FIRST NIGHT OF FOREVER ❤‍🔥❤‍🔥❤‍🔥

Special thanks to Dami Joshua and an anonymous friend for sponsoring this dream. I appreciate.

 _Morning; February 16_

"3, 2, 1...," she counted gently with her eyes closed. Then she let out a deep breath and looked at herself in the mirror.

"Well, Christy. Don't you like it?" a pretty podgy woman with rosy cheeks and a matronly look about her asked. She was dressed in a royal purple suit; an attire befitting the mother of the bride.

Christina studied her stone studded wedding dress with a lacey bodice and feathery skirt. The shoulder straps were creamy and held her delicately. The area around her waist was as tight as her lungs. Still, they made her very comely.

"If you want, we can change it right away..."

"Oh, mumkin. It's beautiful! It's just... I can't breathe," Christina said with a chuckle.

"I understand, dear," her mother said and stroke the skirt of the wedding dress. " I felt the same way on my day. I was so nervous I tried to wear your pappy his wedding ring on his thumb."

Christina laughed and made an expression that asked, really? Her mother caressed her cheek and smiled into her beautiful face.

"Thanks, mumkin. I feel a whole lot better," Christina said.

"You should. John is one hunk of a man," her mother replied and gave her a sly wink.

"Mumkin!" Christina exclaimed and laughed.

Christina stared at her wedding dress again, this time, she felt easy. She stared at the bouquet of flowers in her hand and sniffed them.

 _30 minutes later..._ 

"Da! Da-dadum. Da-duh-duh-dum," Christina blushed at a memory of her little self dance to the Wedding March. As a little girl, she had loved the story of her father and mother's wedding day. Today, she would have her own story to tell her children.

"Are you ready, hun?"

Christina blinked and looked at her father. He was very handsome in his French tux and suede loafers. "Of course!" Christina replied hastily.

He grew grave. Christina looked at him and saw his face shrink to a frown. "Pappy," Christina called and pulled him into a hug. "We talked about this."

"I know, hun. It's just you being the youngest and... Don't forget to visit," he said resolutely.

"I promise." She gave him a kiss and smiled. He smiled back. Then the doors opened and the organist struck the chord for the wedding March.

John's eyes shone with love and admiration as Christina reached the head of the aisle and took her place beside him. Instinctively , he took her hand and kissed it. Christina beamed and some people in the congregation gave a soft aw. The priest looked on.

"Brothers and sisters, today, we have come to witness the binding of man" he gestured at Christina, "and woman" he gestured at John, "to become husband and wife."

Christina gawked at the old priest before catching John stifling his laughter. She lowered her face and touched her smiling lips.

"This sacrament was honoured by Christ in the miracle of Cana..."

John leaned close and whispered, "How about I tell him to cut the sermon short and get to the kissing part?"

"John!" Christina exclaimed before she could think. She slapped her hand against her mouth and stared wide-eyed at the priest. John chortled once, twice, then he burst into fits of giggles. Christina did same and the whole congregation laughed. The priest only shrugged.

Finally, the vows, Christina thought as she looked at the cushion that held two silver wedding bands. She stretched her delicate fingers out to John and stared at him as he vowed his love to her.

"For better or worse, in sickness and health..." Here, he looked at her. Her eyes shook for a moment but she couldn't look away. She watched his mouth move as he said the rest of his vow and felt the pressure of his hand on her finger. A deep warmth flooded her as the ring fitted. She had felt the warmth many times before, but this time, it was enveloping, almost burning her within.

"It's your turn, sweet," Cherry, her bridesmaid said as she held up the cushion. Christina picked the cold silver ring and took a deep breath. Her lungs felt tight again. She swallowed air and looked at the card that spelt out her vows.

"I, Christina..."

Are you sure about this, Christy? A quiet voice whispered in her ears. Christina's eyes wandered to her father, her mother and her two sisters and their family seated on the first pew. Their faces held no answer for her. She looked at her friends and relations, and at John's friends and his relations who, in a few words, would be her relations as well.

