Bella looked at herself in the mirror, and was saddened to realize that she didn't recognize the face staring back at her. She was beautiful, her make-up perfectly done, her hair pulled back in cascading ebony curls. She had on the smile that a woman was expected to have on her wedding day, yet the smile didn't quite reach her brown eyes.

"Honey, you look beautiful," Piper said softly, smiling brightly.

"Thank you, Piper," Bella replied, as her smile grew bigger, yet still didnt reach her eyes. This time, Piper noticed.

"Are you okay, Bella?" Piper asked, concerned. She put a comforting arm around her soon-to-be daughter-in-law.

"Just a little pre-wedding jitters," Bella lied easily. Thank God it wasn't Phoebe who had asked her; she could always read Bella like an open book. Thankfully, due to all the wedding preparations, and Phoebe's own busy family life, it had been easy for Bella to avoid the empath.

Unfortunately for Bella, Chris had also been avoiding Bella since That Night.

Nine months ago.

Bella hadn't seen Chris for more than a few seconds in nine months.

Nine, long months.

But now, he had no choice. He would have to see her now.

He was the best man after all.

Harsh, right? Bella was well aware of what it was probably doing to Chris, but she couldn't even try to talk Wyatt out of it, because Chris was his only brother, his best friend. And of course, how could Chris refuse to be the best man at his big brother's wedding? It should have been an honor.

But instead, it was more like a knife to the heart.

Thinking about Chris still made her heart ache. Having to face him while getting married to Wyatt...

"Here, Hun," Prue, Phoebe's eldest daughter and Bella's best friend and maid of honor, said, handing Bella a tissue, mistaking her tears for tears of joy. Not even she knew about everything between her and Chris. "Aren't you a little early? You're not supposed to start crying until you read your vows." Bella laughed; it sounded foreign to her own ears. "C'mon, girlie, it's almost time for you to walk down the aisle. The man you love is waiting for you."

Too bad he's not the one I'm marrying though, Bella thought sadly to herself. She positioned the veil over her face, grabbed her bouquet, and followed Prue out of the dressing room.

As she heard the wedding march start to play, she took a deep breath and started walking down the aisle. She could feel everyone watching her, but her eyes were instantly drawn to end of the aisle, where Wyatt stood, a huge, genuine grin plastered on his face, his blue eyes filled with love. And next to him, his brother, a smile, too, on his face, but if you knew him well enough, you could distinguish the pain and sadness in his green orbs.

Bella started moving on autopilot, which was lucky for her, because she seemed completely dazed as she made it to the end of the aisle. All she could think about as the priest went on during the ceremony was Chris's haunting eyes.

Before she knew it, the Wyatt was saying his vows, declaring his love for her, promising to love and cherish her for the rest of their lives.

"Bella, would you please say your vows," the priest said.

And instead she broke down in sobs. Wyatt's eyes instantly filled with concern. "Bella, are you okay?" he whispered.

"I'm -- I'm so sorry, Wyatt," Bella choked out, and she ran back up the aisle and into the dressing room.

She locked the door, and slumped to the floor, her shoulders shaking with sobs, ruining her make up. Her heart was racing so fast, her whole body shaking, and she found it hard to breathe in between sobs.

There was knocking on the door, and she heard Piper, Wyatt, and Prue trying to persuade her to open the door, but Bella felt physically incapable of granting their wishes, even if she wanted to. She was also acutely aware of the fact that Chris's voice was absent in the pleading.

She doesn't remember how long it was before she heard the chimings of orbs and feeling a pair of comforting arms surround her shaking frame and someone whispering words of comfort into her ear.

When she looked up, she was surprised to see that it was Chris. Fresh tears rolled down her cheeks as buried her face in his chest, crying, "I'm so sorry, Chris. I'm so, so sorry."

"It's okay, Bella," Chris just whispered back, rubbing her back comfortingly, trying to help subside the sobs. "Everything's going to be okay."

Wyatt, sensing Chris orbing into the dressing room, quickly followed suit. When Chris saw his older brother materialize, he instantly handed over Bella to her fiancé.

