Dear Diary! (student/teacher relationship) ~COMPLETE!~

Chapter 38

I actually finished this forever ago. I'm just now posting it. I'm so sorry!!!! Please forgive me for such a long wait.

"Yes," I finally managed to choke out as I wiped away tears.

Vincent grabbed my left hand and carefully slid the ring on my finger as he stood up. I went to kiss him, but he had picked me up so quickly and I wrapped my arms around his neck as he pulled me in and met my lips with his.

"You have made me the happiest man alive," he told me as he pulled away. "Not only are you going to be the mother of our daughter, but you're going to be my wife. Words can't even express the joy you've brought to me, Arielle."

I was speechless. I wanted to say so much to him, but my mouth wouldn't cooperate. I wanted to tell him how much I loved him, how happy I was that he had finally asked me to marry him, how much I couldn't wait to stand in front of him at the alter and say "I do". But all I could do was smile. He gave me such an understanding look and then I realized, I didn't have to, he already knew.

Within a week, we had planned the whole ceremony. It would be on August 5th, that was the day we met. Our colors would be purple and black, and the cake would have a butter crème frosting- my favorite kind of frosting. Of course, I would be 8 months pregnant, but the 5th of August was a significant date for us and we also wanted to be married before our daughter arrived.

In the midst of planning our wedding, Mom, Cora, and Meghan were planning a baby shower in March. Then Vincent's parents also had us one planned. I was so relieved when all the planning for everything was done. I felt like I could finally breathe again. But on a positive note, I've been so caught up in planning things with everybody that I didn't have time to think about any of the nightmares that had haunted me before. Actually...they had become very rare and much less real and terrifying. I slept better and I slept most of the night, aside from having to get up in the middle of the night to use the bathroom. And I no longer saw people or things that weren't there. It was truly the best time of my life.

Until Cora's wedding...

It was a beautiful outdoor wedding near the lake and there were so, so many people there. We, the bridesmaids and groomsmen, walked down the aisle in pairs before Cora. My dress was a coral color, short and chic with a sheer, one shoulder bodice. The skirt of the dress was soft and mesh- like, making it comfortable and easy to move around in. The other dresses were similar to mine. They were short, one shoulder dresses as well and same color. the only differences were that their bodice was on their left shoulder, where as mine was on my right. Their skirts were a different material- tulle, and the belt came down lower. While everyone else was wearing clear high heels, I wore silver flat sandals.

Finally, it was time for Cora to walk down the aisle. She was absolutely beautiful in her long ivory gown; a strapless bodice with a sweetheart neckline that featured a beaded ruched detail on the bust. The dress flowed softly to the ground as she walked towards my dad who was beaming with happiness and excitement.

Then all of a sudden, everything went quiet. I could see the preacher talking and I could see my dad and Cora say the words "I do" to each other, but I couldn't hear a thing. It was like I had just gone completely deaf. I started feeling nervous and uneasy and I knew exactly what was going on. I tried to control it as best I could with out anyone noticing and then I saw the masked man standing in the back of the crowd and staring at me. He shifted his gaze to Cora and started walking slowly down the aisle towards her.

It's not real. HE'S not real! You're imagining it. I repeated in my head. Over and over and over.

Finally, he was standing directly behind Cora and he quickly drew out a dagger. He raised his hand in slow motion as he prepared to plunge it into her back. It had suddenly become too real for me. It no longer felt like it was just in my mind and I was in a state where I couldn't tell what was real and what was not anymore.