Knight in Shining Suit (71 page)

Tears welled up in my
eyes. I leaned forward and gave Ryder a kiss on the lips. “Yes. I
am happy, Ryder. Are you?”

He smiled at me gently.
Then he said, “Bliss, love. This is bliss.”

When a new song played, I
danced with my friends, and Ryder’s male relatives, although there
weren’t many of them. Ryder danced with my mother and my aunts and
some of my young nieces and cousins.

I danced with John, who
was completely ignoring both Nicole and Adam and I was scared to
ask him about it. Maybe I’ll save all my questions for after my
honeymoon.

I danced with Adam, who
seemed nonchalant about the whole thing. And I know that if I do
ask him about Nicole, I will not get a proper answer anyway, so
what was the point?

I also danced with Dannie,
who couldn’t help asking me if I knew what was going on with the
three. I told him I knew nothing and he must not press any of them.
I made him promise not to meddle.

I even danced with Garrie,
who admitted to me that his heart broke when he told me the first
time he met me that my engagement ring was a fake. He told me that
he was so glad to be part of my wedding… to see that it all turned
out perfectly well for me in the end.

I was emotional when I
danced with my father, and he cried a lot too. He kept telling me
how proud he was of me and how happy he was that I am very happy
with Ryder.

I also danced with Uncle
Jack. He was very happy because he knew he didn’t have to worry
about me. That I’ve gotten over what Geena and Bryan did to me, and
it all worked out for the better.

Then finally, I was back
in Ryder’s arms. He leaned forward and kissed my lips gently. “This
is probably the best wedding arrangement I have seen,” Ryder said
to me.

“
It was probably the most
expensive too.” I complained. I actually didn’t know how much the
whole wedding cost. Nicole knew because she spoke to all the
suppliers. And of course Ryder knew because he wrote the
checks.

He laughed. “It’s nothing,
love,” he said. “The twinkle, the pride and the happiness that I
see in your eyes are all worth it.”

I leaned my head on his
chest and sighed contentedly. Who would have thought that about a
year ago, I was devastated because my dream wedding was stolen from
me. And now… I got married, and I had the wedding of my wildest
imagination, and my real prince made it all happen for
me.

When I opened my eyes, a
familiar, beautiful blonde caught my attention. She was sitting in
the corner, holding a toddler in her arms.

I looked at her. She still
looks pretty, but her eyes looked old, like they were hiding layers
of sadness in them. I remembered sending her an invitation, but I
was not really sure that she would come.

Bryan was in prison for
months, and now he’s being placed on rehab. Geena filed a divorce
on the grounds of infidelity, physical assault and psychological
incapacity. I felt sorry for her, but I know that she was also
better off. No matter what she did to me, she still deserved a
better man.

Geena’s eyes met mine, and
she smiled at me shyly. I realized that I could not hold her a
prisoner of her guilt anymore because I am truly happier now. And
if it weren’t for her, maybe I would not have been here with Ryder,
making my dreams come true. Her fate could have been
mine.

Slowly, I smiled at her.
Then I took a deep breath and mouthed,
“I
forgive you.”

Somehow, she understood my
message, like she always did when we were growing up. She always
gets my sentences even before I finish speaking. Tears brimmed her
eyes and she nodded at me. Then she smiled. I felt the warmth and
sincerity in that smile.

“
Thank you.”
She mouthed back.

Tears welled up in my
eyes, too. And I felt like a hundred tons was lifted from my chest.
I didn’t know that I was still holding this anger inside me until I
finally decided to let it go. And I felt better. Because no matter
what Geena did to me, we were still cousins… and we were like
sisters, and I knew I would always love her.

I looked back at Ryder. He
reached up and wiped a tear from my cheek. He’d been watching Geena
and me the whole time and he witnessed what happened between
us.

“
You’re truly an amazing
woman, love,” he said. “You have a good heart and a pure soul. More
than your beauty and charm, I am in love with how good you are
inside. I’m so glad you’re my wife. And I hope our kids will be as
kind-hearted as you are.”

I glanced back at him in
surprise. “Kids?” The thought warmed my heart.

He nodded. “Please pass on
your violet eyes to at least one of them.”

I laughed. “How many kids
do you plan to have, Mr. Van Woodsen?”

“
Minimum three,” he
replied. “Two boys, one girl. Or two boys, two girls… or three boys
and two girls… or…”

“
Ryder, stop!” I laughed.
I knew where he was going with that. It made me feel warm that he
wanted many kids… because I do. I was an only child and I only had
Geena when I was growing up. It would be nice to have siblings who
are also your best friends. “We’ll have as many kids as we will be
blessed with.”

He leaned his forehead
towards mine. “And I will take care of all of you. You will have a
lot of little princes and princesses in your ‘ever after’, love. I
promise you that.”

Just then, Nicole, Paris,
and Jake interrupted us.

“
It’s almost time.” Paris
said.

I was confused. I didn’t
know what was going on. Ryder nodded and then Paris grabbed my
hand, pulling me with her. Nicole grabbed my train and we hurried
into the house.

“
What is going on?” I
demanded.

They smiled. “You can’t go
to your honeymoon in your wedding gown.”

“
I don’t even know where
we are going,” I said.

“
Just trust my brother.”
Paris said. “He’s been planning this for months.”

Ryder took care of the
honeymoon and he refused to tell me where we were going. I don’t
even have a clue.

Before I knew it, Paris
and Nicole were undressing me, taking out the flowers in my hair
and I was being dressed in an elegant halter-top purple dress that
went all the way to my knees. Nicole insisted I wear a pair of
shorts under my dress. Then she handed me a pair of violet beaded
thong sandals. Paris managed to fix my hair into a half-pony. My
hair still looked wonderful, but much simpler than it was during
the wedding.

