I hate you then I love You by Celine Dion

Heart of Life by John Mayer

43. The Veil

The light from inside cast a dull yellow glow across the grass. Red stood in front of the hedge amongst the shadows that the cypress tree provided. Out here, she would never be able to see him. That was how he had to stay: invisible to the bride's eye, but that remained to be seen; his heart had other desires.

"Tell me, what type of a man allows the woman he loves to escape right in front of his eyes like this?"

Red didn't turn at the sound of the red head's voice. Instead, he kept his eyes locked on the sight before him through the French doors.

The bridesmaids surrounded her with bubbly grins, adjusting the veil on her head. One of them smacked her hand away playfully as she tried to grab a handful of popcorn. A perfect girl's night in on the night before the wedding. She wasn't one to go for a bachelorette party, she was a simple person.

The sound of chirping crickets drew him from his thoughts. He worked his lip between his teeth.

"The type of man who is undeserving of her and knows when to step aside," he said in a gravelly tone.

Ressler's scoff disturbed the night as he walked around in front of Red into his line of vision, blocking his view of the view inside.

"We both know that's a load of bull."

Red felt his cheek pull up at the agents words. He let his mask come over him like water running down his face.

"Be that as it may, Donald, there's nothing that can be done about it now. This time tomorrow, she'll be far out of my reach."

Ressler gave him a hard look. "But that point still hasn't come. Now is your chance."

Red stared right back at him with a neutral face.

"What you deserve shouldn't come into play right now, Red. Not if you really love her. What matters is that she deserves to know."

Red glanced over the red head's shoulder into the room. She seemed happy, but distracted. How he longed to know what was on her mind.

"I'm going to go in. Get the ladies out for a while. This is your chance."

He disappeared into the darkness leaving Red alone once more. This was beyond wrong. He shouldn't be here. She was going to live a happy life. A life free of the demons he kept hidden in his walk-in closet. He should just turn around and leave.

His musings died when he saw the door open and watched as Ressler cheerfully came up with some excuse to get all of the girls, save Lizzie, to step out of the room. Evidently it worked, because a minute later he was gazing at her as her body all but deflated. She stared at her reflection in the mirror she was sitting in front of with a frown.

Red finally gave in and stepped out of his spot beside the tree. He walked across the damp lawn and swiftly opened the French door before letting it slam shut behind him. She startled in her seat.

"Jesus, Red! You scared me half to death!" She stood up and glared at him. "What the hell are you doing here?"

"Hello Lizzie." He worked his lip nervously. For once in his life, he was at a loss for what to say.

"What do you want?"

She squirmed under his intense scrutiny.

"You'll never be happy with him," he told her, "Not the way you would be with me."

She watched him, awestruck.

He held his palm out to her, "Come with me."

With trembling fingers, Lizzie grasped his hand.

A/N: So this was written for a prompt I was sent on tumblr, so whoever sent it, thank you for that! Hope you liked it.