Thank you everyone for your support. I truly appreciate all the awesome
responses I have been getting for this story. All right, here's a quick
explanation before you start to wonder if you got the right link to the
right story. You've been wondering about who the mystery girl is and so now
you get to find out. Enjoy....
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Victoria opened her hazel eyes.
She stood paralyzed in front of the mirror surprised at what she saw.
She looked beautiful. Her long reddish brown hair fell down her back in flaming curls lying over her wedding gown. She wore a long white silk strapless wedding gown that fell around her in gauzy white layers spiraling her body like icy frost.
She looked like a girl from a different time. She looked like a Greek goddess and she knew it. She smiled as she touched the gown. It felt like a dream. It was one of the few times in her life that she could actually look at herself in the mirror and say to herself that she was beautiful.
It was her wedding day.
She had to be beautiful.
She took a twirl in front of the mirror for old times sake just to see all layers of her skirt fly around her that made her look like an enchanted princess and laughed along with her older sister at her childish antics. Her twirl ended her up in front of the large bay window of her golden toned bedroom.
Even from up in her room she could still catch a few excited ramblings coming from the outside world. All her family and friends were here. Almost any one she'd ever met in the whole world her family had invited and almost everyone came.
It was surprising how many people she could see waiting to see her get married.
Her family had set up the wedding in her own backyard. Since it had always been her dream to have her wedding there they had decided to create the perfect atmosphere for a wedding.
She knew that most girls wanted a church wedding, or a big party somewhere else. They never really gravitated towards having the ceremony and the reception in their own backyard like she had.
Of course, they didn't have her family's backyard. It was so large and it sprawled out for a few acres on each side. It was smooth ground so it was perfect for any ceremony. In the very center of it all was her most favorite hangout growing up, the veranda. It was the place she'd always dreamed of exchanging her vows in.
It was in the very center of all the commotion for her wedding looking up over the flower garden her stepmother had planted around it. Even now as she looked down of the impending chaos she saw her fiancé walking towards the veranda to take his place.
It was beautiful outside.
She stood for a moment at the window letting the warm breeze blow over her face and smiled. The sun was starting to set slowly on the horizon and the lighting was just beautiful. Everything and everyone was lit in soft orangish pink hues coming from the violet blue sky setting a romanticism to the wedding that she hadn't even planned on.
Small white and baby blue marble towers had been set up down at the ends of every aisle with red roses sprouting out of them almost as of they had grown there wild. The white chairs had been set up in the shape of a horseshoe around the aisle so that everyone would get a clear view of Victoria on her way down to the Mark. Small white Chinese globes lit with pink candles covered the whole yard where everyone was sitting. Up and down the aisles and all over the veranda they had even set up a beautiful pattern of white glittering Christmas lights. The aftermath of all the soft glows and warm red hues along with the sunset almost blew her away as she looked down.
White and pink roses were strewn in patches crisscrossing over the white veranda's frame where she and Mark were going to say their wedding vows.
And there among all the chaos stood her fiancé, Mark. He was nervously fixing his tie every ten seconds. She smiled at his anxiety and then turned away from the scene below her.
Soon he'd be her husband. She'd be his wife. She'd be Mrs. Victoria Fitzgerald. It was almost wonderful but not yet complete.
She couldn't wait and yet at the exact same time she felt like running away. She guessed that's what cold feet could do to a girl.
She came over to the golden-white canopy bed and sat next to her sister. It was going to be the last time that they saw each other before she went on her honeymoon and her sister went off to college.
She was going to miss Alexis and all her cynically dry humor that got her through the day.
"So how does it feel?" Alexis asked her while she placed on Victoria's veil.
It was a simple veil. It had once been a white sequined headband designed with random flowers embroidered all over its surface. It could almost pass for a crown of flowers that little girls made when they pretended to be fairies. Her mother's mother had worn the headband to her wedding and now it was her turn to where it.
"I don't know. Like I'm going to explode maybe," she pondered smiling slightly like the Cheshire cat.
"Really...explode how? Maybe I should stand back for this one," her sister commented as she helped her up onto her feet.
"Oh shut up, Alexis. How about a little self esteem boost? Now, how do I look?" she asked getting up and circling for her like a model on the catwalk.
"Like the perfect portrait of a blushing bride," Alexis told her sounding as if she were quoting a book. Then she rectified her answer after deflecting Victoria's swift blow to her shoulder, "You look beautiful. I almost don't recognize you. I sure hope Mark does."
