing his eyes at me

"Then why is it taking this long?" I grumbled, earning muffled laughter from my other two groomsmen. I raked a hand through my hair, trying to shake the restless tension from my shoulders. My best men gave me that smug you're hopeless look. I ignored them. My palms are already sweating. Perfect. Just what every groom wants—slippery handshake material.

The image of her keeps flashing in my head, eyes wide, lips caught between her teeth the way she does when she's nervous. God, I've been picturing her in that dress for months, but I know reality is going to hit me harder than I'm ready for. I glance toward the doors again like a man watching for the first glimpse of land after being lost at sea. The chatter beyond them softens, replaced by that slow, deliberate quiet that says something big is about to happen. My pulse kicks up.

I swear, if she doesn't walk in soon, I'm going to... I don't know—storm in there and carry her down the aisle myself. Priest be damned.

And then... the music shifts. Our music. My breath stops cold  

The doors open, and through the blur of the bridesmaids moving aside, my gaze finds her. She's clinging to my dad's arm, head slightly bowed, but I catch it—her teeth tugging at those pink lips in nervous habit. For a second, I forget how to breathe. My heart doesn't even race, it just stops, like it knows it could never keep up with her.

The sunlight catches in the veil, spilling over her like it's been waiting for this exact moment. Every step she takes feels slow, deliberate, like the world's moving in half-speed just so I don't miss a single detail. Then—her eyes lift to mine for the briefest second, nervous and unsure, before she drops her gaze again, flushed. God, she's killing me. 

I've seen her in a hundred different ways—laughing until she can't breathe, irritated enough to throw a pillow at me, half-asleep with messy hair at midnight—but nothing, nothing, even comes close to this. I think about every teasing remark I've ever made, every time I've made her blush, every stupid little fight that ended with us closer than before—and all of it condenses into one simple truth: she's mine. After today, there's no running, no distance, no separate.

The shuffle of her dress against the aisle runner is drowned out by the roar of my pulse. The murmurs in the crowd fade until it's just her and me, existing in our own suspended moment.

All I hear is my pulse in my ears, and all I see is her. Again her eyes raised to met mine but immediately she looked down flushed. By the time she's close enough for me to reach out, my hands are actually trembling. And when my dad finally places her hand in mine... 

I don't let go!!

I'm not sure I ever will!!!!.

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Hazel's POV

His hand is warm too warm and the moment his fingers wrap around mine, I swear my knees almost give out. It's not just the touch... it's the way he holds me like he's afraid someone might try to take me back.  

I finally look up at him, and instantly regret it. His eyes are locked on me, dark, steady, so full of something that makes my stomach twist in the best, most terrifying way. It's the same look he gives me when we're alone, when he's about to say something that will have me blushing for hours but this time, everyone is watching, and still... it feels like it's just us.

My breath catches, and I can't tell if it's because the everyone is too quiet or because he's looking at me like I've just become his entire world. I can feel the heat creeping up my neck, under my veil, blooming across my cheeks.

His thumb brushes over the back of my hand small, subtle but the jolt it sends through me is anything but small. It says, I've got you. It says, you're not going anywhere. And God help me... I don't want to. The priest is speaking, the crowd shifting, but all I can focus on is him. That unblinking gaze, the faint curve at the corner of his lips like he knows exactly what I'm feeling right now. My heart is pounding so loud I'm certain he can hear it. If this is what it feels like before we even say the vows, I don't know how I'm going to survive the rest of this ceremony without completely melting.

The priest's voice rises gently, "Do you, Hyden Rchardson, take Hazel Devines to be your lawfully wedded wife, to have and to hold, in sickness and in health, for richer or poorer, in joy and sorrow, to love and to cherish from this day forward, as long as you both shall live?" 

Hyden's eyes never leave mine, and my heart swells. "I do," he said, his voice strong but trembling with an edge. Then it's my turn. The words feel enormous as they come out, my voice slightly tremble.

"I do." my heart almost stopped

"By the power vested in me, I now pronounce you husband and wife. You may seal your vows with a kiss." The priest beams and heard cheers from the crowd and i know who screamed her heart out, Aunt. 

He leans in just slightly. His lips barely brush my ear a secret meant for no one else. "You're breathtaking," he murmurs, low and rough, his breath warm against my skin. The words hit me like a spark, igniting a fire deep inside. 

My cheeks flare hotter, and I bite my lip to keep from smiling too wide.      "I've been waiting for this moment forever," he continues, voice husky with something fierce and tender all at once. I want to say something, to tell him how terrified and exhilarated I am, but the world feels too big and too small all at once. 

His gaze drops to my lips for a heartbeat longer than necessary, The world narrowed only the heat between us remained, the quiet rush of our shared heartbeat. His lips brushed mine soft at first, testing, searching, then deepened, pulling me into a kiss so fierce, so hungry, it left me breathless and trembling. Oh God, I barely registered the eruption of the crowd around us my aunts' gleeful screams and my mom's loud, joyous laughter crashing over us like waves. But none of it mattered.

When we finally parted, his forehead rested against mine, eyes dark and restless, filled with everything he couldn't say aloud—like that kiss wasn't nearly enough to quiet the fire burning inside him. His breath was warm against my skin, shaky, as if every nerve ending was still singing from the intensity between us.  I swallowed hard, cheeks flushing hotter than ever. He chuckled low and leaned in closer, his fingers brushing a stray curl behind my ear. "You have no idea what's waiting for you tonight," he murmured, voice thick with promise and just a hint of wicked tease, My wide eyes locked onto his.

But before I could react, Tash and the girls burst forward, they pulled me into their warm, noisy embrace, my heart was still pounding wildly not just from the kiss, but from everything it meant.

Why my stomach feel like a swarm of butterflies had taken permanent residence?

Why my hands tremble, even as they squeezed back against Tash's reassuring grip?

I glanced back at him, who was watching me with that slow, knowing smile that made my cheeks burn all over again  not what waiting for me next!!!!

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Hey guys double update fro you!!! are you excited for the wedding night????