They turned a corner and then she saw where they were going and her breath hitched in her chest. Why would he do this? She knew he was angry with her for keeping his son from him but why would he go to so much trouble to give her the fairytale wedding she’d always wanted and then chose the one spot that spelled complete heartbreak for her.

As they pulled up in front of the little church she’d been left standing alone at she noticed he’d been busy. The little building, which had once been condemned, was now completely remodeled. It was the same church and looked like it must have when it was originally built but it was now completely fixed up and had flowers decorating the stairs, leading up inside of it.

She refused to leave the carriage. The doorman stood there, looking slightly panicked, as the bride refused to exit. She felt a tear slip down her face and didn’t care if her make-up was most likely ruined. She didn’t care about any of it. All she cared about was that even on her wedding day Derek felt he must punish her for some unknown reason.

She told the carriage driver to take her away and he looked at her like she’d lost her mind. She knew he’d been hired by Derek and there was no way he was leaving with the bride still in the carriage but she had to try. She saw the doors open and then Daniel was descending the stairs. She’d always loved Derek’s father and though she would’ve normally been happy to see the man, today wasn’t one of those days.

He came up to the doors and saw her silently crying. He said nothing for a few moments as he stood there and then silently handed her a handkerchief for her to wipe her face on.

“What’s the matter, Jasmine?” he asked, with what sounded like true concern.

“Why does he want to hurt me so much? I don’t understand why he’d pick this place for our wedding. This is the place he left me standing on my own. Is he even in there, or has this all been one big joke to him?” she blurted out, not even caring it was his father she was speaking to.

Daniel’s eyes widened in surprise, as she spoke to him but he only said he’d be back. He spoke softly to the driver and then patted her hand and walked back into the church. The carriage was suddenly moving once again and Jasmine was surprised but very happy as he pulled around a corner. He didn’t move far but at least she wasn’t in view of the one place holding so much heartbreak.

She was trying to decide whether or not she should walk away in her huge dress or just sit there until the driver decided they could leave. Then, the door opened again and Derek slid in beside her. He looked at her face in confusion as her tears silently fell.

“My father said I needed to talk to you, so here I am. We have a deal Jasmine and I hope you’re smart enough to remember that. I’ve done everything possible to make this the wedding you wanted,” he told her, in an almost cynical voice.

“Why would you choose this spot?” she questioned him, as some fresh tears escaped. He stared at her another moment before he spoke.

“I thought this place was very fitting, after all it’s the spot you sent your father to buy me out of your life. I thought it was ironic to marry in the place where you let me know I wasn’t good enough for you,” he almost spat.

It was now Jasmine’s turn to stare open mouthed at him. She didn’t know what he was talking about. He was the one who had left her, not the other way around. Her tears dried up in her confusion and she barely noticed when he grabbed the napkin and cleaned her face up.

“You left me, not the other way around,” she barely whispered to him. “Why would you say my father paid you off? Why are you saying any of this? I don’t understand,” she cried. Being in this spot was making it all new and fresh. The pain from that day still haunted her, especially when she looked into her son’s face.

They both looked into one another’s eyes as they tried to figure out what the other was talking about.

“Why don’t you tell me about that day?” he finally asked her. He was starting to have a really bad feeling in his gut.

“Why would you want me to humiliate myself still?” she questioned him. She couldn’t believe he was so horrible that he’d get enjoyment out of her pain.

“Please just tell me everything that happened after we said goodbye that night?” he asked her and the change in his tone alerted her that something was wrong. He didn’t sound condemning or accusatory. He sounded as if he really wanted to know what she’d done, so she began to relive the worst day of her life.

She told him how she had gone home and told her dad everything and that he’d been supportive. She told him how she’d gone to the church and waited until the sun sunk from the sky. She explained she’d never been more devastated in her life and when she found out a while later she carried his child the pain had been two-fold. It was horrible. She was crying once more by the end of her talking.

Derek said nothing, as she told him the truth of that morning. He had no doubts what she said was true. He now understood it had been her father all along and the man had succeeded at breaking them up. Her father was truly a horrible man, because he must’ve known the child she carried was his and yet he still hadn’t tried to fix things. The man deserved everything that had happened to him in the last couple of months and so much more.

Derek finally took her chin in his hands and lifted her sad eyes up to meet his. She looked so heartbroken and it killed him to know he was responsible for her pain. She hadn’t left him, he realized and his heart was bursting with joy. He loved her even more than he did when they were still young and naive.

He loved the woman she was, both now and then and he couldn’t believe they’d wasted so much time and he’d purposely tried to hurt her. He felt at an all-time low and vowed to make it up to her the rest of their lives.

