Evoke

Chapter Two

Mystic Falls
8th November, 1861

"You look wonderful, Nella," Damon told me. He was stood next to me, holding my hand as we both stared into the mirror in front of us. He was dressed in the most formal suit I had seen him wear, with his top hat clutched in his other hand and I was wearing my silk , after it being in my closet for near enough two months. We were in my room, which was where I had got myself ready for the wedding.
"Thank you, Damon," I replied. "So do you."
"I wish you weren't doing this," Damon murmured quietly. I looked at him through the mirror and gave a sad smile.
"Neither do I. I would much rather stay with you and Stefan than marry for Father's gain, but Kenneth's family provide such a good opportunity for Father to expand his estate," I said in a way that made it sound rehearsed and worn out. And I suppose it was. I had been telling myself the same thing all day. Of course, my husband-to-be, Kenneth Di Peirto, was a wonderful man - he was smart, entertaining and incredibly kind. But I was not in love with him. I could never quite work out whether he was in love with me or just putting on the show of his life - either way, he had convinced both of our fathers that our marriage was the right thing.
"You could run away," Damon suggested lightly and I laughed despite my conflicted feelings.
"If I did that, Damon, how would you or Stefan cope? You both rely on me like nobody's business," I teased, squeezing his hand.
"That's why I don't want you to do this, Nella," Damon sighed. "So you can keep living with us at Veritas and be our sister forever."
"That's very selfish of you," I pointed out. "But I would love nothing more."
When I became Mrs Di Peirto, I would move out of my childhood home on the Veritas Estate - a gorgeous, 100 acre plantation that my father had curated since he had arrived here when he was just a little older than my youngest brother, Stefan, whom had turned 15 just a few days ago. I would have my own home to build with Ken, my own family to care for and yet I wanted none of it. All I wanted out of my life was to make sure that Damon and Stefan had filling, beautiful lives that would be worth my missing out.
But Father had other plans for his eldest and only daughter. He wanted me to marry into the Di Peirto family so that the Salvatore name could expand and Ken and I would take over our families names and business. I had no choice in what I wanted to do. But I wasn't complaining too much. As I mentioned, Ken was a lovely man and even though it wasn't the life I would have chosen for myself, it could be worse. After all, I had a lovely 25 years of living without a husband. I was late to marry - Father had kept me away from too many suitors in case I fell in love and married the wrong man.
"I wish Father wouldn't force you into this," Damon muttered.
"I'd rather it be you than me, Damon. We both know that he'd marry you off to Kenneth's sister if I refused. There's a reason that Miriam hasn't married in her thirty years and it's not to do with her personal choice," I told Damon with a knowing look. Miriam was a complete opposite of her brother and she had not had any courtships or proposals that lasted more than a few days. She was not a kind woman - not on the eyes nor to people around her.
Damon frowned. "You're doing this for me?"
"And for father and Stefan," I added.
"What for me?"
I turned away from Damon and the mirror to see my youngest brother standing in the doorway. He was dressed in the same suit as Damon, he too clutching his top hat in one hand.
"Nothing, Stef. Come in," I said, smiling at him. He walked over to us and smiled at Damon.
"We look the same," Stefan noted to Damon. "And you look really lovely, Nella."
"Thank you," I smiled. It was hard to not treat Stefan like a child - I had been so used to babying him for so long, but he was growing up now and it felt weird to treat him the same as I treated Damon.
"Father wants Damon and I downstairs so we can get in the carriage with Kenneth's parents. He said he was going to come up for you in a moment, Nella," Stefan told us both.
Damon turned back to me and pulled me into a hug. "Thank you, Nella."
"What for?" I murmured.
I felt Damon shrug. "For being a fantastic sister."
I laughed a little. "D, I don't stop being your sister once I'm married."
"No, but I wanted to say that," Damon replied. I pulled away and put my hand on his cheek.
"You're so wonderful, Damon," I said, before turning to look at Stefan too. "Both of you."
Stefan hugged me then, tighter than Damon did. "I'll miss you, Nella."
"I'm only going to be down the road, Stefan. You can still see me whenever you want to," I said, looking between both of my brothers. I hadn't realised how much my getting married had affected them both. I didn't know that they were so upset over it and I felt slightly guilty that I hadn't considered how they felt about all of this.
"I know," Stefan mumbled. "But you're not going to be here."
"I'm sorry," I pouted. "You two are still going to be the most important people in my life. Nothing can change that."
"Don't be sorry, Nella," Damon said, placing his hand on my back comfortingly. "We know it's not your fault."
I didn't miss the tone in which Damon said that, and I knew he was angry with our father. "Damon, it's no one's fault. This happens all the time - it's normal. And our lives will be exactly the same. I won't let anything change, I promise."
Stefan nodded, before glancing over his shoulder almost nervously. "We should go, Damon, before Father comes up here."
Damon took a deep breath, before nodding and smiling at Stefan. "I'll race you down there."
I laughed at them both as Stefan's face lit up in excitement. They both grinned at me and said "We'll see you downstairs" before they both ran off, Stefan laughing as Damon chased him.
When they were gone, I turned back around to look at myself in the mirror. My face was subtly made up as per the norm, white gloves on my hands and a pearl choker around my neck. My red hair was pinned up in loose ringlets that fell around my face and shoulder, with a pearl clip on the side.
Honestly, I looked lovely. I had never completely dreamed of my wedding day, but I had always envisioned myself looking as beautiful as I could. And I do. As I looked over myself, I tried not to think of Kenneth, nor anyone associated with him. I focused on myself, because I knew, if I thought of how I wasn't in love with Kenneth and that I was actually falling for his best friend, I would take Damon's suggestion of running away. I should not be even slightly in love with the man who is engaged to my best friend and is my groom's closest friend. It was shameful that we drew so much attention from each other when we were engaged to other people, but I just couldn't seem to help the way I felt. It was wrong. My best friend, Janelle, loved her fiancé and I couldn't take that away from her. Nor could I take myself from Kenneth, whom had been so kind and so wonderful to me ever since I had met him. Janelle deserved him and he deserved Janelle. It wasn't my place to ruin two engagements - soon to be marriages - just because of some feelings.
I was pulled away from the mirror and my thoughts when someone knocked on my door. I turned to see my father stood in the doorway, a hesitant smile on his face.
"Are you ready, my sweetheart?" He asked, stepping into the room.
"Just about," I replied. He stood in front of me and studied me for a moment, before sighing.
"You look so much like your mother, Antoinella," Father said.
"I do?" I asked, slightly surprised. My mother had died almost seven years ago, and Father hardly ever spoke of her afterwards. To hear him mention her - let alone compare me to her - was a so wonderful. I missed her everyday and I wish she were here with me now.
"Yes," Father sighed. "She would be very proud, I'm sure. She adored you."
I felt tears begin to build in my eyes. "I miss her."
"Of course you do," Father said. "And I do too."
I hugged my father then. I could see sadness etched on his already creased face and the only thing I could do was hug him at that point. We stayed there for a moment in silence, before Father pulled away sharply and straightened out his suit.
"Right. We must get going. You're due at the church any moment now," Father said crisply. He was never one for dealing with his emotions well. "Are you ready?"
"I just need my veil," I said. Father started to look around for it, so I pointed to my chaise lounge. "It's there, Father."
He picked it up from the furniture and walked back to me. I turned around to face the mirror once again and felt father slide the clip into my hair.
"There," He murmured. "You're ready."

