“Tienes suerte de que no te haya visto. No queremos mala suerte aquí.”
“Ya, se.”She nods, and I hear the door open.
“Rookie, you ready?” I see Xavier come in. I smile at him in his black suit. All my bridesmaids have all black attire, including my groomsman, being the ray of sunshine he is. I happened to snag him before Luca could get him into his clutches. I even took a video of it, then I posted it, and of course, it went viral.
Let’s just say, he went nuts and posted his own separate photo.
THEXAVIERVALENTE:I knew this was coming, I can see the future. The rookie is getting married, and I am finally going to be her groomsman. Sry, @LucaDonetello she got to me first!
Luca’s groomsmen are what I expected from him, Amir, his brother, and Ren. “Yep.” He takes a full look at me.
“Ale, oh my god. Luca is going to cry when you walk down the aisle.” Violetta and I burst out laughing.
“What? I’m serious. The dress is so you, the ring looks amazing, and the hair with the makeup really helps with the whole—” His hands gesture up and down my appearance.
“Look,” I finish his sentence for him. “See, you know what I mean. Now let’s get you downstairs so you can marry that man.” I look around, making sure I have everything. Violetta grabs the veil, fastening it in my hair before turning me around and hugging me. I hug her back with four times the force.
“No puedo creer que mi mejor amiga se va a casar,”Vio says.
I laugh out, trying not to let my tears get the best of me.“Estas lista?”she asks, retreating from the hug.
“Nunca he estado más preparada.”Grabbing my hand, she leads me out the door and down the stairs. The music starts as Xavier and Violetta walk down the aisle arm in arm. Next thing I know, I’m at the altar with my Luca.
The Luca I hated. The man I despised. And now, here I am getting married to him. He raises the veil that was preventing me from seeing him well, and I notice a tear run down his face.
“Are you crying?” I whisper. He shakes his head like there isn’t any wetness around his eyes.
“I told you,” I hear Xavier say behind me, everyone laughs in response to his single tear.“State tutti zitti,”he yells out at everyone. They go silent until the priest starts speaking. He goes through the whole ‘this man and this woman are gathered here together’ spiel.
Then he says, “now it is time for you to say your vows.” Reaching for my piece of paper from Vio, I open it up. I take a deep breath before I start speaking.
“Luca. I remember a time when I despised you, not only because of your egoistical personality, but because I thought you were a threat to my dream and my career.” I pause and then continue, “it turns out, you were the best thing to have ever happened. I didn’t know what it was like to be treated well by a man in my life. You showed me love, along with how to hold on to it.Ti amo marito mio.” I look up at him as he looks down at me with a smile across his face.
Reaching into his pants pocket, he takes out a piece of paper. He starts saying his vows.
“Let me tell you a story. My great grandfather once loved a woman so much that he made these beautiful gardens for her. Her love for plants and flowers was the center of her universe. He dedicated his life to her purpose, starting a wine business in my family’s name. The statue we’re standing in front of is the epitome of his love. My great grandfather saw his wife as his Aphrodite.” He pauses. “Maria Alejandra Atena Castillo, you are my Athena. Strong, resilient, and beautiful. All these characteristics make me love you more every day. I may not have a decade old statue for you, but you have my heart, soul, and my entire being. Here we stand in front of a piece of a love story that decided my family’s fate. You are my fate, my purpose, and I know I love you more than my great grandfather loved his wife. Here, I give you my life in its entirety.” I start bawling my eyes out.
And just to think that this man made me want to strangle him just years ago. “I now pronounce you man and wife; you may now kiss the bride.” Luca darts for me, enveloping me in a kiss.
“I knew this was going to happen! You should thank me,” Xavier shouts from the side. I laugh against Luca’s lips, and he does the same.
Looking down at me, he says, “does this mean you’re mine?” He gives me his signature smirk. I remember hating it for so many months, but in this moment, I realize how much I love it now.
“Yes, husband. This means we belong to each other.”
What the fuck happened to Luca Donatello?
Me, that’s what.