Second Chances

“Aww, look at you.” Harry beams walking into my dressing room. “You look beautiful Anastasia.”

“Thank you.” I twinkle my eyes at him.

Today is the day I’ve been waiting for.

Today is my wedding day.

“Lana, you are definitely going to take after your mother.” He chuckles picking Lana up from my mother.

He kisses her on her soft, chubby cheek.

Max lets out a cry and Harry sets Lana down to pick him up.

“He’s definitely going to be a Zayn. He’ll be a great big brother.” Harry says.

“How is Zayn?” I ask a little nervous.

“Pacing. He’s more nervous than what you are”

I sigh and turn back to the mirror.

“Zayn is a lucky man.” Harry says quietly, rubbing my arm.

I turn to face him.

“You clean up well.” I say adjusting his bow tie.

“I try my best.” He shrugs.

Zayn’s Mom walks inside.

“My Anastasia. Your look flawless dear.” she cries.

“You are one beautiful bride.” My Mom says.

I take one more look in the mirror.

“I’m ready. I’m ready to marry him.”

Harry chuckles and pulls me into a hug.

“Let’s not keep her waiting. Let the wedding begin.” Harry shouts.

-

I watch Zayn at the altar.

I take in his wide and triumphant smile.

My nerves fade away and I step forward.

We have a full house which surprises me.

My arm is holding onto my mother’s as we walk down the aisle.

Zayn never takes his eyes off of me.

Harry, the best man, is whispering to Zayn, both of them smiling.

Max and Lana sit with Niall and Liam.

Zayn’s Mom winks at me.

Louis, my maid of honor smiles at me.

When I make it to Zayn, Mom hesitates to let me go.

“Mom.” I whisper.

“I’m sorry sweetie.” She says with her tears falling.

“Aww Mom.” I say engulfing her in a hug.

Mom hands me to Zayn.

“Take good care of her. Don’t break her heart. And I apologize for what just happened. I just never wanted to let her go.” Mom sobs.

Zayn kisses my Mom on her cheek and leads me back to the altar.

“Hey beautiful.” Zayn murmurs, slowly releasing my arm.

“You clean up well too.” I giggle.

“Oh please. Even if I’m in a tuxedo, I still won’t be able to outshine you. You look absolutely stunning.” He smiles.

I smile back at him and we look at the man standing between us.

“Ready?” he asks.

We both nod.

“We are here today in the presence of family and friends to share with the Bride and Groom, the most important moment in their lives. Without the love between these two people, we would not be here today…”

“What is marriage? It has been said that marriage is the relationship between man and woman in which the independence is equal, the dependence mutual and the obligation reciprocal.”

“Bride and Groom, you are now to bring together the best parts of your individuality, uniting spirit, talent, and experience to create something better than either of you alone can offer. You must, and I’m sure will, work hard to maintain this union.”

“Life together will sometimes be playful and effortless, sometimes… frustrating and difficult.” The priest chuckles.

“Each day your relationship will strengthen if you choose to continue to love and honor one another. Love is something beyond the excitement of romance and being in love. It is a committed, thoughtful decision. Love is nurturing… Love is listening... Love is caring about your partner... Love lightens burdens because you divide them. Love intensifies joys because you share them.”

Zayn makes a funny face and I try to control my giggle.

“If you truly love you will always be loyal to one another. No matter what the cost, always believe in one another, always expect the best of one another and above all else, always support one another in everyday living.”

“Bride and Groom came together as friends. Today, they pledge to each other not only their love, but also the strength, warmth and most importantly, the fun of true friendship.”

“It is the wish of everyone here today that your marriage brings both of you much happiness.”

“Happiness in marriage doesn’t just happen though. You must work on it. Remember to say, “I love you,” hold hands whenever you get the chance, and at no time take the other for granted.”

“For the beauty around us, the strength it offers and the peace it brings, we are grateful and honored to be a part of the life this man and woman have chosen to live as husband and wife from this day forward.”

I look away towards Harry and see him wiggling his eyebrows.

Liam and Niall give me a thumbs up.

Mom is crying.

It’s so hard for this to seem real.

“Will you Zayn have Anastasia to be your wedded wife, to love her, comfort her, honor and keep her, and forsaking all others, for so long as you both shall live?”

Zayn nods immediately and glances at me.

“I do.”

The priest turns his attention to me.

“Will you Anastasia take Zayn to be your wedded husband, to love him, comfort him, honor and keep him, and forsaking all others, so long as you both shall live?”

“I do.” I grin.

“Rings please.” The priest claps.

I turn back to Louis as he hands the rings over.

Zayn reaches over and unties my wedding ring from the bouquet.

Then he shakily reaches for my hand and looks into my eyes, holding my ring between his fingers.