I nodded and turned around, taking his arm that he offered to me. "Let's get you to church."

We walked out of my room and out to the porch. I felt a sadness wash over me as I climbed into the carriage and looked back at my home. Even though I knew it wasn't the last time I would see it, it was the last time I would leave the driveway as Antoinella Salvatore and the last time I would be able to call that place my home. As soon as I was married, I'd move into a home that had just recently been built as a wedding present from mine and Kenneth's fathers. There would be no time for me to go back to Veritas and say my silent goodbyes. I was not allowed to show that kind of emotional attachment, especially to a building. Father would have fifty fits if he found out I was upset to be leaving the house I had called home for the last 25 years.
When I arrived at Fell's Church, it was bustling with people. Father helped me out of the carriage and walked me past all of the people who had collected for my marriage. After all, one of the Founding Family's eldest daughter getting married was a big event in our small town.
I bit my lip as Father stopped us outside the double doors that separated me from my family, friends and groom.
"Are you alright, Nella?" Father asked me quietly.
I nodded. "Yes."
Father gripped my arms and kissed my cheek. "I'm very proud of you, Nella. Don't forget that."
I felt the tears start to build once again. "I won't."
"Shall we, then?" Father asked, offering his arm to me once again.
"We shall," I nodded, taking his arm as he knocked twice on the double doors. They opened to reveal the church done up with beautiful bouquets of flowers lining the aisle that I began to walk down at my father's side.
I saw Stefan and Damon at the front, both of them grinning at me. I felt all of my fear and sadness wash away seeing them and grinned back, before my gaze moved Janelle. I felt guilty just looking at her as she beamed at me, her hands clasped together in happiness. If she were to ever know I had been thinking of her fiancé on my wedding day, I'm sure all of the happiness on her face would quickly disappear. My eyes slid away from Janelle and fell onto the man I was marrying.
Kenneth looked very handsome standing at the end of the aisle, smiling almost smugly as his eyes fell on me. But the man that really caught my eye was standing next to my husband-to-be, looking at me as though I was the most beautiful thing he had ever seen. It gave me the warm, glowing feeling that Kenneth's gaze should have given me, not his best man. When our gaze met, I saw him smile and everyone else melted away. I could pretend that I was actually marrying him, not Kenneth. And it was in that moment that I knew I that I was love with my best friend's fiancé and my groom's best man, Harry Lowe.