Forgiven Heart
Written by: Fujiwara Zakuro
Chapter 7: Wedding
When they arrived there, Izumi gave a pathetic excuse to go up to Kouji's room. She mounted the parquet stairs as she nervously held on to the banister. She knocked on Kouji's door, just barely passing the bride's room without getting caught. "Come in." Kouji called through the other side of the door. Izumi turned the knob and jumped into the room. She quickly shut the door.
"Izumi, what are you doing here?" Kouji asked. "I told you that I'd be at the ceremony." Izumi barely smiled. Kouji nodded. "I hope you the best of luck in your coming marriage." Izumi said. Kouji smiled and said, "Thank you." Izumi began to feeling a tear roll down her cheek. "I only have to say that... if you were going to have a marriage before meeting Mia, then it would be with me." Izumi choked on these words. Kouji was taken aback. "Izumi, please don't cry." He begged her. Izumi smiled sadly. "No, no I'm fine. I just want you to be happy." Izumi insisted. "Izumi..." Kouji began. "I love you, Kouji-kun. You're my best friend." Izumi said as she felt more tears come. She gave Kouji a kiss on the cheek and left the room, leaving Kouji standing there with a sorrowful expression.
Izumi had washed her face and stopped crying. She wore the dark-tinted sunglasses that she had bought the day before to hide her red eyes. Amaya asked why she was wearing them. "The sun is too bright for my sensitive eyes." Izumi lied. Amaya nodded her head but disapproved of the pathetic lie. Besides, Amaya knew Izumi didn't have sensitive eyes and could withstand light brighter than the sun's state at the moment.
They sat in the white chairs on the groom's side as many other relatives and friends of Kouji and Mia (Kouji's fiancée). The reverend was already at the altar and was flipping the pages of the bible impatiently. The ceremony was supposed to begin a few minutes before, but the bride was taking too long. Kouji was already marching towards the altar and waited for Mia.
A couple more minutes passed and a lot of chattering was going on between the visitors. When they caught eye of the bride and bridesmaids, they abruptly silenced. The bridesmaids walked down the outdoor aisle until they were all standing on or by the altar. Kouichi, who was Kouji's best man, nudged Kouji to pay attention. Kouji was trying to focus, but the incident in his room kept on replaying in his head.
When the bride finally got to the altar, the reverend began to give the speeches and blessings. Izumi waited with impatience to leave. Many people in the crowd were crying dramatically. Izumi looked at them and snorted. 'If they're crying now, they haven't been through what I've experienced.' She thought.
The 'I do's' were coming and Izumi suddenly began to feel the tears come back. She vowed herself not to cry, but just couldn't stop. As the reverend began to say the part of the 'I do's', Izumi cried silently. Amaya gave her a side glance and gave her a reassuring squeeze on the shoulder. Izumi tried to smile, but she was too full of sorrow to do so.
"Do you, Mia, take this man to be your husband?" the reverend asked. "I do." Mia said with a huge grin on her face. "And do you, Kouji, take this woman to be your wife?" he asked again.
Kouji had a look of indecisiveness. He was confused and was being pulled between two hearts. Sure, he loved Mia, but he still loved Izumi. The audience was practically holding their breaths. After a while of serious thinking, he finally came up with a decision. "No, I don't." he finally said. Everyone gasped, even the reverend and Izumi. But for some reason, Mia was not shocked at all. In fact, she was smiling.
"I'm sorry to say, but I'm in love with another woman." Kouji confessed. "I knew it!" Mia cried out. Everyone looked at her with a weird expression. "I've found another man, too." She confessed. This was just too much. A few old women fainted of shock and few other people were crying. "Izumi Orimoto, please come to my side." Kouji called out. Izumi was taken aback. She wiped away her tears and stood up. She walked up to the altar and stood by Kouji. "See? This is the woman I'm truly in love with!" Kouji announced. Kouichi and Amaya smiled. They knew that Kouji would choose the right woman. They both knew the truth about Mia's cheating, but Kouji refused to believe them, and so they gave up before Izumi came to Miami.
"Izumi, I'm sorry it took me so long to realize that you're the only one for me." Kouji said. "It's okay..." Izumi smiled. "I want to see your beautiful emerald eyes." Kouji said as he took off Izumi's sunglasses. Her eyes were no longer red, but a few tears still brimmed her eyes. Kouji smiled and brought his face to hers. Their lips met and they shared a gentle kiss. "I love you, and nothing can ever change that." Izumi whispered onto Kouji's lips. Kouji grinned. "Izumi, will you marry me?" he asked. Izumi chuckled. "Of course I will!" she cried. This time, she cried tears of joy.
AN: So, how do you like the end? I know, the story was short and there won't be an epilogue. There will be two more sequels, though. So just wait patiently. Plus, I gave you a treat! Two chapters in one night!