“Ana, I love you for your beauty, your intelligence, your kindness, and for your passionate personality. So, on top of all the other vows that I will make to you today, I also vow to appreciate how lucky I am to be in love with my best friend. I will forever continue to try as hard as I can to make you feel as special as you make me feel.”

I smile back at him to my best ability, trying to ignore the happy tears rising into my eyes, as I feel the cold ring slide over the appropriate finger.

The attention is brought back to me.

I look back up at Zayn and reach for his left hand.

“In your eyes, I have found my home. In your heart, I have found my love. In your soul, I have found my mate. With you, I am whole. I am full. I am alive. You make me laugh. You let me cry. You are my breath, my every heartbeat. I am yours. You are mine. And of this I am certain.”

Zayn grins down at me and I smile, sliding his wedding band over his ring finger.

The priest nods and holds his hands out.

“In as much as Bride and Groom have consented together in wedlock and have witnessed the same before this company, and pledged their vows to each other, by the authority vested in me, I now pronounce you husband and wife.”

“Zayn, you may kiss your bride.”

-

Everyone is dancing and drinking during the reception.

Zayn and I manage to sneak away from all the chaos.

The twins are left with the boys.

Specifically, Niall.

Niall has grown attached to them.

Zayn and I walk through a garden outside of the reception hall.

The stars are shining bright and the night is cool.

I never told Zayn my true feelings for him.

My vows at the wedding weren’t strong enough in my opinion.

“I have something to tell you.” I say breaking the silence.

“I have something to tell you too.” Zayn immediately responds.

“You go first.” I say.

Zayn hesitates to speak so he sits both of us down on the floral bench.

He lets out a shaky breath.

Then he begins.

“Girls were always something that I thought was a joke. I would use them to just get what I want and then be done with them. I never believed in love or relationships. I always saw no use in them.” He pauses.

“The night of the party, I knew that there was something special about you. You weren’t like any other girl. You weren’t easy, and that you were tough. But I went and made you easy.”

“After that night, I couldn’t stop thinking about you. I didn’t realize how beautiful you were and how much I wanted to call you mine. But I acted like an asshole to you, and I knew you wouldn’t want to waste your time with someone like me.”

“I got you pregnant and I tried to ignore you but I couldn’t. I knew that I needed to help you but I was scared. I was just running form my problems. And I didn’t want you to get an adoption because I wanted to prove to you that I was capable of being trustworthy.”

He sighs and continues.

“That day in school when I defended you, I knew I couldn’t ignore you anymore. You were hurt and you had so much going on in your life, that I felt like I could never be able to help you. You seemed so untouchable to me though, like even if I tried, I could never get you to like me or even think twice about seeing me.”

“I knew that I liked you though. But something just kept me away from you. I wanted to support you but when things got rough, I would run away and those were always my regrets. I was just afraid of getting close to you. But you were like this magnet that just, I don’t know, it pulled me to you, and no matter how much I tried to fight it, we were brought together.”

Tears slowly fell down my face.

I didn’t know what to say or think or do.

I was not expecting him to tell me a really long speech.

I smiled and kept our gaze strong.

I wanted him to know that I was listening, and that I wanted him to continue.

“I know you keep saying how you don’t want to confess our feelings or whatever, but I don’t care anymore, Ana. After all that we’ve been though in the past month and all the problems we’re about to face in the months to come, I can’t keep this in anymore.”

He scooted closer to me.

“Ana, I fucking love you so much that it scares the shit out of me. Every second you’re not with me, I’m thinking about you. Every second you’re with me, I’m still thinking about you. I want to kiss you, and hug you, and make you laugh, and make you smile, and I want to have a house with you, and I want to have even more children with you and I want to fall asleep with you in my arms and I want to fucking love you forever.”

“Because I love you so fucking much that it hurts me to think of a life where you’re not in it. And I know that we’re still young and that you’re still in school, but I don’t give a shit. I love you, Anastasia. I love you, I love you, I love you. And I don’t care if you don’t want to hear it because I’m going to fucking tell you all the time. And I don’t care if you ever get sick of it, because I’m still going to tell you every second of every fucking day; I love you.”

I couldn’t speak.

I let my tears fall.

I couldn’t ruin the moment.

I wrapped my arms around his neck and pressed my lips to his in an aggressive kiss.

His arms wrapped around my waist and he pulled me close to him, squeezing me against his chest.

The urgency and the passion we felt was poured into the kiss.

“Now,” he said quietly pulling away. “What did you want to tell me?”

“You stole my words.” I returned quietly. “I love you Zayn.”

He pushed his lips onto mine again, each of our mouths curved into a smile.

“I love you,” we both repeated into the kiss.










The End

Notes

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