Chapter 77: Chapter 77

“How long do we have to walk like this?” I asked Ferry and Castiel while guiding me as I walked with blindfolds in my eyes. They told me earlier that they had a surprise for me so I had to keep it like this until we arrived at our destination.

I just got from Amethyst’s parents and I talked to them about what we can do to help her in facing her situation. They are also worried about the future of their daughter so they decided to cooperate with me after ensuring that the process will never hurt her.

After we discussed that, my friends picked me up and drove away. Before we could even arrive at our destination, they put this blindfold on me.

“We are getting close so please relax there,” Ferry said.

“But we have been like this for hours,” I complained. “Why did you even think of giving a sudden surprise?”

“It is not our idea,” Castiel said. “Though we chipped in some ideas we were not the mastermind of this. It was your husband who proposed this surprise for you.”

“I guess he took advantage of the fact that you are not around to notice this surprise so he pushed it even though we rushed everything,” Ferry added.

“So, please stop complaining,” Castiel exclaimed. “Just a little bit of patience and we will get there.”

I decided to shut up and just do what they told me.

I don’t want to ruin their surprise for me and definitely don’t want to be a killjoy. They said they only prepared this yesterday and had to rush everything so I also don’t want to waste their effort.

It is not easy to organize a surprise within a limited time.

They did it for me so a little bit of patience will not hurt me.

“Okay,” Ferry said. “We’re here.”

I heard them close the door so I was about to take out my blindfold but someone held my hand before I could even hold it.

“We are not yet at the venue of the surprise, Milan,” Castiel said. “We just need to change your clothes, then I will remove the blindfold from your eyes to retouch your makeup but promise me, you will not try to take a peek or open your eyes.”

I pouted. “What the hell are you trying to do to me?”

“Stop asking questions, you silly girl,” Castiel flicked my forehead. “Just trust us. I can assure you that you will love this surprise.”

I sighed and nodded, as I agreed to her condition. I decided to let them do what they wanted without complaining and just trust them.

They started changing my clothes. I think it was a sleeveless short dress. Then, they put flat shoes on my feet since I was not allowed to wear high heels. And just like what they instructed me, I didn’t try to open my eyes when they took off my blindfold.

But there was an urge in me that pushed me to take a peek. For me to see why they are dressing me up. I am also curious about the dress that I am wearing.

I feel like I will be able to get some clue about their surprise once I see my dress.

But as I said earlier, I don’t want to ruin this just because I can’t wait. They work so hard for it so I had to fight this urge.

They retouched my makeup and told me that they were not going to put back the blindfolds so I have to keep my eyes shut until they give me the signal to open it.

Again, I just nodded and agreed with them.

Then, they helped me slowly get out of the room and start walking to our final destination.

And I don’t know why we were approaching where they were going to bring me, my heart suddenly beat so fast. The urge that pushed me to open my eyes earlier slowly faded away and my gut telling me to keep my eyes shut.

Not that I am scared of what might greet me. I am just nervous.

I had this feeling that it was not just a small surprise, especially when I knew that they put a lot of effort just to make it happen.

We stopped walking and slowly, my friends let go of my hand. I panicked a little bit and tried to take back their hands but I got someone else’s hand.

And from the texture of this, it belongs to an older person and not my friends.

Did they pass me to someone else without even saying anything?

“Milan…” Oh, I was holding Madame Venice’s hand. “You can now open your eyes.

Without asking any questions, I took a deep breath and slowly opened my eyes.

What dawned on me was a bright chapel that was filled with wedding decorations of green and white motifs. It is also filled with white calla lilies. The singer on the balcony started singing a familiar love song.

Our family, friends, and co-workers were here. Even the people that I got close at the subdivision where I lived for five years were here.

And Enver? He was standing at the other end of the red carpet that covered the aisle. He was wearing a black tuxedo and smiling from ear to ear, gesturing for me to come to him.

That is when I finally noticed that I am now wearing a short wedding dress. It only has a simple design but there is a diamond in its hem that gives a sparkling effect when getting hit by the light.

“W-what is happening?” I… I don’t know what to say. I don’t even know how to react. This is indeed a big surprise.

But I don’t understand why we are holding a wedding.

“W-what is it?” I turned my eyes on Madame.

She smiled at me. “Enver thought that it was a great idea to renew your wedding vow.” She was still holding my hand and that is when I only noticed that Don Emil was also beside me.

While Ferry and Castiel were already in the audience.

“And I hope you won’t mind us walking you in the aisle,” she added.

“This is the only way we know to show you that we already accepted you as our son’s wife,” Don Emil explained. “You have Millie or not? Do you have a baby or not? You deserve to be acknowledged because you remain a good person to us despite what we did to you.”

“So please, let us bring you to our son.” They offered their hands and arms to me. “Let us become part of your family.”

After everything that happened in the past, I already gave up my hope for them to accept me as part of their family. It was already enough for me that Enver accepted me and we have Millie and our baby in our life.

It is already enough for me to see that they finally learned how to respect me and my relationship with Enver. Not just a woman, but also the wife of their son and the mother of their grandchild. It is enough for me that they respect my family.

And because of that, I promised myself that I wouldn’t ask for anything more.

That is why I don’t know how to express the happiness that I am feeling right now.

And I didn’t expect that being acknowledged by the people that I wanted to accept me feels so great.

I carefully wiped my tears and smiled at them as I clung one of my hands to Don Emil’s arm while holding Madame Venice’s hand on the other. “Thank you.”

