Quand le vent s’apaise, l’amour s’éveille

Trauma is a patient thief.

It does not always arrive screaming,

breaking windows,

or setting fire to the life you knew.

Sometimes it slips inside quietly,

pulling up a chair in your soul

until you forget there was ever room

for laughter.

It teaches your heart

to mistake survival for living.

To build walls so high

that even love needs permission to enter.

It convinces you

that happiness is a luxury

meant for other people.

It follows you into every tomorrow,

wearing yesterday's face.

It turns kindness into suspicion,

silence into fear,

and memories into chains

that rattle loudest

when the world is finally quiet.

It asks impossible prices.

Your peace.

Your trust.

Your innocence.

Pieces of yourself

you never willingly placed

on the altar.

To the world, today was the day.

The day the tardy Damian Ashcroft, the infamous man-whore, got saddled with one woman forever.

Whether their union would last was a question for another day.

Vivian sighed when she reached the entrance of the garden where they were supposed to be married.

“Today is the day,” she muttered with a sigh.

“Yes, it is!” her younger sister Evangeline squealed behind her.

If only she knew what Vivian meant.

She had put so much effort into her elder sister’s wedding. Every detail had been carefully planned, every flower perfectly placed, every moment prepared.

Truly, Vivian was sorry it had to come to this.

As her father took her hand and led her down the aisle, all she could think about was the deception and pretence she had have to live with all her life. She loved her parents, but she just couldn’t reconcile them being her parents versus they being husband and wife. If theirs was what marriage was like she didn't want any part in that.

This one is for you, she thought sarcastically.

Adrian’s breath hitched when he saw her.

She was the most beautiful woman he had ever seen.

The past two months flashed before his eyes, and he quickly blinked back the tears threatening to fall as she walked towards him.

Come on, Adrian. You’re doing this for Nana.

“Hey, partner,” Vivian said when her father handed her over to Adrian.

“Where’s Tara? I don’t see her,” she muttered, looking around at the crowd.

Before Adrian could answer, the service began.

“Dearly beloved, we are gathered here today to celebrate the union of two people, Mr. Damian Ashcroft and Ms. Vivian Holloway. Marriage is a commitment built on love, trust, patience, and understanding. Today, in the presence of their family and friends, they have chosen to make a promise to one another.”

The officiant turned towards Damian.

“Mr. Damian Ashcroft, do you take Ms. Vivian Holloway to be your lawfully wedded wife? Do you promise to love, honour, cherish, and support her through sickness and health, through good times and bad, for as long as you both shall live?”

Damian looked at Vivian.

The woman who had become his unexpected friend.

The woman who challenged him.

The woman who saw through his carefully built image.

“I do,” Damian answered.

The officiant turned towards Vivian.

“Ms. Vivian Holloway, do you take Mr. Damian Ashcroft to be your lawfully wedded husband? Do you promise to love, honour, cherish, and support him through sickness and health, through good times and bad, for as long as you both shall live?”

Vivian looked at Damian.

The man she had gotten to know over the past two months and some weeks.

He’s still a clown, she thought, holding back her laughter.

But he was sweet.

Softer than he cared to admit.

Most importantly, she had made a good friend out of him.

Maybe even a best friend.

She had enjoyed this little charade while it lasted.

I hope you all are ready for a surprise, Vivian thought deviously.

“No, I don’t.”

The entire crowd gasped.

“Tara is supposed to come in right about now,” Vivian muttered.

Before she could process the confusion around her, Damian stepped forward.

“Erm, sorry guys. Wedding jitters,” Damian said through the microphone. “Honey, remember how you said I should talk you down when this happens?”

“D, what are you doing?” Vivian asked, unsure whether she was confused or scared.

“Follow my lead,” Damian whispered.

He took her hand and led her away from the confused crowd, ignoring the whispers and murmurs behind them.

They entered the next available empty room.

“Damian, talk to me,” she said, sitting on the only chair in the room.

“Vee, I need you to watch this video. Maybe then you’ll understand the situation I’m in.”

“What are you talking about?”

He pulled out her phone and handed it to her.

She watched the video.

And for five minutes, she was completely speechless.

When it ended, she looked up at him.

“Damian, I’m asking you again. What are you talking about? Because we had an agreement.”

She feared his answer.

But she needed him to say it.

“I need us to get married for real,” Damian said quietly. “I know I should have told you before today, but we only have to do it for three months. Six at most.”

“Are you crazy?”

Her voice cracked.

“The whole point of this was not to get married. It’s so convenient that you waited until today to say anything.”

She looked away, trying to control her emotions.

“Why would you? How could you?”

“Vivian, if it wasn’t Nana, I wouldn’t ask this of you. Please.”

Tears flowed freely from Damian’s eyes.

“If I say yes, I’ll never forgive you. We can never be friends when all this ends. Is that what you want?”

“Vivian…”

“No, don’t.”

She raised her hand, stopping him.

“It’s your decision to make now.”

She stared at him with a blank expression.

“I’ll take it.”

“So be it.”