Always You

My heart is thumping so fast it feels like it's going to burst any second. Today is my wedding and I'm walking down the aisle. It's a dream come true but only half of the dream. My eyes are locked with the love of my life but I'm not marrying him. He's standing there waiting for his bride but that bride isn't me, instead, it's my sister.

I'm thankful for the veil to hide the tears that threaten to fall. You all must be thinking why I'm not marrying my love. Trust me if I can I will in a heartbeat but I can't. Instead, I'm marrying his brother and my best friend, Dalton. This marriage is our Father's idea. When we were young they both have made a promise to each other that I'll marry Dalton and my little sister will marry Carl. It's fucked up I know but I can't do anything besides praying for some miracle. It's foolish of me to think like that but a girl can only hope. Our fathers have made promises that they will not break it at any cost. You all must be thinking about why I'm going through this or why I accepted to marry his brother? The one reason for it is that I love my dad with all my heart and another reason is that my sister is in love with the love of my life.

I can still remember the day my father announced our marriage. The way her eyes lit up, the way her lips curved in the biggest smile, I knew she's in love with him because its the same way I look when I'm with him. That expression on her face makes me back down. I love my sister so much and after seeing the hope in her eyes I don't have the heart to take her hope away. My father, mother, and my sister don't know about our relationship. Now that I think about it my father will always make excuses to make him get closer to my sister. My father doesn't approve of our friendship that's why we opted to date in secret. He never once stopped Dalton whenever he comes to my room but he always stops Carl from entering. At that time I thought maybe he knows my feelings towards him and is protective of me but now I know its because he wanted my sister Amara and Carl to get together. Our future was decided way before we know it.

My father gave my hand in Dalton's hand. I looked to the side to see Mr Miller, Carl's, and Dalton's dad doing the same with my sister. My father can't give our hands to our future husbands at the same time so they concluded that Mr.Miller will give my sister to her future husband.

I turned my head back to front not being able to see my love being married to someone else. I blocked out the entire ceremony. My mind is in a haze, remembering each and every memory we've created together. Each memory brings tears to my eyes but I forced them down. I was knocked out of my thought by Dalton's clearing his throat. I looked up to see everyone staring at me.

"Huh?", I asked confused.

"Do you take Dalton Miller as your lawful husband, to have and to hold, from this day forward, for better or for worse, for richer or for poorer, in sickness and in health, to love and cherish until death do you part?", the priest repeated.

"I do", I gulped after saying those words. Two words that change my whole life. Two small words that hold a lot of powers. Two words that seal my fate. And two words that mean I now belong to another man. Dalton Miller. My best friend and I are now Alyssa Miller.

"Now you may kiss the bride", the priest said after I slipped the ring on his finger. Dalton lifted my veil and brought his hands on my waist before kissing me slowly. I pulled away quickly and hide my discomfort with a fake smile. Dalton interlocks our hands and we both made our ways down the stage towards the empty seat beside our parents.

"Do you take Amara Jones as your lawful wife, to have and to hold, from this day forward, for better or for worse, for richer or for poorer, in sickness and in health, to love and cherish until death do you part?", the priest asked Carl. "I do", he replied, and with that one tear escaped my eyes but quickly wiped it not wanting anyone to doubt anything.

"Do you take Carl Miller as your lawful husband, to have and to hold, from this day forward, for better or for worse, for richer or for poorer, in sickness and in health, to love and cherish until death do you part?", the priest asked Amara. "I do", she took her vow.

"You may now kiss the bride", the priest announced. The cry of agony threatened to leave from my mouth but I bit my lips, refraining doing that. I can see them kissing. The smile on my sister's face is priceless. That should be me but fate has played a very wicked game with my life. The man I love is now someone else. I always used to pray to god to make me Mrs Miller but never in my wildest dream I thought that my prayers will be heard in the wrong way. I wanted to become Alyssa Carl Miller but instead, I am Alyssa Dalton Miller now.