Six months after the proposal
"Viv! Your hair, oh dear god! These hairclips are no good at all!"
I sigh in exasperation as Mum, Angie and Kate fuss over my hair, which refuses to be tied down by a dozen or so hairclips. In the end, out of impatience, I yank all the clips from my hair, let it fall down in its natural waves, and turn around to face the three horrified people in front of me.
"Yeah," I nod, "My hair's gonna remain this way, whether you like it or not. I can't bear all these clips, sorry."
After a moment of stunned silence, Mum finally relents. "Fine, if that's what you're comfortable with. Plus, it's actually looking better this way, I think."
They then get busy fixing a flower crown atop my head, as I stare at myself in the mirror.
The dress I'm wearing is beautiful, a shimmery, sheer white number, with hints of silver here and there. I've opted to go without a veil, since I'm not too fond of them.
Finally, after another fifteen minutes of fussing and last minute changes, my favourite girls look at me with tears in their eyes.
"You look so beautiful, Viv," Kate says. She looks about ready to cry. Angie nods too.
Mum bursts into tears. "When did my baby grow up so much? Just a while back I was getting her ready for her first day of Bloomwood, and now she's getting married!"
I laugh, as tears prickle my eyes too. Who knew, right? Who knew things would turn out this way? Not even eight years ago, Archer and I hated each other's guts. And now we're about to get married.
"Okay," Angie says, checking her phone. "We need to take our places as maids of honour, and Mrs Wentworth, you need to go back to your seat now. It's almost time."
Mum nods, wiping her tears away. She gives me a kiss on the forehead and then exits the room. Kate and Angie follow suit.
I look at myself for a moment more, in the mirror. What will Archer think when he sees me, walking down the aisle with pink and white roses in my hand? What will his face look like? Oh god, I don't think I can dare to look him in the eye while walking.
I am on the verge of panicking when I hear a knock on the door. I sit up.
"Who's there?"
"Vi?"
I freeze for a moment, then run to the door. I don't open it, instead I whisper frantically through the wood. "Arch! What are you doing here?! You're not supposed to be here!"
He whispers back. "I know, but I snuck out for a bit to see you. I really wanna see you, Vi, please, just open the door a bit."
"No! You're not supposed to see me till I walk down the aisle, you moron! Now go back to the garden!"
That's right, the wedding is taking place in our very own garden, which is large enough to house our close friends and family, and has been beautifully decorated with wicker chairs and tables, and fairy lights for the occasion.
I can imagine Archer making puppy eyes from the other side of the door. "Please, Vi, just one second!"
"No, now go back. You'll see me anyway just a few minutes later."
"Fine," he grumbles, "be like that. You stink."
I laugh. "Course I do. Now go."
Just a few minutes later, as I am getting my bouquet ready, Dad knocks on the door and comes in. He draws in a breath on seeing me, his eyes getting watery too.
"You're still my little girl, you know that right?" he says, looking at me with a fond smile.
I hug him tight. "Always will be, Daddy."
The time has come for us to go out into the garden, where everybody is waiting. I catch hold of Dad's arm and walk outside. My bridesmaids, comprising some friends from uni and my cousins, along with my two maids of honour, Angie and Kate, are all wearing coral pink dresses. They start walking down the garden path slowly to the beat of the wedding march.
My heart starts beating impossibly fast. I can't see Archer from here, since the bridesmaids are blocking my view, but that doesn't stop me from hyperventilating.
Oh god. Let me not trip. Let me not trip. Please.
"Please stand for the arrival of the bride."
There. That's it. That's my cue. Dad smiles at me one last time before leading me down the path, slowly but surely.
All around me, the guests stand up, smiling, some with tears in their eyes.
I keep my eyes on them. Somehow, at first, I can't bring myself to look at Archer. I'm too terrified, all of a sudden, about what he'll think. I focus on Mrs Woods' emotional state instead, on the people standing around me. But their faces all blend into one, until all I can see is a blur of smiles and tears.
Then, inevitably, my eyes find Archer's.
I don't know what his initial reaction was; maybe his eyes widened, maybe his jaw dropped. I will only find out once I watch the wedding video later on.
But right now, I can see one thing as clear as day.
Arch is crying.
He's looking at me while wiping his eyes with his fingers, trying not to cry more. My heart swells impossibly.
As our eyes lock, he gives me a heart-stopping smile, and wipes his eyes once again.
