Not His Bride Anymore Chapter 09

Not His Bride Anymore Chapter 09

Ireland was deep summer. The sunlight was almost too good.

It washed the chapel in gold.

At the altar, the pastor in white robes opened his book. His voice was gentle.

“Graham, do you take Eden to be your lawfully wedded wife? Do you promise to love her, comfort her, honor and protect her, whatever may come, for as long as you both shall live?”

The man across from me stood in a crisp black suit. He looked at me. His eyes were full of quiet laughter.

“I do.”

The pastor smiled and turned to me.

“Eden, do you take Graham to be your lawfully wedded husband?”

I looked back at him. I smiled too.

“I do.”

In the front row, my mother watched me. Tears of joy streaming down her face.

Graham and I exchanged rings. We made a promise for a lifetime.

“Take your time. I’m not going anywhere.”

Graham held me. He whispered it against my ear.

Warmth spread through my chest. I held him back.

Graham was the boy next door. The hero of my girlhood.

He taught me to study hard. He taught me to face the outside world. He taught me the most important thing-love yourself. Protect yourself.

Senior year, his whole family emigrated to Ireland.

Before he left, he told me he loved me. He said he’d wait.

My mind went blank. I couldn’t do a long-distance relationship. I said no.

The cross-ocean calls faded.

I never expected him to find me through the Irish wedding blogger I followed.

When we met again, he was the same. Warm. Gentle.

He didn’t interrogate me about the years I’d been through. He didn’t push me to make any decisions.

He quietly helped find a care center for my mom.

He quietly arranged the wedding to be exactly what I’d always wanted.

He just let me know he was there. And if I needed time or space, he understood completely.

It wasn’t loud and dramatic like Callan.

It was steady. Quiet.

It made me feel safe.