We faced the altar and started walking in the aisle. And another familiar song was being played by the singer.

“Anyway, will you please stop calling us Don and madame?” Madame whispered to me. “Call us Mom and Dad, instead.”

“Eh?”

“She is right,” Don Emil agreed. “Now that you pin its point, it suddenly felt weird being called that way by our daughter-in-law.”

I pouted. “Well, I was hesitant to call you mom and dad because you didn’t like me back then,” I said. “So, I just stick to calling you that way to avoid further trouble.”

“Oh, sorry about that,” Don Emil said. “But seriously, just call us mom and dad. We are starting over again, right? Let’s start it with that.”

Suddenly calling them like that would be embarrassing since I am not used to it but they are right. We are starting our relationship together, as a family, so it is better to start it right.

I sighed and nodded. “I understand, Mom… Dad…”

I saw them smile and nod their heads.

“Please keep choosing my son, Milan.” Dad’s voice suddenly turned serious. “We didn’t become good parents to him while he was growing up. And when he finally saw the woman that gave him happiness, we tried to take it away from him and tried to control his life the way we wanted. So, I was hoping that even though you grow old together, you will not give up on choosing him and continue loving him.”

I smiled. He really did change, finally.

He is now thinking of his children’s happiness instead of his connection and money. He finally realized that the parents’ greatest treasure is to witness that their child is happy with the life that they choose to pursue.

“You don’t have to tell me that, Dad,” I said. “When I got married to him, eleven years ago, I promised to myself that no matter what happens, I will never stop loving him. And even though I thought he cheated on me, my heart still wanted him. So I can assure you that even as we get older, my feelings for him will never change. And with this love, I will continue to take care of him and make our family happy.”

He looked at me and smiled. For the first time since we met, he gave me such a warm smile. A smile that proves that finally, he accepted me as his daughter-in-law.

No pretension. No scheme.

Just acceptance.

“Thank you.”

When we arrived at the altar, Enver approached us. Dad gave my hand to his son and tapped his shoulder.

“I am sorry for not realizing it sooner but you are really fortunate that you married this woman, son,” Dad said. “Make her happy, always.”

Enver smiled and nodded. “I will, Dad.”

They hugged us and after that, we approached the priest that standing in front of everyone. And I was taken aback when I realized that he was the same priest that facilitated our wedding ceremony before.

I smiled at him and pulled Enver to me.

“You planned all of this within just a day?” I whispered to him. “And when did you get the idea of renewing our vows?”

“I actually had this idea after we got back together,” he said. “I thought that it would be better for us to hold a renewal of our vow since we got separated for five years. I want to express my love to you in this kind of ceremony and reaffirm my commitment to you. And for the second time, to say my promise that no matter what happens, you will be the only woman that I will ever love.”

We turned our attention to the priest as he started the ceremony.

“We have gathered here today in the sight of God and in the presence of family members and friends to witness the renewal of the wedding vow of Ever and Milan,” the priest said. “Lots of folks believe that entering into marriage is the final step in a passionate relationship. They always say that tying the knot is the end game of the relationship. But the truth is, this is just the beginning of a new adventure that will be long and fruitful for each other.”

Enver held my hand as we faced each other.

“Please state your vow, Enver.”

Enver took a deep breath and looked me straight in the eyes while holding my hands. “Milan…” he said. “We have been married for eleven years. There were a lot of complications, but we managed to survive. A lot of problems arose that made us separate for the five years of our married life, but here we are today, still in love.”

I couldn’t hold my tears any longer and let myself cry along with him. I kept my smile and listened to every word he was saying.

“I bring myself to you this day, in front of God, our family, and friends, to recommit my life to you,” he continued. “You can trust my love, for it is real. I promise again to stay faithful to you. I will continue to support your hopes, dreams, and goals. And I will continue sharing my life with you, together with our little angel.” He put my ring in my fingers. “I promise to keep loving and cherishing you through whatever life brings us. I love you, Milan Escuero-Andrius.”

He wiped my tears and kissed my forehead.

“It is now your turn to state your vow, Milan.”

“Enver…” I took a deep breath to calm myself so I could say everything I wanted to say clearly. “Loving you changed everything in my life. It was so overwhelming, full of different emotions, especially these past five years. It was not easy, to be honest. But I know that we were happy.”

It hurts remembering everything. But this kind of pain taught me a lesson that helped me shape myself into what I am today.

“Our marriage hit its rock bottom but just like what you said, we survived,” I added. “Today, I’m standing in front of God, our family, and friends to recommit myself to you and our marriage. I promise to be there whenever you need me, to fill your days with sunshine, to comfort you and encourage you, to help you reach your goals, and to be your partner forever. To love you all my life with all my heart.” I put his ring on his finger. “I will not give you up no matter what happens and I will keep choosing you every day, together with our kids, forever.”

Marriage is not about romantic excitement and butterflies in the stomach. It is a lifetime commitment between man and woman, who need to keep choosing each other, no matter what challenges they might face.

But I reached the point that I gave up on our marriage. I filed for divorce, to grant him his freedom to marry another woman, because I thought he didn’t love me anymore.

But that isn't the case in our situation.

We got a second chance to fix our marriage, and I didn’t waste that opportunity.

And while fixing our marriage, throughout the road, I also manage to fix our relationship with his family. That leads us through our real happily ever after.

Love is indeed sweeter the second time around.

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