𝙑𝙞𝙭𝙚𝙣 || 𝙏𝙧𝙞𝙥𝙡𝙚 𝙁𝙧𝙤𝙣𝙩𝙞𝙚𝙧

Twenty eight.

Chapter twenty eight: Rejoice

Aurora Grace Miller was the epitome of perfection. The four year old stood perfectly still and her hazel eyes followed her reflection in the mirror, admiring the pink flower girl's dress she wore and how the ruffles stopped short at her knees and when she looked down, she tapped her white pumps on the ground, both nervous and excited to walk her mother down the isle and throw petals along her trail.

The young girl could hear indistinctive chatter in the background, but momentarily, she played with her mousy curled hair and appreciated the specks of white flowers that were woven into the style. With her plump lips and pink cheeks, she looked like the absolute image of her mother, but when she was angry, she resembled Ben's vexed expression. And yet, Margo wouldn't have her any other way. To her, nobody could compare and their love was unbreakable.

With Margo's mixture between an American and Irish accent, she found humour in her daughter's thick southern brogue she picked up from her father. It was adorable and Margo loved to watch Aurora and Ben in their cowboy attire, suited and booted for a day's work on their ranch in the middle of Texas. It was predictable; to live in the outskirts of the city in a country home but it was simple and perfect, which is all Margo could ask for.

Marriage isn't a ring worn or a paper signed. It is not something endured but savoured. It is the union of two hearts beating as one, each that would sacrifice for the other's happiness and well being. Marriage is something so beautiful that in that natural world it would be an opening rose, always with radiant petals left to unfurl to a warm sun. Perhaps that is why we give roses to those we love and often have them at our sacred unions. Marriage is the blessing we give to one another, an eternal bond of soul-mates.

For Margo, it was a sham. They say that time is a healer but she was still wounded by the ghost of her past. She was a mere silhouette. Perhaps it was due to the depression that followed soon after her mother's death along with the what ifs and if only she could go back in time. Though mainly, it was down to being in love with someone else whilst wearing an engagement ring to his brother.

Today, Ben and Margo's souls would be combined and to say she had cold feet would be an understatement. She felt horrible for following through with a relationship that had gone limp and deep down, Ben felt the same. For four years, he vigorously tried to ignite the spark between himself and his fiance, but he knew that after every spite, she ran into William's arms who embraced her with the fire that set her heart on fire.

Ben was no idiot but he had to prove himself wrong. With each glance across the dinner table at Thanksgiving and Christmas, it was clear that Margo and Will were communicating through longing and passionate eyes. He'd only swallow his food and bow his head, looking up from time to time to find the same situation occurring. It was a never ending cycle and with every attempt to reel her back in, he only pushed her further out to sea. 

He knew that Margo felt sincerely apologetic for the fading feelings, and that was enough to make him continue trying. With his desperate need to make her stay, it often led to his overload of affection, which as a result, made her furthermore guilty. Yet, he could only hold her tight at night and prayed that she never took the ring off as it was a symbol of eternal love. And if she did, he knew it would all be officially over.

Although he couldn't bring himself to hate the mother of his daughter, he rarely spoke a word to William unless he had to. Quite frankly, he disowned his brother and if he could, he would rather eliminate him from the picture once and for all. He couldn't stand the sight of the home wrecker and he couldn't understand why William wouldn't just back off, even after ten years. He couldn't let go of Margo and it killed him to be in a constant competition that he was losing.