"Hey, baby, are you okay?" Wyatt asked, assuming the same position Chris was in moments earlier.

"Oh, Wy, I'm so sorry. I ruined your big day," Bella apologized into his tux.

"Hey, now," Wyatt said softly, "This is your big day, too, Bells. More so yours than mine. Now are you going to tell me what's wrong, or am I going to have to truth spell you?" Wyatt joked. Bella cracked a small smile.

"I don't think I can do this," Bella replied quietly. She stole a glance at Chris, who was standing in the corner awkwardly.

"That's alright, sweetie," Wyatt said, "We can postpone the wedding until you're ready. I don't want to rush you into anything you're not ready for."

Bella looked into Wyatt's hazel eyes, full of concern and love, and Bella finally realized what she had to do.

"No, Wy," Bella said softly, looking away from his eyes. She pulled off her engagement ring and gave it one last look before handing it back to Wyatt. She made the mistake of looking into his eyes again and saw the hurt that matched his brother's. "I love you, Wy, you have to believe that. But I can't marry you."

"Why?" was all Wyatt could respond with.

She looked at Chris. She closed her eyes for a moment before replying. She took both his hands in hers and said, "You deserve someone so much better than me, Wyatt. Don't you dare think this is your fault. You are a loving, caring, smart, attractive, funny, and just overall amazing guy. And you'll know when you find the right girl for you."

"You're the one I want, Bella. I love you. I'm in love with you," Wyatt said, his voice cracking. "Besides, that's not answering the question."

Hot tears rolled down Bella's cheeks as said, "I love you, Wyatt. But I'm not in love with you."

Wyatt closed his eyes in an effort to stop the tears. "There's someone else," he said. It was a statement, not a question. Bella could only nod. The least she could do was tell the truth. No matter how much it hurt both of them.

"Who is it?" Wyatt said in a low voice. Bella shook her head and started crying again. "Dammit, Bella, just tell me who it is." There was more hurt than anger in his voice.

"Chris," Bella said, barely above a whisper. Chris froze at the mention of his name, scared of his brother's reaction. Wyatt was infamous for his temper. So far, though, it had never been directed at him. He braced himself for screams of accusation, or maybe even physical pain.

But none came.

"I guess I always sort of knew," Wyatt admitted softly. "I guess I just kept hoping that you would learn to love me just as much, even if in a different way."

"Oh, Wyatt," Bella cried. She reached out to him, but he shied away. It hurt her more than she thought it would... maybe more than it should. "I'm sorry."

"Me too," Wyatt said, orbing away.

Bella looked at Chris and said, "You probably hate me too. I really screwed things up this time."

"You might have screwed some things up," Chris agreed, "But you also set some things right." Bella looked at him with hopeful eyes. "Wyatt deserved to know the truth. Even if the timing wasn't exactly great."

"Better before than after we were married, right?"

There was a silence.

"So where does that leave us?" Bella asked meekly.

"I will always love you, Bella," Chris said, walking towards her, brushing her hair back. "You are my soul mate. You always will be."

"I feel a big 'but' coming along..."

"But you hurt me. More than you can imagine. And after what happened today, I forgive you for it," Chris said, "But Wyatt is also hurting right now. And it's also because of you." Bella felt her heart breaking, but no tears came this time. She had no tears left to cry. "Wyatt is my big brother, my best friend, my flesh and blood. And I have to be there for him. He might hate me at first, but he'll warm up to me."

"He won't hate you," she said softly, "You're his Achilles heel. That's why he didn't get mad when he found out it was you."

"I love you Bella," Chris continued, "But Wyatt needs me."

Bella nodded in understanding. "Are we ever going to be okay? All three of us. Will it ever be like when we were kids again?"

"Only time will tell," Chris said sagaciously. "But are you willing to wait?"

"I spent twenty years being the third musketeer to you guys, two years dating your brother, nine months engaged to him, and made it down the aisle before I realized what a huge mistake I was making," Bella said. She tip toed and gave Chris a soft kiss on the lips. "I'll wait forever for you."

THE END
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