"Oh, he'd better. Or else I'm marrying someone else." she said going to the mirror and putting on her dangling silver earrings. "Oh guess what? I invited Jeremy here."
"What? Why...after all that's happened."
"Oh don't worry. I have a feeling that you are going to get lucky tonight and he is going to confess his undying love for you. So don't run your mouth before he has a chance and ruin it, alright?"
"Victoria..."
"Give him the benefit of the doubt here, Alexis. Think of it as a wedding present for me," she begged lightly as she took her sisters arm in hers and looked at their reflection in the mirror.
Her sister who happened to be older had the same dark reddish-brown hair but stood a few feet shorter then her. Which had always been fun for Victoria to rub in as they grew up. Unfortunately, in random sibling attacks her sister had the better advantage at being so slight that she was faster then Victoria.
"Fine...but I blame you for any scenes," Alexis replied, giving up.
"Whatever you say."
The wedding march started outside. She flew over to the window to see everyone in their seats turning to watch the flower girls start down the aisle. Her stomach jumped.
"Oh, it's time. You ready?" her sister said coming up to stand beside her and look down on the crowd.
"As ready as I could ever be at this moment. Is it alright to feel queasy all of a sudden?'
"Oh, sure. Yeah. It has to be one of those wedding conditions," her sister laughed. "Wow, the almighty Victoria is suffering from cold feet. Now the world can finally end."
"Alright, smart ass. Let's get this show on the road." Victoria replied with a wry face in her sister's direction. They started out of her bedroom. It was almost weird to think that she would never sleep in her room ever again. That soon she would have a new bedroom in a new house with a husband to sleep in. She shivered at the thought. Her stomach still jumping.
"Victoria, I have never seen you this happy."
"Really?" she asked, surprised.
"Yeah, it's different. You are actually glowing."
They arrived at the back door. Her father was there waiting and smiled pleasantly at her as she arrived. Her sister gave her arm a quick squeeze and then went to join the long line of bridesmaids.
The last two little flower girls in their soft buttercup colored dresses started up the aisle as she took her first deep breath to calm down. It seemed to take forever for the little girls, throwing their little white petals out onto the red carpet as they walked up it slowly, to make it to the veranda.
Then, her bridesmaids followed in their soft mauve colored dresses. Her sister gave her a quick glance back as Alexis realized that Jeremy was one of the groom's men who happened to be coincidentally matched up with her to go down the aisle.
Boy, was she surprised. And boy was she going to kill once this was over.
She looked for Mark over the descending figures following the flower girls down the aisle. He was standing there expectantly looking for her among them. He had not caught sight of her yet. She smiled and looked down at her and her father's entwined arms.
Her parents had gone out of their way to give her a quick wedding. They'd wanted her to have the wedding she'd had always wanted. And along the way, they had never let her live it down that her wedding was a pain in the butt to arrange in such short notice.
It had only been a few months ago when Jeremy had proposed.
She hadn't expected him to. She'd always thought he would be a bachelor for the rest of his life the way he talked sometimes, but out of no where one spring night when they'd been walking down by the docks and he'd proposed to her in the moonlight.
Something had happened to him that day before he'd seen her that had changed his mind about everything. Something big, she knew. But he would never tell her what. Instead he had told her that she had changed him for the better and he wasn't going to let her go. He'd been in such a moment that night he'd proposed. He'd wanted to elope right then and there and go somewhere fantastic like Hawaii or Paris. Somewhere where they could both be alone together for some time.
She'd agreed.
It hadn't been easier for her at the time to agree to it since she'd always had in her mind a fairy tale wedding but he'd been so anxious to get married. If anxious was the word for it. Now she looked back on it, it was more like passionate. He'd been so passionate to get married to her that he was willing to do it as quickly as possible.
Of course when her parents had found out they had put their foot down and made a bargain. They'd pay for their honeymoon if they would at least wait a few months so that they could give her an old fashioned wedding at home with her family and friends present. They'd agreed. It wasn't hard for either of them to pass up a free honeymoon anywhere.
Her parents had hated rushing around trying to get everything taken care of. They didn't understand her need to have a quick wedding. They didn't understand why she wanted to be married so soon let alone so young.
What they didn't get was that she loved him. She had loved him since the first moment they had been in the same room together. She loved him now more then anyone she had ever been with or cared about and when he'd proposed she'd jumped at the chance to be with him.