Christina looked at the charming man before her. His eyes spoke fear, desperation, love. It asked, "Don't you love me?"

"I do." She fixed the ring on his finger.

John relaxed and gave a broad grin.

"I now pronounce you..."

There was no need. The young groom was already crushing the lips of his beloved bride with his.

 _Evening, February 16._

"Congratulations, darling. John is a good man."

"He's handsome too."

"You two will make a beautiful family!"

Christina heard none of this. She had changed from her wedding dress to a lovely silk gown. Still, she felt choked, breathless. In her mind roamed the question, "Is this right?" She knew it was, but then... "Am I ready?"

Then she caught sight of John, her husband. She needed comfort but the burning look in his eyes that she had never seen before made her more nervous.

"It's okay, dear. It's simple, like... Having a conversation," her mother had told her when they had had _the talk_.

Yeah, a conversation. Only with more action and less talk. The thought of this made her giddy. She knew this was one of the things she had looked forward to when she had said yes, but now that it was glaring at her, she wanted to scream, to run to...

"Are you alright?" John asked as he slipped his hands round her waist from behind and stretched his neck to look into her face.

Christy turned to face him. Her beautiful fingers adorned his shirt as she gazed into his eyes and whispered, "I love you."

John smiled. He drew his face closer as he whispered, "I love you, too. I can't wait..."

"We have to," she interrupted and removed his tightening grip from around her. He smiled in response and pressed a kiss on her forehead. Then he left after a lingering look that told her they shared the same thoughts. However, she noticed he was more nervous than her.

 _Night, February 16_ 

They didn't have to wait for long. Night seemed to be earnest to give the couple their privacy from family and well wishers.

Home, she whispered in the bedroom that would tell the secrets of her first night with him, the first night of forever.

Home, she thought again with glee and expectation. Her fear eluded her and her long subdued desires danced with yearning. At last! She was with him, the man she loved. They would have this conversation and she had nothing to be afraid of, for there was no truer man in all the world than John.

Then it happened. He joined her in the room, and they talked. They talked of love, happiness, children! They talked of all things sweet, yet not a word was said. Not a word; only two hearts beating with love and desire.

The talk was soon ended and Christina wished it would happen again. Just as she pulled John to feel the skin of her neck, he jerked away violently and ran to the bathroom. Christina woke up rudely from her spell of desire and wondered innocently if this were part of the conversation. Through the darkness, she heard John wretch and gasp in the bathroom.

Convinced that this was definitely not part of the conversation her mother had told her about, she pulled on her silk wrap and rushed for the light. John, breathing heavily, fumbled about the room panicky as ever until he reached a cabinet. He pulled out a white container and shakily tore the lid off. Then he threw a number of white pills into his hand and threw them in his mouth. As he swallowed water from the tap, Christina stared at the bottle of medicine.

"Oh, God. Why now?" John said struggling hard to breathe. He suddenly remembered he had a wife when a confused little voice whispered, "Cancer?"

John gasped and stared sharply at Christina. He immediately burst into a fit of painful coughing. Still, he had caught sight of her white face.

"Christy... I... Expl..." Coughs fitted in the blank spaces. Christina simply stared.

"Darling..." John cooed hoarsely as he weakly clutched at her. Christina would have none of that. She pushed him roughly and glared as the lump in her heart pushed up to her throat. Then she left for the bedroom.

"Christy, wait! Let me explain."

Mad, she approached her wedding gown on the chair and began to rip it screaming wildly.

"Christy, stop!"

"Let me!" she fired, a cold evil look in her eyes. That scared John and he watched as Christina paced around a bit before going for her wardrobe. She flung out her recently unpacked traveling bag and stuffed clothes into it.

"Chris! Christy, wait please! Don't do that. Let me explain, darling. Baby! Please, don't go!"

