Elara never imagined herself in a white dress. Not because she didn't want to be married, but because she didn't think life would slow down long enough for it to happen.
The chapel was small, too warm, and smelled faintly of wax and old wood. She kept tugging at the sleeves of her dress like she didn't know what to do with her hands. Jason looked calm, maybe nervous, but in a steady kind of way. The kind of nervous that still smiled at you like he meant it.
When their hands met, hers were colder than she expected. His weren't.
The vows felt like a blur. Her mind wandered, not out of boredom, but because everything felt surreal. Like her body had shown up before her thoughts caught up.
She remembered one line, though.
"I promise to keep choosing you, even when I don't understand you."
Jason had written that part himself. She didn't say anything when he told her, but she liked it.
When it was done, rings on, papers signed, applause given, she stepped outside into the sun, and for a moment, it was quiet. Everything was beginning. Her marriage. Her career. Her future.
And somewhere in the back of her mind, that familiar itch reminded her: beginnings don't last.
But she ignored it.
For now.
But just like that, she took in the moments of being a newlywed wife. Her parents walked over to see her. The wind was light, just enough to tug at her veil, again. She didn't smile, not quite. But her eyes said enough. There was a ring on her finger now. A weight. Not heavy, but noticeable.
Her parents still looked at her with adoring eyes and a hint of shock in their expressions but they were still happy for their baby girl.
Her dad, Darin, reached her first, his arms swaying like they always did when he didn't know what to do with them. "El, my baby girl.. okay, I knew you were serious, but I didn't think you were this serious."
He smiled, like a proud dad but the way he lingered before pulling her in said there was something else underneath. Uncertainty, or maybe just surprise.
"Well, this was unexpected" her mom, Chanel, said as she tapped Darin's shoulder. They both let out a laugh, as if they hadn't just watched their daughters' whole life shift.
Her mom hugged her tightly, eyes lighting up. "We're so happy for you!" She raised her brows playfully. "Now we need to meet Jason's parents."
They all head back to the Chapel and it is more lively, as the families get to know one another like a reunion. Darin and Chanel had finally bumped into Jason's parents. His mother, a short woman with a precise voice and a gaze that always seemed to search for something, greeted them with a polite warmth. His father was quieter, hands clasped behind his back like he was standing to attention. They shook hands and shared small talk.
It was a delightful noise of family jokes and professions. It was normal in which was itself strange.
Elara stayed behind, watching. Not in a distant way, but in the way she always had as if she were taking notes of the future.
Jason eventually found her in the corner of the courtyard, near the shaded bench under the fig tree. His tie was loose now, and he looked more like the man she fell in love with; put-half-together and distracted in the best ways.
"Your dad already offered me a business deal", he said, sitting beside her.
She blinked. "Seriously?"
Jason chuckled. "Yeah. Something about supply chain energy."
She groaned, but it made her smile. A pause settled between them. Then he turned to her. "You okay?"
She hesitated. "Yeah. Just... waiting for the real world to catch up."
Jason reached out to her hand again. "This is real baby."
She nodded but didn't say anything.
Later that night, when the guests had all left. The sky outside their apartment window was a kind of soft-purple darkness only familiar in cities. Elara sat on the bed still in her dress. The dress was delicate and ivory, the kind that shimmered faintly under the city's light. It clung to her arms with sheer lace sleeves and pooled gently around her legs like quiet water.
She hadn't changed yet. She stared at the tiny blinking light in the corner of her tablet screen.
Jason was in the kitchen, reheating leftovers from the fridge that he hadn't noticed.
"Babe! We still have some leftovers. I warmed it up." He said in a calm voice.
Elara replied, "I'm coming!"
They both sat in silence, as the tinkling of their utensils grew louder in the room.
"Why are you acting like we've never met before?" he whispered suspiciously before letting out a laugh.
Elara puffed her cheeks before laughing with him. "I really don't know what it is. Why are you acting weird?"
"Me?! I've been trying to comfort you this whole time. We've been together for two years, and you're acting as if I forced you to marry my ass," Jason said, throwing her a side-eye with a faint smile.
He immediately put down his fork to hold both her hands. "Oh, come on, Elara. We're grown adults who just got married. We're going to live our lives together, have kids, get old, the good stuff. So if something is bothering you, I gotta know."
He gives her a warm expression, his eyes soft, voice slowed down like he's trying to reach her gently. He means every word.
Elara responded reassuringly: "Oh, it's nothing. I think it's just the... uhm... what do you call it? Newlyweds fright. I think that's what you call it."
Jason tilted his head a little, still holding her hands.
"Okay... I hope it's just that." He leaned back, resting against his chair. "Speaking of marriage, I think there's one topic we haven't really spoken about since we've been together."
Elara, knowing where it's going, tries to avert from the conversation.
"Uh, I think a company might be calling soon to fund my projects. You know how busy we've been since last year."
"I get that," he said gently. "But can this wait, I mean what's the rush? You're paid a good salary."
He looked at her, a mix of hope and vulnerability in his eyes.
"You know it's my dream to build something of my own. My own systems, my own tech. Not just working under contracts, but creating things I believe in."
Jason nodded slowly, his thumb brushing the back of her hand.
"I mean... I hear you. I do. I just thought maybe you'd slow down a little now, that we'd finally have time to just be. Together."
He let out a quiet laugh.
"Guess I forgot who I married, huh?"