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"How are you feeling?" Your maid of honor asked as she looked at you through the mirror.
"I don't know, nervous I guess," You answered, continuing to look at yourself in the mirror. You had waited for this day since you were little, but now that it was here you weren't so sure you wanted it anymore. Your soon-to-be husband Andrew was a great guy, but you weren't sure he was the right guy for you, and now that you think about it, he never was. You knew who the right guy for you was, and you had known since you were a teenager, way before you had even met Andrew.
You excused yourself from the room, saying you were going to take a walk to shake some of the nerves. As soon as you closed the door behind you, you felt a sense of relief wash over you. You walked down the corridor and exited the building into the courtyard. You knew exactly where he'd be, he always found comfort in watching the waves. You made your way down to the pier to find Chris sitting on the bench overlooking the river. You sat down next to him and watched the waves.
"I'm not going to marry Andrew," You said softly after a long moment of silence.
That caused Chris to look at you, eyebrows furrowed in confusion. "What? I thought you loved him?"
"I thought I did, I thought if I could just make it through today then everything would be okay, but I can't Chris. I can't be miserable the rest of my life because I married the wrong guy," It felt good to finally get it off your chest. You had told yourself for so long that you loved Andrew and you would marry him and be happy with him, it worked for a while, but not so much anymore. You didn't want to hurt him, but he just wasn't what you wanted, or who you wanted for that matter.
"How do you know he's the wrong guy?"
"Because I know who the right guy is." You had known Chris for as long as he had been in New York and it didn't take long to become his best friend. You stood by his side for everything, every breakup, every shitty season, every high and every low you were there for and he the same for you. But the only thing he didn't know about you were the feelings you had been hiding from him for years. The truth was Andrew was just supposed to help you get over loving Chris, you were never supposed to end up this deep.
Chris looked at you with wide eyes, like he knew what you were going to say but didn't want you to say it. "I was in love with you yesterday, I'm in love with you today, I'll be in you with you tomorrow, I'll be in love with you until I take my last breath." He looked at you for a long moment, an unreadable expression covering his features. Tears pricked at your eyes and you averted your gaze to the water. "I'm sorry, I shouldn't have said anything," You stood up and took one last look at Chris before heading back inside so you could call off the wedding.
"Y/N, wait!" Chris called after you. You stopped and turned around to see him jogging down the pier to meet you. "I love you," He gently placed his hand on your cheek and ran his thumb along your cheekbone. His lips turned up in a smile reserved only for you before he leaned in, connecting your lips. You hadn't ever felt anything like it in your entire life, years of suppressed and misunderstood feelings had finally come out and it was the best feeling in the world.
Chris pulled away breathless and rested his forehead against yours, "I forgot to tell you how beautiful you look right now," You hid your smile in the crook of his neck.
"Yeah? Well, I'm sure you'll be the only one thinking that after I tell everyone why I'm not marrying Andrew," You didn't really want to think about it, but you should've walked down the aisle a couple of minutes ago.
"I'll be right here, you don't have to tell them alone," Chris kissed your forehead and slipped his fingers through yours. "You ready?"
You took a deep breath and nodded. It was the last step before the rest of your life, and even if you didn't end up marrying Chris, you knew you'd be happier anyways.
The two of you walked inside side by side. "Y/N! We've been looking for you everywhere!" One of your bridesmaids called from an adjacent hallway.
"I'm sorry," You told her as you kept walking. You didn't even have time to see the look on her face before you had reached your destination.
"Just remember that this is what's best for you and if people can't understand that then they don't deserve to be part of your life," Chris always knew what you needed to hear.
You took a deep breath and nodded, "Thank you," he gave you one last reassuring smile before you pushed open the doors into the room of people who had come to see you marry who they thought was the love of your life. Everyone turned to look at you, but it didn't matter that there were 300 some odd sets of eyes you, because the only ones you cared about was the beautiful brown pair that belonged to the love of your life.
You quickly made your way down the aisle to meet Andrew. He looked like he knew what was coming as he stood there with his hands shoved deep in his pockets. "You're not going to marry me, are you?" You hated how sad he sounded.
"No, Andy, I'm not, and I'm so, so sorry that I put you through all this."
"It's Chris, isn't it? You're in love with him,"
"Yes, but I want you to remember that you're such a wonderful person and you deserve better than me. You'll find the right girl, one who will give you everything. I'm sorry it's not me. I hope you understand and we can be friends, but I know that's a lot to ask, so if you don't want to see me, I completely get it." You wish there was more you could say to make him feel even just a little bit better, but there were no words that could soften the blow.
"I really don't want to see you right now, but I appreciate you telling me and not just leaving."
You nodded and kissed Andrew on the cheek, "Thank you," You said quietly before walking back down the aisle. Chris was smiling at you, looking handsome as ever in his suit and you couldn't help but think about him waiting for you at the other end of the aisle.