Then they led me out to
the front of the mansion. Ryder met me by the stairs. He too had a
change of outfit. The suit was gone and he was now wearing a pair
of pants and loose long-sleeved shirt.

He took my hand and kissed
it. Then he leaned forward and kissed me thoroughly on the lips.
Our guests were around us, clapping their hands, cheering for
us.

“
I love you, Mrs. Van
Woodsen,” Ryder said. Then he motioned for me to look at the skies
above me.

Suddenly a streak of light
sparked in the sky. Followed by a loud sound. And then the whole
sky burst into a million different colors. It was beautiful and
breathtaking… just like the man beside me.

Tears brimmed my eyes. I
stared up at him. I completely crossed out fireworks on the list
and exchanged it for the starlit dome in the garden. Ryder didn’t
tell me that I was going to have fireworks after all. I forgot that
this man
really
listens to me. When I dream out loud, when I talk about the
things that I wanted… things that would make me happy... this man
was listening and he remembers every single thing.

“
Thank you for the
fireworks.” I said to him.

“
Thank you for marrying
me.” He whispered and then he kissed me again.

Immediately, after the
fireworks display, we heard a loud sound from the sky. I looked up
again and found a helicopter descending in front of the huge
garden.

“
Our ride is here,” Ryder
said.

“
Seriously?” I asked.
“Where are we going?”

“
To the airport. We can’t
miss our flight,” he replied. Jake handed him our bags and then he
pulled me away with one hand.

Again, everybody
congratulated us and sent us their love and well wishes.

“
Astrid, my only wish is
that when you come back, you already have something baking in the
oven.” Ryder’s mother whispered to me.

I laughed nervously and
looked at Ryder. He smiled at his mother. “I will try my best,
Mother.”

Then Ryder took my arm and
led me towards the helicopter. Now I realized why Nicole insisted
that I wear shorts underneath my dress. Ryder guided me up and then
he climbed in himself. Our guests and relatives waved us off. As
the helicopter ascend to the sky, tears were rolling down my
cheeks. I waved back at them and threw them flying
kisses.

Everything was just
surreal… perfect. Even if I planned the wedding well, Ryder managed
to make it even more perfect for me. He still managed to throw in a
couple of surprises. I leaned my head on his shoulder. I felt a
kiss on my forehead and I closed my eyes to savor the warmth,
comfort, and security that I felt in his arms… where I know I will
forever belong in for as long as I live.

When we arrived at the
airport, Ryder told me that he was taking me to Maui.

“
We’ll stay five days
there, then we’ll go to Tahiti. Then to the Caribbean, then we’ll
head off to Asia. On the way back we’ll pass by France and
Italy.”

My eyes widened.
“Seriously, Ryder?”

He grinned. “Seriously.”
Then he leaned forward and kissed me thoroughly. “Why did you think
my mother was so hopeful that she’ll have a grandchild when we get
back?”

I laughed. “How long are
we going to be gone?”

“
A month…”

My eyes widened. “A
month!”

“
And two.” He
added.

“
What?” I couldn’t believe
what I was hearing. “Three months? Who goes on a honeymoon for
three months?” I asked him.

He laughed. “Us, love.
Us.”

“
What about Oil Rig?” I
asked.

“
Paris will take care of
that. And I’ve asked Adam to look at the reports twice a
month.”

“
And Ever After Malibu and
Manhattan?”

“
Relax. Nicole is taking
care of that. And… Dannie and Garrie are helping as well. Plus
Janis is practically not working. So on her spare time, I think
she’ll also give a hand.”

“
Wow! They really love us,
don’t they?”

“
Yes. Plus, they’re being
well-compensated for it, don’t worry.” He chuckled.

Then his face descended
towards mine and he kissed me thoroughly again. He only needed to
do that and I would do anything and go anywhere with
him.

I took a deep breath. “I’m
glad I ran into you at the jewelry shop that day, Ryder. And I’m
glad you served me margaritas at Oil Rig that night. You… are
everything I dreamed my Prince would be… maybe even more. You are…
wonderfully surreal.”

He chuckled. “I’m glad
that you still believe in fairy tale romances.”

I stared up at him and
smiled contentedly. “Of course I do,” I said. “I am in
one.”

And with one happy smile,
Ryder said, “I love you very, very much, my sweet Princess. Thank
you for choosing me to make your ‘ever after’ come true… I promise
to make you happy… now and for the rest of our lives.” Then he
leaned forward gave me a thorough kiss on the lips.

I closed my eyes and
kissed him back. I thought that if this were what was in store for
me from the very beginning, I would gladly go through all those
heartbreaks again. Because I know I would never trade my life with
Ryder for anything else. What I had with Bryan was a good thing for
a while, but what I have with Ryder now… is a blessing, a reward, a
present… a miracle that I would treasure forever.

Had I known this at the
time I found out Bryan was cheating on me or when Ryder lost his
memories of me… I would not have cried rivers of tears… I would not
have lost hope. I would have had the courage because this man in my
arms now… my Prince, my Knight in Shining Armor… is absolutely
worth everything I have been through.

And I will thank God every
day that this time… there will be no more heartaches, no more
pains. This time, I get to spend the rest of my life with Ryder Van
Woodsen. This time I truly get to keep him in my ‘ever
after’.

About the Author

Jerilee Kaye
was born under the sign of Leo in the
year 1979.

She graduated with a Bachelor’s
Degree in Legal Management and with post-graduate qualifications in
the fields of Product Management, Project Management, and
Procurement.

She is currently managing a global
vendor portfolio for a multinational company based in
Dubai.