Vigilant | N.H.

Epilogue.

June 24th, 2017.

NIALL'S POV
I never thought the day would come. Today's the day I get to marry the love of my life, Blair Collins. She came into my life right when I needed her and has never left my side. She's my rock—her essence is engraved into my heart and soul.

I adjust my tie in the mirror as Harry's reflection appears behind me. "You look great, man," he pulls me in for a hug. "Couldn't be happier for you." I nervously chuckle and stuff my letter to read to her before the ceremony inside of my grey suit jacket. "Niall, it's time for your first look with your bride-to-be! Hurry up!" Delaney impatiently shouts as I take a deep breath in.

I raise my eyebrows at Harry as I make my way outside. I walk down the stone path of the venue and remain turned around. I hear her high heels click on the pavement as she approaches me. "I can't see anything," she giggles before I feel her hands grab onto my shoulders. "I didn't fall yet," her infectious laughter creates a smile on my face. "How do we even do this?" I ask, confused as always. "Uh, count of 3? I'm not sure, I've never had to do this," she says before realizing that was kind of obvious. "Okay," I say before I start out. "3, 2, 1," we say in unison before we turn around.

I stand there, mindblown. There's no doubting her beauty on a normal day, but right now, I am completely speechless. "Wow..." I trail off as my hands rest on her shoulders. "You look..." I have no words. "You," her smile is bright and true. "Wow. I cannot wait to marry you. I wish I could just kiss you right now," she laughs, knowing it's bad luck if we do.

We pull out the vows we wrote for each other since they aren't allowed during a Catholic wedding ceremony. After many tears and "I love you's", we part our ways for the final time before saying "I do." I blow her a kiss goodbye as we walk our deprecate ways. "See you when you walk down the aisle, beautiful," I take in her beauty one more time before I make my way back into the room reserved for the guys and I.

Before I know it, it's about time to say I do.

As I stand at the end of the aisle waiting for my bride, I feel absolutely no nerves. I am confident in our future, for there is nobody else in the world as perfect for me as Blair. The live orchestra begins playing Vivaldi's La Primavera as the church doors of Saint Patrick's Cathedral fly open. The summer sun shines brightly, creating a luminosity as a flash of white appears.

There she is.

Slowly, Blair makes her way through the door as she steps out of the intense sunlight. She has on a full ball gown that's embellished with hundreds of crystals and pearls. Her head is held high, giving me a perfect view of her wide smile that peaks through the sheer veil. She is radiant.

She slowly walks down the aisle, taking in every last second of her life as she knows it before everything changes for us, forever. I feel the tears in my eyes start to form as my chest pounds like a drum. The second her mother hands her off to me, I feel completely at ease. I'm not nervous because I'm about to marry my best friend. There's nobody else in this world as perfect for me as her.

The religious ceremony begins and lasts for about an hour. "I now pronounce you husband and wife," the Priest's voice reigns with joy. "You may kiss your bride," he signals.

Those are the words I've been waiting to hear since the day I fell for her. I lean in, smiling into the kiss as everyone cheers around us. I dip her body backward, carefully wrapping around her waist to make sure she doesn't fall. Her full dress makes it challenging, but it makes it all the more worth it. "I love you, Mrs. Horan," I giggle, instantly receiving a smile from her. "I love you, Mr. Horan."

We walk down the aisle and to the outside of the church for some quick pictures of our wedding party. We get swarmed by all of our loved ones, barely leaving room for us to breathe. We knew it was coming, I mean, it's inevitable. Tears are shared amongst us all as we celebrate our union of us.