Prologue
Ai had been ignoring her parents all day.
They had been sent messages, been trying to facetime, and had even gone so far as to message Rachel too. It was unrelenting.
She knew exactly what they wanted to talk about, she had seen the message on her notification bar when they had decided to message her at 3am in the morning— though considering the time difference between Japan and the UK she knew that it wasn’t entirely their fault.
She had refused to respond, or to even open the message. Especially not on this day of all days.
If her anger at her parents had been fierce before for going behind her back and against her wishes to arrange her marriage, then it was kindled all the fiercer at them for choosing this specific day to ruin for her.
It was her best friend’s wedding day for goodness sake! It was supposed to be a day full of joy and celebration, especially celebration considering Rachel and Killian had walked through hell and back again just to make their relationship happen.
The last thing Ai wanted was to spend the day wallowing in her own self pity. She was going to be there for her friend, to celebrate, to be happy for her friend. She was not going to think about what wedding bells meant for her own impending doom.
Rachel tapped her shoulder gently, her warm fingers against her cold skin snapping her out of her daydream. Her friend was watching her with gentle concern, her brows furrowed, threatening to crease her makeup. ‘Are you okay?’
‘Thinking about that open bar,’ Ai brushed her off with a half hearted joke. The rest of the week had gone by amazingly, Rachel had absolutely glowed for the Hindu ceremony yesterday though she seemed to be far more nervous for today.
It didn’t help that apparently Killain’s entire town would be attending their ceremony (Ai very much suspected that Rachel was keeping something about that from her,) not to mention Diana’s little tryst with the hair gel earlier.
“Are you sure?” Rachel fretted, her brows furrowed, her nervous hands smoothing over her dark blue dress. It was the mother in her, Ai knew, that would try to distract herself by trying to take on and figure out everyone else’s worries but her own.
‘I’m alright, Rach, I promise.’ Ai smiled, it didn’t quite reach her eyes, as much as she wanted to spill her guts to her friend, it would be unfair for her to do it here or now. The bride had enough on her plate as it was… like the fact they were running late for a start. ‘Besides, don’t we have your wedding ceremony to get to?’
‘Alright…’ Rachel eased off to Ai’s relief, though it seemed half hearted. Ai almost expected her to protest a little more, only when she continued to sign Ai realised she had been cornered. ’But we are going to talk about this, maybe next week over coffee or something, ‘kay?’
Ai just nodded, knowing that if she did anything else, Rachel would press an answer out of her and they didn’t have time for that. Instead, she scooped Diana up into her arms and gestured towards the door collecting the girl’s diaper bag on the way.
Her nude pumps clacked against the concrete as she walked, the pink mermaid cut dress swishing around her as she went. By the time she got Diana into the car and settled, Rachel had come down and was ready to go— they piled into her little Volkswagen and took off down the road.
The wedding party stood waiting in the foyer when they arrived. Rachel had fretted on the drive over about the rain ruining their outdoor ceremony and was both relieved and disappointed to hear that Killian’s friend Lenadra had made sure things would run smoothly, albeit indoors.
Ai wondered what that might have felt like, to be so nervous and excited for your wedding day that you wanted everything to be perfect. She supposed she wouldn’t get the opportunity to find out, especially if her parents had their way. She forced herself to shake away the thought, knowing she wouldn’t be able to hide it on her face.
This day was about her best friend, there was no room for her baggage. Besides, she could live vicariously through Rachel; just seeing her friend so radiant was enough to spark her own joy.
They lined up, Ai looked over to the man Rachel had said was Killian’s cousin and best man; since she would be the Maid of honour, she would have to walk with him.
There was something about the man that unsettled Ai, and she wasn’t sure that she liked it. Maybe it was that shit eating grin that was plastered on his face, or the way his tall frame seemed to swallow the room, or perhaps it was just how flawless his dark skin was, almost as if he were too perfect.
It was silly, even as she thought of it, but there was just something about him. In fact there was something about all of Killian’s friends that she had met. She just couldn’t quite put her finger on it.
“Alrighty looks like we’re good to go,” Leandra nodded when Rachel smoothed down the front of her dress and took a calming breath. It pulled Ai out of her thoughts, her gaze looking up at the man just beside her to find him already staring at her.
His dark eyes widened just a fraction, the grin on his face never once falling. It was as if he were completely starstruck by her.
She knew she looked good, she had put all her effort into looking nice for Rachel’s celebration. In a pale pink spaghetti strapped dress with something akin to a mermaid fit at the bottom, nude pumps, and had even put on matching sparkly barbie pink hearing aids. However, nobody had ever looked at her that way before, as if she were the only person in the room with him. It made her skin tingle, goosebumps raising on her arms with the over familiar intensity.
Then as if realising that he was still staring at her, he looked away, and Ai could not place why she suddenly felt a little colder without his eyes on her. Instead, his eyes fell to Rachel with a brotherly affection.
‘So you ready to get married again? Or I suppose you’re resaying your vows… in a different way.’ Sebastian signed as he spoke with that semi-permanent cheeky grin.
Warmth exploded in Ai’s stomach as she watched him, that annoyingly handsome grin on his face. She rolled her eyes at his corny joke, pressing her lips together to hide the traitorous telltale twitching that spoke of her desire to smile.
His joke, as terribly laughable as it was, wasn’t the reason her cheeks flushed with a quiet joy. It was the fact that he would sign, to make sure that she was still kept fully immersed in the conversation, that sent a flurry of butterflies through her gut.
It was the bare minimum she supposed, but it still touched her. As sad as it was, she had not met many people who tried to accommodate her deafness; most people figured that because she wore hearing aids it meant she could hear perfectly well. Even her parents had only learnt a few basic signs rather than learn BSL properly to be able to communicate with her better.
The music started up, a beautiful rendition of ‘make you feel my love’ that Rachel poured hours into. She had overlapped the piano, violin and her vocals to create a beautifully intimate wedding march.
Diana went first, stumbling as quickly as her little legs could carry her down the aisle to reunite with her father waiting for her. The man scooped her up in his arms, and pressed a kiss to her head.
Ai pressed her hand into the crook of Sebastian’s tuxedoed arm. He stole another glance at her before they both walked down the aisle together. Rachel was glad to have his support, because as soon as she stepped into the room every hair, save the neatly twisted chignon on her head, stood on end.
Sebastian, as if sensing the woman’s sudden alarm, pressed his hand on top of hers. Firecrackers light up his finger tips, the wonderful sensation travelling up his arms and straight to the beating organ in his chest. It only confirmed what he had already guessed from the moment he caught the smell of her cherry blossom scent.
It was her— she was the one. He had been waiting for her.
Even as they separated to take their places behind the bride and groom, his eyes never once left hers. Not as Rachel walked down the aisle towards Killian, not as the two professed their vows before their pack, not even as they kissed.
Sebastian’s gaze, like a magnet, could not be drawn away from the pull of Ai.