Christina shoved him and cried in a choked voice, "Why! Why should I stay?" In a broken whisper, "You lied to me. You made me swear to spend eternity with you but you lied."

"I'd never lie to you, hon..."

"Then why didn't you tell me the truth?"

John cowered. He gulped remorsefully. Tears filled his eyes as he struggled for words.

For a swift moment, Christina was overcome by his touching remorse and her love for him. She fondled his face affectionately and murmured staring into his eyes, "It's not that bad, right? It'll be better. You'll be okay, hmm?"

Deceived by her mood swing, he replied, "It's terminal."

Christina let go, backed away and laughed hysterically. She leered at John before continuing her packing.

"Christina..."

"Don't you dare touch me!" she screamed immediately his cold fingers touched her arm.

John whimpered. The bag was almost full. With a sob, he fell on his knees beside her; he was careful not to touch her. Then he begged like a weeping child, "Don't go, please. I wanted to tell you. I just didn't want you to leave me. The first day we met... At the bridge... I was going to take my life. I didn't want to cut my hair, do chemo and suffer like my mother. I was scared. I wanted to die. Then you showed up. You wanted to jump off the bridge. I stopped you and you thanked me for holding on to life. I thought you meant me."

"Just stop," Christina sobbed.

"I wanted to tell you. I made plans on how to everyday we met. I tried to but the more I fell in love with you, the less I wanted you to leave me."

"John!"

"The night I proposed, you, you told me why you wanted to jump off that bridge. You said that the people you loved always left you. That was when I knew... I'd never be able to tell you."

"So you kept a secret from me to keep me? And you still looked me in the face and told me you loved me?"

"I do love you..." John pleaded and grabbed her hand. With a bitter thrust, she pushed him away from her and fell on the floor weeping her broken heart out.

She sobbed, "This was supposed to be for forever! Why are you dying? Why...?"

"Forgive me. Please. I'm sorry. I'm sorry, Christina. Please, don't leave me. I'll die... Without you... I don't want to die. God, I don't want to die..." John sobbed pathetically.

Christina looked at him. The tall handsome and happy man was reduced to nothing; just a broken terminally ill shadow. He would die soon. Cancer was his death sentence. He would die... And she would be a widow before her wedding bouquet had withered with age.

He would die...

"You won't."

John looked up from his tears and looked at Christina like how the desert sand stared at water.

"You won't die," she mumbled between chokes, "You'll live. You'll live, John. We'll get through this together..." She crawled towards him and touched his face, "You won't go to the hospital. You won't do chemo. Your hair..." She ruffled it a bit and forced a painful smile which was followed by three sobs. "You're not cutting it. We'll live everyday happy and free. We'll love... We'll stay together. We'll have children! You won't die, John... And I won't leave."

In spite of her breaking heart, she pulled John to feel the skin of her neck. He felt it and wet it with his tears.

"Forever," she whispered and closed her eyes.

EPILOGUE

Live, he did. For a day, a week, a month, three months! Every moment was spent with joy and happiness. Sure it wasn't easy for our heroine but she had vowed that she would make her forever last, and his never not so painful.

The sun rose and set on their undying affection. Daily, she doted on him. Daily, she watched him die. Slowly... Slowly... She prayed earnestly that he would live, just a little longer, but the night he collapsed to the floor and struggled for breath in her arms, she knew his angel had come.

"John... No... We still have forever to go, remember? We already planned our first anniversary. Don't quit on me now, John. John?" Christina wept sorrowfully.

With his last strength, he gripped her hand, pulled it to his mouth and kissed her ring. Then he said, "Thank... you."

Alas, he died, unafraid and happy, for he was in the arms of his forever love. And she, she had given him the forever he had always wanted. But now that his forever was over, hers had to continue.

"Mumkin!"

Christina looked up from her wedding photo and beamed at her little boy, John.

THE END 🌹