It was that and something else. It was that and another reason that tugged on her consciousness sometimes. She just felt she needed to rush in with him. She had this feeling...this dreadful feeling that if she didn't she would lose her chance to ever be happy and she didn't want that to happen.
"Is the blushing bride ready?" her father asking squeezing their entwined hands
She smiled looking over at her father.
The smell of old spice invaded her world as she gave him a quick hug. He was giving away his baby girl today. It had to be hard for him. It had to be hard for him to wear that suite. He never wore suites he was the type to just wear jeans and a t-shirt everywhere all the time no matter what the occasion. Dressing up to him was like torture. Even as she looked at him she saw how the suite didn't fit him to well. It was too big around the shoulders and it hung limply from him giving her the impression of a little kid dressing up in his dad's clothes, but her father didn't care how he looked. He was trying to keep it together and not cry in front of her.
"I'm great, dad. Nervous, happy, anxious, all of the above," she replied.
He laughed at her robustly, "Good. Before you go through with this I just want to tell you one thing."
"Oh, god. What now? Did the priest not show up, or the chef quit?" she joked.
Her father shook his head, "No, nothing like that. It's more like.. Well...For the record, Mark is the first man you have ever brought home that I knew could treat you the way you deserve. In one glance he gives you the world every time. I'm happy you found someone that you can love."
She looked over at her dad and completely surprised by his truthfulness, "Thanks, dad." she said. Looking at all the guests and the beautiful setup of the wedding she added. "For everything."
She felt blown away.
It had always been hard for him to admit how he felt about anyone. Let alone the man she was going to marry so it only made her day even sweeter to know that her own dad had given her his blessing. That he even believed that Mark was right for her.
There were only two couples left to go down the aisle before it was her turn. She saw Mark looking around expectantly. His dark black hair gelled away from his face and his blue eyes glittering in the sunset. Her breath held in her throat as the Canon In D started playing for her. It was time.
For the first time in her life she felt alive.
She started out of the house with her father and down the aisle.
She could see Mark's face. He was blown away. Utterly surprised by how she looked. She blushed slightly and smiled at him. Her breath caught in her throat as she realized he was crying. He was so happy. He was crying and smiling at her in the same instant. It took her breath away. All at once her nervousness disappeared. She could feel her eyes tearing up too. She wanted to just run to him. For everything to be over already and her and him to be alone. She wanted to be his already.
It almost felt like an eternity before she would make it to him.
She passed by everyone she knew and ever cared about in her life on her way to him. It was almost like a picture with everyone together and happy. She took one silently with her mind as she made her way to him. Only a few feet still stood between them.
Everyone around her was smiling, a few were crying, and a few gave a few whoops into the air as she went by. The energy in the yard at the moment was so fierce it put her under a spell. It was really happening she was going to be married.
Her father finally let go of her arm, gave her a kiss on the cheek, and left her to walk to Mark alone. She walked up the last few steps to Mark. She'd finally arrived before him. It was all surreal and so real at the exact same instant she had to catch her breath to believe it.
His face was flooded with tears. He smiled at her and kissed both her hands as she stopped in front of him, "It took you forever," he said, softly.
She laughed as tears started to fall from her hazel eyes, "God, I love you."
And that's when it happened, when it was all taken away. The photo inside her mind was still developing. Her friends and family were all sitting on the sidelines watching every moment crying, smiling, and taking pictures of them together standing stationary at the altar with their hands cupped together still.
Her father was trying desperately not to cry and her sister was crying buckets. The sun was shining its last few rays of orange light on them as they stood on the veranda and all the other lights were slowly taking over leaving a glow of wonderment to the area.
One minute she was sharing breaths with Mark trying to keep the tears from coming quickly. He was staring at her holding her hands in his and pressing her fingers lightly. It was perfect. The moment that she had captured was perfect. She had never felt so safe or so happy in her life. She was with the man she loved proving it to the world and nothing should have ever taken that away from her.
The priest had started the ceremony and he was about to ask them for their vows when it happened. One minute she was looking at Mark waiting to hear what he'd planned to say to her and the next...
She didn't know exactly what happened. All she knew was that it was sharp. It was a sharp and a piercing silver light that blinded her from seeing anything around her. A loud cracking noise filled the air with the light and deafened her ears from hearing. She'd been standing on her own two feet one moment and the next she was flying away from Mark.
