Excuse from Pain
Eleanor Beddows walks grimly down the wedding aisle, her white veil masking the smile and her sad eyes. Her father clutches proudly at her arm, oblivious or uncaring about his daughter's distress. Nellie keeps her eyes trained on the ground in front of her, willing herself not to look at Albert Lovett, for that would seal her fate and crush her dreams. She would not say 'I do' to a man she loved. She would not sit on a rocker on the porch to her house by the sea. She would not wake every day and feel as though it was her first date over again. She would spend the rest of her life with a man who she felt nothing for. Her heart races at the idea, all her childhood fantasies crumbling around her. The music suddenly sounds too loud, their pace too slow, and Eleanor fights to keep the smile on her face though her cheeks ache. She reaches the altar to see Albert grinning down at her, looking proud and radiant. Weakly returning his smile, Nellie turns to the priest, only half-listening to the words he speaks. When Albert looks a her expectantly, she clears her throat, finding her throat dry and her tongue glued to the roof of her mouth. Struggling against the weight pressing down on her chest, Nellie glances at Albert out of the corner of her eye before whispering to words that will seal her fate.
"I do."
A/N: Read and review! (;