He said nothing as he continued to gaze down into her beautiful, sad eyes. He slowly lowered his head and captured her lips with his. The kiss was gentle and filled with the love that was overflowing from him. He kissed her for several minutes, before trailing his lips across her cheeks, to kiss away the tears and then he lowered his head to gently nip the smooth silk of her throat.

She was no longer crying, as he continued to gently kiss her all over her mouth, face and neck. He didn’t pull her close against him, as he didn’t want to hurt her beautiful gown but his gentle touch showed her so much love it was indescribable.

He reluctantly pulled away from her and once again looked into her eyes. “Jasmine, I have so much to apologize for, so very much,” he started. “I was there at the church that morning. I was there early because I couldn’t wait to run away with you,” he said and her eyes were rounding in confusion.

“Your father showed up. He told me you didn’t want to be with me any longer and he offered me a lot of money to start my new life. I actually believed the man. I was so angry with him and extremely angry with you. I thought you’d flung me aside, like a piece of trash and I vowed to have my revenge from that point on,” he said, with regret in his voice. He didn’t give her a chance to speak as he continued.

“I was hurting so bad and that thought of revenge was what motivated me but when I saw you again, I realized I still loved you. I lied to even myself and said I just wanted to take you to bed and then leave you, like you’d left me but that wasn’t true either. That first time we were together again, after so many years, knocked me off my feet. Every time I touch you, it’s never enough. It’s so much more than sex. It’s because I love you even more today than I did ten years ago. Please tell me you’ll forgive me and this wedding can be a real marriage,” he pled with her.

Jasmine listened to him, with hope starting to fill her heart. By the time he was finished speaking, her chest was so full she didn’t understand how her heart wasn’t beating right through. She was saddened to realize all the years they’d wasted but she realized none of that mattered anymore because he loved her and she truly loved him and they could be a real family.

“I’m so sorry Derek. I really thought you had just walked away from me all those years ago. I never once suspected my father but I should’ve. He’s not a good man and over the last few months I have really come to realize that. I’m sorry he cost you half of our child’s life. I should have tried harder to find you,” she said.

He brought his lips back down to hers and kissed her with so much hunger and love, that she was tempted to skip out on the wedding and tell the driver to take them back home. As if he could read her thoughts he quickly pulled back and still not trusting himself jumped out of the carriage.

“You’re far too tempting, woman. We have a wedding to get to,” he said, with a brilliant smile. He spoke to the driver and then jogged back towards the church. This time when the carriage pulled up in front of the carpet, she was more than ready to step from its doors. The doorman looked more than relieved when she took his hand and stepped down on the carpet.

The driver must not have been taking any chances, because as soon as she was clear of the carriage, he drove away to go park. She giggled a bit at the speed in which he left.

She stood on the wide carpet and could feel her nerves overtaking her. She didn’t have any bridesmaids, nor someone to walk her down the aisle and she suddenly felt so lonely. She could now understand why the bride always walked down on her father’s arm. It was so she wouldn’t fall over, or run the other way. The thought of that long walk was intimidating when you were all on your own.

She saw the doors open, just as the attendants got her dress all situated. Daniel was once again walking down the steps and coming towards her. “I’m coming this time, I promise,” she told him, with her first real smile of the day. He leaned down and kissed her on the cheek. She was filled with warmth from the easy acceptance of this wonderful man.

“I don’t have any fears of you running away, Beautiful,” he started. “I wanted to offer my services to you. I know your own father couldn’t be here today so I thought you might like an arm to lean on,” he said to her.

Jasmine was so filled with love for this amazing man. He knew her father wasn’t there because he didn’t want to be there, not because he couldn’t be but he made sure to word his sentence in a way that wouldn’t hurt her. He was also standing in to be the kind of dad her own should have been. Her eyes once again filled up, causing the attendants around her to groan.

“Now don’t start crying again young lady, or we’ll never get you to that alter,” he said, with a gentle laugh and suspiciously bright eyes himself.

“It would be my honor to have you walk me down the aisle,” she finally managed to get past the lump in her throat.

Their arms intertwined and slowly they made their way to the front of the church. The double doors were opened and Jasmine was left speechless by what she saw inside. There were thousands of twinkling lights strung throughout and the scent of roses wafted in the air from the hundreds of arrangements placed everywhere.

The small church was packed from front to back, with guests who were all standing and turned towards her. She had to fight the tears to not fall once again. She looked down the aisle, strewn with rose petals, to Derek who looked so handsome standing at the front and Jacob by his side. Drew and Ryan were standing in the spot where bridesmaids would normally be so that her side didn’t look so empty.