I finally walk up to Archer, standing opposite him. He mouths at me while smiling, and shaking his head slightly in a daze, "Holy mother of God."
My cheeks flame instantly, as I fix my eyes on his impeccable suit and tie. He looks breathtaking. "Wow," I breathe out, and he cracks a smile.
Archer's Uncle Dan, who's officiating the wedding, then begins.
"We are gathered here to celebrate the union of two beautiful souls, who have fought their way through life, and sometimes with each other, to finally be here today. I've known these two for a long time now, and I can't think of a couple more suitable for each other than they are. May you two be incredibly happy and have lots of fun together in this new journey that you're starting from today."
It's then time for Archer to begin his speech.
He takes a deep breath. I notice we both haven't written down our speeches.
"Vi," he begins, "I feel like I've known you all my life. From competing in everything at school, to fighting like cats and dogs, to becoming best friends, then a couple, then enemies, and then a couple again, we've been through it all. I'll be honest, for some time after our initial breakup, I used to think we were over for good. We'd never get back together again. But even then, I couldn't bring myself to date anyone else, and I always wondered why. But now I know. I knew from the moment I kissed you that time in the hospital, really. You were and always will be the one and only for me. My ultimate. You push me to my limit, but you're the one who manages to crack all my walls and barge inside like it's nobody's business. I always say I hate you, but you and I both know what I really mean. Vi, thank you for staying by my side all these years, for giving me a second chance, for seeing the good when you had every reason to see the bad. I can't believe how lucky I am to be able to stand here with you today. I love you more than you'll ever know. But you still suck for not letting me see you back in the room."
I am already trying my best to keep the tears at bay, and when he says that last line, I laugh and end up sniffling at the same time.
Now it's my turn.
"Arch, you're a ridiculous lad who once thought he knew better Spanish than me, but thank god you thought that right? Otherwise we would've never become friends, and our lives would never have met at this moment. I don't think the Oxford Dictionary has enough words to describe you...but for now I'll just say you're a nincompoop, but you're my nincompoop. And you can't imagine how glad I am for that. Yes, we all make mistakes, we mess up sometimes, but we all deserve second chances too, like my friends and family taught me. And I think us giving things another try has been the best decision we could've made, 'cause look where we are now, Arch. We're here, side by side, together for the rest of our lives, and I couldn't be more excited, or happy. Because I love you too much to let you go, and I can't imagine this with anybody else. But don't let it get to your head, okay? 'Cause I still hate you sometimes, by the way."
Archer's smile drops as the entire crowd starts laughing, and he then gives me a dangerous smirk, as if to say, just you wait.
Uncle Dan then takes over with a grin. "Vivian, do you take Archer to be your lawfully wedded husband?"
I grin at him. "I do."
"Archer, do you take Vivian to be your lawfully wedded wife?"
"Hell yes, I do!"
All around us, everyone laughs as we exchange our rings and slip them on each other's fingers.
"I'm elated to pronounce you man and wife. You may now kiss the bride."
Archer grins impossibly wide and steps forward to hold my cheeks in an unforgettable kiss, as our friends and family cheer behind us.
As we run down the path, holding hands and laughing, I can't help but think, this is all I ever wanted. My friends, family, and Archer.
This boy owns my heart, and to think there was a time when I couldn't stand him. Seems like a lifetime ago.
I think back to the wooden stairs at Bloomwood, the common room, and most of all, the good old study-- where it all began.
I can feel all those memories rushing back as we run down our garden path, and suddenly, I remember how we etched our names into the wooden desk on our last day at Bloomwood.
I turn my head to look at Archer, but he's already looking back at me, with that intense gaze that still makes me shiver. I wonder if he's thinking the same thing.
But whatever he's thinking, all I can dwell on is that I hope, I hope one day, another girl and boy will sit at that same study and see our names carved into the wood. I hope they try to recreate our story in their heads, and I hope they too have one as amazing as ours.
Till then, here's to a new chapter.
⢠fin â¢
a/n: yes, this is officially the end, but please don't leave just yet! i have an afterword coming up, where I'll be sharing my thoughts and journey and some bts stuff about the story. plus a few extra aesthetics i made. so please hang around until then xx
and oh, one more extra tidbit: while i was typing 'angie nods too' autocorrect immediately changed it to 'shite boss'. i have zero clue why.
vivian's wedding dress