Chapter 262: Something True
Vivian’s POV
"What do you mean you cannot do this? Do you not want to marry me anymore?" At Ryan’s heartbroken words, Vivian blinked in confusion.
What in the world was the man talking about? She had never said such a thing to him. Why would he even think that?
...Oh, I do not think I can do this. That was what she had said.
Realizing how he could have interpreted that statement, she rushed to reassure him.
"Ryan, stop. I love you, of course I want to marry you," He took a shaky breath, his eyes suspiciously shiny.
"Then what do you mean you can’t do it? What can you not do? Is it the theme? We can easily change that. If you don’t like the-" Before he could get carried away Vivian reached out and placed a finger over his mouth, silencing him.
Once he was quiet, she removed her finger and settled back down. Looking away from him, Vivian searched for the words that would get her point across without her sounding ungrateful.
Her hand going back to fiddling with her wedding ring, she played with it for a bit, quietly biting at her lower lip before she decided to just speak.
"Listen to me when I say this, there’s nothing more that I want than to be your wife. But as much as I want to be married to you, I do not like being the center of attention," Ryan gasped loudly at that, he looked like she had just told him she ate babies for fun.
"But Vivian, it’s our wedding day. Everybody’s eyes will be on you as they rightfully should. You are gorgeous and on that day you will be becoming my wife. Of course I want to show you off," Letting go of her ring to run a hand through her hair, Vivian nodded.
"Of course I get that, but the idea of the wedding being this big spectacle just does not sit well with me,"
Her eyes fixed on his, she was glad to see that he was at least listening, and that gave her the courage to speak her mind.
***
"Everything that I have heard you discussing with the planner from the food to the sitting arrangements sounds great, and it shows that you really do care about the wedding. But as grand as it all is, it is not me," Letting go of her engagement ring, she placed her hand over Ryan’s where he was holding on to her knee and squeezed briefly before letting go.
"The big wedding is just not me and after months of getting to know you, I believe that it is not you either. It does not sound at all like something that you would enjoy,"
"All you have been talking about is other people, and how they will experience things. I have not heard you bring something up because it is what you like. To me that is not right. The wedding should be about us, not about pleasing other people," Ryan was silent for so long after she had spoken that Vivian worried she had offended him somehow. Just as she was about to apologize and tell him that if it was what he really wanted, they could have a big wedding with all of the bells and whistles, the man began to speak.
"Now that you bring it up, you are right, the wedding that I’ve just told the wedding planner that I want truly isn’t something that I feel too deeply about. But that wedding that I’ve just described is the type of wedding that I am used to," Taking a moment, Ryan scratched at his chin, then he resumed speaking.
"In my world, big extravagant weddings are preferred, weddings where the who’s who, from all corners of the world rub shoulders. I am used to weddings being a combination of a celebration and a business deal. That is all that I know. Is there any other way to throw a wedding though?"
***
Vivian blinked slowly at Ryan, a bit of sadness seeping into her heart for him.
There it was, yet another small thing that gave away the fact that he had grown up in money. He was used to wedding celebrations that were not just about being happy for the couple, but that were also used to push business opportunities.
How sad.
He was so used to business marriages that he genuinely had no idea that there could be something else. Smiling softly at him, Vivian gave him an alternative to the extravagant affair that he’d seemed so dead set on having just a few minutes earlier.
"How about instead of having this huge celebration, we keep it small, intimate, we invite only the people who are closest to us and hold the ceremony in a place that has meaning to the both of us. It could be some place we’ve both visited before or we could make it somewhere with a lot of nature or a religious place,"
"It does not have to be flashy, it just has to be some place where we can be ourselves and celebrate without having to put on a show," Ryan stared at her for a beat, then a smile cut across his face.
"We can really do that?" He asked, and Vivian nodded.
"Of course, it will be our wedding day, anything we want goes," Suddenly Ryan was up in her personal space and was kissing her like there was no tomorrow. When he pulled back, they were both breathing heavily and smiling wide as he rubbed their noses together.
"How about we get married on Vivian’s Rose?" He asked, his voice small like he was too scared to speak suck a simple request loudly.
Vivian laughed softly, then she reached out and gently caressed his cheek.
"Getting married on Vivian’s Rose, of course, that sounds wonderful, just you, me, our favorite people all gathered in our favorite place," Ryan smiled at her easy acceptance and she smiled right back.
An intimate wedding on Vivian’s Rose, that sounded wonderful, and for the first time that day, Vivian found herself looking forward to the celebration.