She felt her body hit the side of the veranda. A few of the roses crisscrossing over the side of the verandas thorns were rawly biting into her skin and then she felt nothing.
Victoria opened her hazel eyes.
She stood paralyzed in front of the mirror surprised at what she saw.
She looked beautiful. Her long reddish brown hair fell down her back in flaming curls lying over her wedding gown. She wore a long white silk strapless wedding gown that fell around her in gauzy white layers spiraling her body like icy frost.
She looked like a girl from a different time. She looked like a Greek goddess and she knew it. She smiled as she touched the gown. It felt like a dream. It was one of the few times in her life that she could actually look at herself in the mirror and say to herself that she was beautiful.
It was her wedding day.
She had to be beautiful.
She took a twirl in front of the mirror for old times sake just to see all layers of her skirt fly around her that made her look like an enchanted princess and laughed along with her older sister at her childish antics. Her twirl ended her up in front of the large bay window of her golden toned bedroom.
Even from up in her room she could still catch a few excited ramblings coming from the outside world. All her family and friends were here. Almost any one she'd ever met in the whole world her family had invited and almost everyone came.
It was surprising how many people she could see waiting to see her get married.
Her family had set up the wedding in her own backyard. Since it had always been her dream to have her wedding there they had decided to create the perfect atmosphere for a wedding.
She knew that most girls wanted a church wedding, or a big party somewhere else. They never really gravitated towards having the ceremony and the reception in their own backyard like she had.
Of course, they didn't have her family's backyard. It was so large and it sprawled out for a few acres on each side. It was smooth ground so it was perfect for any ceremony. In the very center of it all was her most favorite hangout growing up, the veranda. It was the place she'd always dreamed of exchanging her vows in.
It was in the very center of all the commotion for her wedding looking up over the flower garden her stepmother had planted around it. Even now as she looked down of the impending chaos she saw her fiancé walking towards the veranda to take his place.
It was beautiful outside.
She stood for a moment at the window letting the warm breeze blow over her face and smiled. The sun was starting to set slowly on the horizon and the lighting was just beautiful. Everything and everyone was lit in soft orangish pink hues coming from the violet blue sky setting a romanticism to the wedding that she hadn't even planned on.
Small white and baby blue marble towers had been set up down at the ends of every aisle with red roses sprouting out of them almost as of they had grown there wild. The white chairs had been set up in the shape of a horseshoe around the aisle so that everyone would get a clear view of Victoria on her way down to the Mark. Small white Chinese globes lit with pink candles covered the whole yard where everyone was sitting. Up and down the aisles and all over the veranda they had even set up a beautiful pattern of white glittering Christmas lights. The aftermath of all the soft glows and warm red hues along with the sunset almost blew her away as she looked down.
White and pink roses were strewn in patches crisscrossing over the white veranda's frame where she and Mark were going to say their wedding vows.
And there among all the chaos stood her fiancé, Mark. He was nervously fixing his tie every ten seconds. She smiled at his anxiety and then turned away from the scene below her.
Soon he'd be her husband. She'd be his wife. She'd be Mrs. Victoria Fitzgerald. It was almost wonderful but not yet complete.
She couldn't wait and yet at the exact same time she felt like running away. She guessed that's what cold feet could do to a girl.
She came over to the golden-white canopy bed and sat next to her sister. It was going to be the last time that they saw each other before she went on her honeymoon and her sister went off to college.
She was going to miss Alexis and all her cynically dry humor that got her through the day.
"So how does it feel?" Alexis asked her while she placed on Victoria's veil.
It was a simple veil. It had once been a white sequined headband designed with random flowers embroidered all over its surface. It could almost pass for a crown of flowers that little girls made when they pretended to be fairies. Her mother's mother had worn the headband to her wedding and now it was her turn to where it.
"I don't know. Like I'm going to explode maybe," she pondered smiling slightly like the Cheshire cat.
"Really...explode how? Maybe I should stand back for this one," her sister commented as she helped her up onto her feet.
"Oh shut up, Alexis. How about a little self esteem boost? Now, how do I look?" she asked getting up and circling for her like a model on the catwalk.
"Like the perfect portrait of a blushing bride," Alexis told her sounding as if she were quoting a book. Then she rectified her answer after deflecting Victoria's swift blow to her shoulder, "You look beautiful. I almost don't recognize you. I sure hope Mark does."
