Strings

Chapter 8

My dad walks in and barely throwing a glance at me he says
"It's time."

Shelly nods at me softly one more time and then hurries out to take her place with the rest of the bridesmaids. Mom and Helen look at me fondly one last time and leave too.

My dad walks over to me and I am hoping, praying, that he says something to me. That we share a beautiful father-daughter moment, that be hugs me and he finally looks at me with pride but he doesn't say or do anything.

I latch my arm around his and we walk out of the room to the great hall. Just before the massive doors open, I hear my dad say, ever so softly;
"You be brave, Avery. You may not understand it now but one day when the time is right you will. Until then, be brave." He says not looking at me.
My eyes widen at that. I have never heard him sound so defeated. I look at him and I knew then, that this was all I needed. A glimmer of support and I would be fine. I will be brave and I will look after myself. For my dad. My best friend when I was a kid. The man who raised me and took care of me.
At this moment I felt nothing but gratitude for him. Whatever happens next, I will never forget what he's done for me. What my dad has done for me.

I don't know what happened over the years but I do know that emotion never went away. And for the first time I took pride in my name. I am Avery Marshall and I have got this.
But this moment of pride was over as soon as it began for I knew I had to take up the Knight surname. I bit my tongue to prevent myself from weeping like a little kid. 

The doors open wide and I momentarily stop breathing at the site before me.
The halls were huge with the most exquisite decor and on either side of the aisle, were seated at least hundreds of guests if not thousands. All of whom, I was sure, were extremely prominent in the business world.

As we start walking slowly down the long aisle, a beautiful melody fills the room as everyone stands up. Everything is in slow motion and every single thing was beautiful.

I look at the raised platform where Hayden stood, next to his best man; whoever he was.
My breathing became shallower just at the sight of Hayden.

He looked much sharper than he normally does, dressed in an all black suit. His suit, jet black and his shirt and tie a lovely matte black, and looking at him standing in all his glory I could see why girls worshipped the ground he walked on and why Forbes referred to him as the sexist man alive three times in a row.

Dressed In his complete black suit, Hayden Knight looked exactly how he was like as a person.
Dangerous and sinfully beautiful.

I wondered if it was normal for the groom to look so dangerous and vicious in his own wedding. But again, I knew it wasn't normal for the bride to feel so absolutely terrified.

We were almost halfway down the aisle when I feel my dad squeezing my hands softly three times. And it took everything it had in me to not break down right here, right now.

Three squeezes. His way of saying I Love You.
I was 9 when he taught me this.

**
I was crying because Olivia had been teasing me how mom and dad loved her more than me since she came first.
After an entire day of hiding out, My dad then came to my spot in the garden where I was sulking and said,
"I am not very good at expressing how I feel, little Aves, but I love you more than life itself. You're the blessing I don't deserve, a gift too good to be mine. So everytime, daddy's all worked up and he's not able to tell you what He truly feel for you, remember this" he said firmly; taking my hands in his and squeezing them gently three times.
"What does it mean?" I say giggling at him, beyond happy to have his time and attention.