"Finally. My wife," I whispered, relishing the sound of the words. "I thought this moment would never come."
I kissed her passionately, forgetting about the people and the noise. It was just her and I, husband and wife. Ava St-John, my wife. I was getting lost in the taste of her, her warmth, her dainty hands wrapping around me, playing with the hair at the base of my neck.
A loud ‘ahem’ brought me back to reality.
"You might want to stop that now. People have eyes and we don't want them to vomit over this marble floor, do we?" Ethan whispered.
The rest of the party went perfectly well. There was no drama, not that I expected it. No matter how much my father disapproved of the whole situation and my attitude, which he considered rebellious, he was far more concerned with other people's opinions of us. Once I made my engagement with Ava public, effectively creating a scandal by stealing my brother’s fiancée and getting her pregnant, my father had no other choice than to voice his support for us, even if he admitted to me in private that he had lost any respect he'd once had for me.
I turned to my wife, who was laughing uproariously at something Ethan had told her and I couldn’t help but smile. Losing my father's respect, something I would have thought would break my heart, had no effect at all in the face of all the happiness I knew I would not have experienced if I’d stayed my father’s golden boy.
My father would have scowled at the perfect show of happiness Ava was giving. It would not have been proper for a high-society lady to laugh the way she was, and I’d be damned if I would ever restrain my Ava’s happiness and demonstrative nature in any way.
I let out a little sigh of contentment and Ethan winked at me.
“Happy?”
I nodded. “Blissfully.”
He stood. "Well, I guess it is time for me to fulfill my best man's duty by performing a senseless speech on the joys of marriage, something that my brother would have called ‘an archaic societal construct’ no more than a year ago."
I grimaced, but Ava reached for my hand and squeezed it.
"It's going to be fine, husband. It's only Ethan teasing you."
"Yes. Perish the thought."
Ethan blithely continued. "I have known Hugo all my life and when I think of him, the first words that come to mind are ‘selfish', ‘cold', 'emotionless' and 'conniving.' Should I go on?"
"No, it's fine, brother, they get the picture," I replied in a bored stage whisper, but I was thankful that Ava was holding my hand.
Ethan quickly looked at me. "Very well." He cleared his throat and looked at his notes again.
"I thought that nothing could ever affect my brother as he seemed to love only two things: his company and his silly traditions, but only until Ava Byrnes, or should I say Ava St-John, entered his life. When I first found out about Ava and Hugo, I was shocked. She was the very opposite of my brother. She was fun while he was boring, naïve while he was sly. I thought he was going to destroy her. Who would have thought she would be the one saving him?"
I let out a breath of relief I hadn’t realized I was holding.
"Because this version of Hugo." Ethan pointed at me with a smile that contained warmth and dared I say, some amiability that I’d never seen before. "He is nothing compared to the Hugo I grew up avoiding. When you look at them together, once you go past the improbability of the relationship, you can see the man he has become for her. And this allows me to think that maybe, just maybe, he might be worthy enough to be with a woman as kind, loving and brave as Ava. I am far from being an expert on the matters of the heart, but when I see the way that they look at each other, the way they smile at each other, and all the sacrifices and hardships they have endured to be here today, I have come to the realization that perhaps love is something worth pursuing after all."
Ethan concentrated on me again. "There was a day not so long ago, when I was mocking you and your ineptitude at creating relationships. At that time, I never thought the cruel man would be able to experience any human feelings, but Ava healed you. I see you happy, Hugo, blissfully happy. And I have to say it suits you, and as surprising as it seems, it doesn't annoy me as much as I thought it would. I guess that in the end, you're not the worst person I have ever met."
"Thank you, Ethan," I responded, standing up and giving my brother a hug I should have given him many years ago. I knew Ethan was a very emotional person but he’d never been the one to open up to me, rightfully so; but I knew from every word of his speech what he was implicitly admitting. That he cared for me and my happiness and that part of him was happy to be a part of all of this.
“Oh, and Ava, let me tell you a trade secret. If you need to ask him anything, just give him a copy of some trading magazine. Wait until he starts getting in the zone and ask him whatever you want."
Ava chuckled. "Duly noted."
I was in a playful mood, something that was still unfamiliar, but also getting addictive.
I gave Ethan a cheeky grin. "No offense, brother mine, but Ava has other attributes that give me a much better rush than a trading magazine could ever do. She has already figured out the trick, and believe me, she can get whatever she pleases."
Ava slapped my arm. “Hugo, you didn’t!" She gasped, turning bright red.
I rested my hand on her stomach. “This ship has sailed, sweetheart.” I couldn’t help but laugh when she glared at me and I kissed her forehead. "Nothing wrong with this, my dear."
“See? They are disgustingly happy." Ethan grimaced. "Anyway, to Hugo and Ava, may you be happy together for as long as possible."
I pulled Ava closer and kissed her again. We would have a full life together, filled with laughter and tears, fights and reconciliations, and above all, love. And I knew with an unwavering certainty that we would make it because as long as she was beside me, with her quiet strength, I knew I could face anything.