"Oh, he'd better. Or else I'm marrying someone else." she said going to the mirror and putting on her dangling silver earrings. "Oh guess what? I invited Jeremy here."
"What? Why...after all that's happened."
"Oh don't worry. I have a feeling that you are going to get lucky tonight and he is going to confess his undying love for you. So don't run your mouth before he has a chance and ruin it, alright?"
"Victoria..."
"Give him the benefit of the doubt here, Alexis. Think of it as a wedding present for me," she begged lightly as she took her sisters arm in hers and looked at their reflection in the mirror.
Her sister who happened to be older had the same dark reddish-brown hair but stood a few feet shorter then her. Which had always been fun for Victoria to rub in as they grew up. Unfortunately, in random sibling attacks her sister had the better advantage at being so slight that she was faster then Victoria.
"Fine...but I blame you for any scenes," Alexis replied, giving up.
"Whatever you say."
The wedding march started outside. She flew over to the window to see everyone in their seats turning to watch the flower girls start down the aisle. Her stomach jumped.
"Oh, it's time. You ready?" her sister said coming up to stand beside her and look down on the crowd.
"As ready as I could ever be at this moment. Is it alright to feel queasy all of a sudden?'
"Oh, sure. Yeah. It has to be one of those wedding conditions," her sister laughed. "Wow, the almighty Victoria is suffering from cold feet. Now the world can finally end."
"Alright, smart ass. Let's get this show on the road." Victoria replied with a wry face in her sister's direction. They started out of her bedroom. It was almost weird to think that she would never sleep in her room ever again. That soon she would have a new bedroom in a new house with a husband to sleep in. She shivered at the thought. Her stomach still jumping.
"Victoria, I have never seen you this happy."
"Really?" she asked, surprised.
"Yeah, it's different. You are actually glowing."
They arrived at the back door. Her father was there waiting and smiled pleasantly at her as she arrived. Her sister gave her arm a quick squeeze and then went to join the long line of bridesmaids.
The last two little flower girls in their soft buttercup colored dresses started up the aisle as she took her first deep breath to calm down. It seemed to take forever for the little girls, throwing their little white petals out onto the red carpet as they walked up it slowly, to make it to the veranda.
Then, her bridesmaids followed in their soft mauve colored dresses. Her sister gave her a quick glance back as Alexis realized that Jeremy was one of the groom's men who happened to be coincidentally matched up with her to go down the aisle.
Boy, was she surprised. And boy was she going to kill once this was over.
She looked for Mark over the descending figures following the flower girls down the aisle. He was standing there expectantly looking for her among them. He had not caught sight of her yet. She smiled and looked down at her and her father's entwined arms.
Her parents had gone out of their way to give her a quick wedding. They'd wanted her to have the wedding she'd had always wanted. And along the way, they had never let her live it down that her wedding was a pain in the butt to arrange in such short notice.
It had only been a few months ago when Jeremy had proposed.
She hadn't expected him to. She'd always thought he would be a bachelor for the rest of his life the way he talked sometimes, but out of no where one spring night when they'd been walking down by the docks and he'd proposed to her in the moonlight.
Something had happened to him that day before he'd seen her that had changed his mind about everything. Something big, she knew. But he would never tell her what. Instead he had told her that she had changed him for the better and he wasn't going to let her go. He'd been in such a moment that night he'd proposed. He'd wanted to elope right then and there and go somewhere fantastic like Hawaii or Paris. Somewhere where they could both be alone together for some time.
She'd agreed.
It hadn't been easier for her at the time to agree to it since she'd always had in her mind a fairy tale wedding but he'd been so anxious to get married. If anxious was the word for it. Now she looked back on it, it was more like passionate. He'd been so passionate to get married to her that he was willing to do it as quickly as possible.
Of course when her parents had found out they had put their foot down and made a bargain. They'd pay for their honeymoon if they would at least wait a few months so that they could give her an old fashioned wedding at home with her family and friends present. They'd agreed. It wasn't hard for either of them to pass up a free honeymoon anywhere.
Her parents had hated rushing around trying to get everything taken care of. They didn't understand her need to have a quick wedding. They didn't understand why she wanted to be married so soon let alone so young.
What they didn't get was that she loved him. She had loved him since the first moment they had been in the same room together. She loved him now more then anyone she had ever been with or cared about and when he'd proposed she'd jumped at the chance to be with him.
