“i suppose it is,” milena replied softly, feeling a wave of love for rhett still mixed with an apologetic weight that he had ultimately done something he flat out didn’t want to for her. she loved him dearly for it, for always putting her and her desires first, but this was one thing that she’d tried to let go, and he’d seen right through her. “yes, okay, i’ll shut up,” she obliged, adjusting in her seat to lean against the closed door. if she couldn’t hold his hand or stand in front of him when they exchanged vows, she was at least going to try and get as close to him as she physically could even with a literal barrier between them. she waited with bated breath at the sounds of rustling paper and rhett clearing his throat. some parts made her chuckle, but it all made her smile, only broken when she bit her bottom lip to try and stop the tears that wet her eyes as he continued. her heart swelled as she listened, unable to believe how he could love her so much but grateful that she got to experience it and be his wife. “wow, okay…” she breathed out, sniffling as she dabbed at the bottom of her eyes carefully. “i thought you said they weren’t going to be poetic and romantic,” she half teased, really poking fun at herself for getting so teary so quickly. waving her eyes dry as best as she could, she reached into her dressing gown pocket for her own handwritten sheet. after another pause to collect herself with a quick deep breath, she started to read: “rhett, to say you’re the love of my life feels like an understatement. it’s an inadequate phrase when you are the love of my world, my universe, and my life a million times over.” milena’s voice cracked as more tears flooded, forcing her to take another quick breath to work up the ability to continue without crying. “you are my soul, my heart, my home, my everything. our love is greater than i can fathom in one lifetime, and i promise to never let a day go by that i don’t show you that love, tell you i love you, and remind you of how loved and special you are. i know i can be difficult to deal with, but i promise to do my best to bring you the joy and peace you deserve. you have done nothing but support me from the day we met, even when it means we are apart for too long, and i vow to support you in whatever you want to do for the rest of our lives. i vow to make sacrifices, to compromise, and to work with you each and every single day because you are all i want. you are all i need. and i promise to give you what you need, to listen and learn from my mistakes, and to be by your side through the best days and the worst. i promise to respect your boundaries and try not to push too hard, and i also promise to be there, whatever you need, holding your hand from near and far. i can’t promise i’ll get it right every single time, but i vow to never stop trying. because being with you and being your wife is now my ultimate dream come true, and i can’t believe i get to live my dream with you. thank you for loving me. thank you for choosing me. i will always choose you and i can’t wait to be your wife for the rest of my life.”
he couldn’t help a soft chuckle , shaking his head slightly as he looked down for a second . “ i hope holly found the good , waterproof stuff . ” he teased back , resting back against the door as he heard milena read her own vows , causing him to close his eyes with a small smile on his lips . it didn’t matter whatever milena said about his vows , and in a way , it didn’t matter what milena thought of her own . because at the end of the day milena was the only person in the world who could tell when rhett wanted to leave a place with nothing more than a glance at him from across the room , milena was the only person who could get him at ease with a smile , the only person who’d ever heard him sing to his heart’s content and ever see him cry in his entire adult life . and to him no amount of words would ever be able to make justice to the way he felt for her , to explain accurately why it was her and not anyone else , why he was hopelessly, irretrievably in love with her , despite and because of everything in their life . “ okay , come on you little rascal , open up and give me that hand already . ” rhett chuckled , moving forward again so his own weight wouldn’t push the door open if milena opened it . he had never been the type of guy who expected to get married , he didn’t go around life waiting to meet the one , but he had also never been the type to was running away from committment , or who on his wedding day would be shaking with cold feet , but that didn’t kept him from feeling a wave of warmth the moment he saw milena’s delicate hand sneaking past the cracked open door , wasting no time to engulf her petite hand with his larger , rougher one , letting his thumb brush her knuckles beofre intertwining his fingers with hers . “ you are the love of my life . ” he murmured , because even if to him it went without saying , even if milena knew he was the type of guy who didn’t need to say it , rhett knew she was the type of girl who need it to hear it ... she was the type of girl who deserved to hear it . “ everything i am , everything i have is yours . forever . ” he promised , turning her hand slowly to press a kiss on her open palm , letting silence hang for a couple of seconds before humming . “ see you out there ? ” he asked with a grin , like he was asking if he’d met her at a party or an event instead of their wedding . “ i’m gonna be the ridiculously dashing guy at the end of the aisle waiting to make you his wife . ”