{ The Queen’s Palace / happily ever after }
Archie had been seated among the guests, exchanging pleasantries with familiar faces, but his mind had been elsewhere for most of the morning. Until, in the midst of all the ceremony, his gaze landed on her.
Adeline.
Even in a room filled with people, she stood out. Perhaps it was because he had always been attuned to her presence or perhaps it was the way her eyes looked for his in a sea of people. For a moment everything else fell away. Her soft smile brought out his own but just as swiftly as their gaze met, the moment shattered.
He saw it - the slight paling of her complexion, the sudden urgency in her step as she turned from him and hurried away. Archie had always prided himself on reading people, however now he couldn’t even guess what was wrong. He just knew that something was wrong.
The grand wedding faded into insignificance. Archie stood up, offering a murmured excuse to those seated beside him, though he hardly heard their response. His focus was on something else. As he left the room, he tried to follow Adie, his strides purposeful as he navigated the halls of the palace. He caught sight of her just as she disappeared beyond a doorway.
The ladies’ room.
Archie hesitated only briefly, knowing this was not a place for him to be at but concern won out. Running a hand through his hair, he exhaled sharply before stepping forward and knocking gently against the doorframe. “Adeline?” His voice was softer now, yet unmistakably laced with worry. “Are you alright?”
Silence.
“Adie,” he tried again, his voice low, urgent. “Please talk to me.”
flashback
{ days before the wedding }
{ loved you in the darkness and I loved you in fluorescent light }
Archie stepped into the foyer his heart pounding as the reality of what he was about to do settled over him. He watched Thea disappear up the staircase, each second stretching into an eternity. The house was eerily quiet save for the distant sound of the storm raging outside… He glanced around, his eyes lingering on the little details that spoke of Adeline’s touch. That’s when she appeared at the top of the stairs, her expression guarded as it seemed. For a moment, he couldn’t speak, couldn’t move. She was as beautiful as ever, but there was an air of fragility about her now. He took a step forward, then stopped, unsure of how to begin.
”I… I saw it.“ he stammered finally, his voice thick with emotion. ”I saw the house. A house that looked just like the one you described to me - the white walls, the garden, the river… Adeline…“ He took another step closer, his hands trembling at his sides. ”I have come to you, soaked to the bone, because there is no time left for hesitation. There is no more room for pride, for fear. I was a fool, a wretched fool, to let you slip from my grasp for so long… To lie about it.“
His eyes burned with an intensity that seemed to ignite the very room.
Archie pressed on, his voice growing steadier.
He moved up the stairs his feet dragging as if he were pulling himself through the weight of the words he had kept inside for far too long… Until he was facing her.
”I love you, Adeline. I love you with a passion that consumes me, that fills every corner of my soul. Foolishly, irrevocably, maddeningly. I love you with every part of me, and I have loved you for as long as I can remember.“ He reached out, his hand trembling as he took hers in his. ”I have made a terrible mistake, and I am so sorry - for all the ways I have hurt you, for every word I failed to say, for every action that pushed you away and for… Making you believe I did not mean what I wrote in those letters.“ His voice almost cracked as he held her gaze. ”But I cannot stand it anymore. I cannot live in a world where you are not beside me, where I do not share my life with you. The thought of it… it is unbearable.“
Archie’s eyes searched hers desperately, his chest heaving with the weight of his emotions.
”I would give up everything I have to be with you, Adeline. I would give up the world itself if it meant I could build that life with you. I cannot let you go. I cannot lose you,“ he whispered. ”You need not say anything… I … I have said it all and now all I ask is that you take a chance on me… I know I have no right to ask this of you, after everything but… I had no choice.“