It was that and something else. It was that and another reason that tugged on her consciousness sometimes. She just felt she needed to rush in with him. She had this feeling...this dreadful feeling that if she didn't she would lose her chance to ever be happy and she didn't want that to happen.
"Is the blushing bride ready?" her father asking squeezing their entwined hands
She smiled looking over at her father.
The smell of old spice invaded her world as she gave him a quick hug. He was giving away his baby girl today. It had to be hard for him. It had to be hard for him to wear that suite. He never wore suites he was the type to just wear jeans and a t-shirt everywhere all the time no matter what the occasion. Dressing up to him was like torture. Even as she looked at him she saw how the suite didn't fit him to well. It was too big around the shoulders and it hung limply from him giving her the impression of a little kid dressing up in his dad's clothes, but her father didn't care how he looked. He was trying to keep it together and not cry in front of her.
"I'm great, dad. Nervous, happy, anxious, all of the above," she replied.
He laughed at her robustly, "Good. Before you go through with this I just want to tell you one thing."
"Oh, god. What now? Did the priest not show up, or the chef quit?" she joked.
Her father shook his head, "No, nothing like that. It's more like.. Well...For the record, Mark is the first man you have ever brought home that I knew could treat you the way you deserve. In one glance he gives you the world every time. I'm happy you found someone that you can love."
She looked over at her dad and completely surprised by his truthfulness, "Thanks, dad." she said. Looking at all the guests and the beautiful setup of the wedding she added. "For everything."
She felt blown away.
It had always been hard for him to admit how he felt about anyone. Let alone the man she was going to marry so it only made her day even sweeter to know that her own dad had given her his blessing. That he even believed that Mark was right for her.
There were only two couples left to go down the aisle before it was her turn. She saw Mark looking around expectantly. His dark black hair gelled away from his face and his blue eyes glittering in the sunset. Her breath held in her throat as the Canon In D started playing for her. It was time.
For the first time in her life she felt alive.
She started out of the house with her father and down the aisle.
She could see Mark's face. He was blown away. Utterly surprised by how she looked. She blushed slightly and smiled at him. Her breath caught in her throat as she realized he was crying. He was so happy. He was crying and smiling at her in the same instant. It took her breath away. All at once her nervousness disappeared. She could feel her eyes tearing up too. She wanted to just run to him. For everything to be over already and her and him to be alone. She wanted to be his already.
It almost felt like an eternity before she would make it to him.
She passed by everyone she knew and ever cared about in her life on her way to him. It was almost like a picture with everyone together and happy. She took one silently with her mind as she made her way to him. Only a few feet still stood between them.
Everyone around her was smiling, a few were crying, and a few gave a few whoops into the air as she went by. The energy in the yard at the moment was so fierce it put her under a spell. It was really happening she was going to be married.
Her father finally let go of her arm, gave her a kiss on the cheek, and left her to walk to Mark alone. She walked up the last few steps to Mark. She'd finally arrived before him. It was all surreal and so real at the exact same instant she had to catch her breath to believe it.
His face was flooded with tears. He smiled at her and kissed both her hands as she stopped in front of him, "It took you forever," he said, softly.
She laughed as tears started to fall from her hazel eyes, "God, I love you."
And that's when it happened, when it was all taken away. The photo inside her mind was still developing. Her friends and family were all sitting on the sidelines watching every moment crying, smiling, and taking pictures of them together standing stationary at the altar with their hands cupped together still.
Her father was trying desperately not to cry and her sister was crying buckets. The sun was shining its last few rays of orange light on them as they stood on the veranda and all the other lights were slowly taking over leaving a glow of wonderment to the area.
One minute she was sharing breaths with Mark trying to keep the tears from coming quickly. He was staring at her holding her hands in his and pressing her fingers lightly. It was perfect. The moment that she had captured was perfect. She had never felt so safe or so happy in her life. She was with the man she loved proving it to the world and nothing should have ever taken that away from her.
The priest had started the ceremony and he was about to ask them for their vows when it happened. One minute she was looking at Mark waiting to hear what he'd planned to say to her and the next...
She didn't know exactly what happened. All she knew was that it was sharp. It was a sharp and a piercing silver light that blinded her from seeing anything around her. A loud cracking noise filled the air with the light and deafened her ears from hearing. She'd been standing on her own two feet one moment and the next she was flying away from Mark.
She felt her body hit the side of the veranda. A few of the roses crisscrossing over the side of the verandas thorns were rawly biting into her skin and then she felt nothing.