AllFreeNovel
Share Us
“Christ, you look breathtaking, mia regina,” he says when I’m halfway down the aisle.
My eyebrows draw together, and I almost let out a sob, but I swallow it down, my body trembling from all the effort it’s taking not to cry.
I come to a stop in front of Damiano, and seeing how emotional he looks, I can’t stop a tear from escaping.
He reaches for my face and wipes the tear away, then looks at the priest.
“Damiano and Gabriella, have you come here to enter into marriage without coercion, freely and wholeheartedly?” the priest asks.
“I have,” Damiano answers.
My voice is hoarse when I say, “I have.”
“Since it’s your intention to enter into the covenant of Holy Matrimony, join your right hands, and declare your consent before God and His church.”
Damiano grabs my right hand before I can even lift it, and I let out a chuckle.
My impatient man.
“I, Damiano Custanti Falco, take you, Gabriella di Bella, for my lawful wife, to have and to hold from this day forward, for better, for worse, for richer, for poorer, in sickness and in health, until death do us part. I will love and honor you all the days of my life.”
Hearing the words from Damiano makes it impossible for me to keep the tears back, and as they start to fall, my voice is shaky as I vow, “I, Gabriella di Bella, take you, Damiano Custanti Falco, for my lawful husband, to have and to hold from this day forward, for better, for worse, for richer, for poorer, in sickness and in health, until death do us part. I will love and honor you all the days of my life.”
Damiano takes a deep breath as if he’s trying to inhale my words, then the priest says, “What God joins together, let no one put asunder.” He glances between us. “Exchange wedding rings.”
Carlo steps forward, holding out a satin pillow with two wedding bands resting on top of it.
I take the bigger one while Damiano picks up the small one.
He takes my left hand, then orders, “Look at me.”
A smile spreads over my face as I meet his eyes.
“Gabriella, receive this ring as a sign of my love and fidelity, in the name of the Father, and of the Son, and of the Holy Spirit.”
I feel how he pushes the wedding band onto my finger, then he adds, “It’s you and me forever, mia regina.”
I nod before I look down to position the wedding band by his ring finger, then glance up again as I say, “Damiano, receive this ring as a sign of my love and fidelity, in the name of the Father, and of the Son, and of the Holy Spirit.” I push the ring onto his finger. “You and me, until the end, mio re.”
“In the sight of God and these witnesses, I now pronounce you husband and wife. You may kiss the bride.”
Damiano lifts his hands, and framing my face, he presses a tender kiss to my mouth. He pulls back an inch, and when our eyes meet, he says, “I love you, my wife.”
I wrap my arms around his neck and whisper, “I love you, my husband.” Then, pulling him back to me, I seal my mouth to his.
Chapter 32
Damiano
With every passing second, where the guests are drinking champagne and enjoying the reception, I grow more and more impatient for them to leave.
“Stop scowling at everyone,” Gabriella whispers, where she’s sitting beside me.
“How much longer?” I mutter.
“We only get one wedding,” she says, “try to enjoy it.”
“I am, but I also want to be alone with you.”
