Chapter 32: That man
Noelle escaped from the room, his breath coming fast and heart pounding. The giddiness bubbling inside was undeniable. He stepped outside and instinctively hid his flushed face behind his hands. Embarrassment washed over him, his cheeks burning. He couldn't stop thinking about Thorne's face this morning—so devastatingly handsome—and that rare smile that had made his stomach flip. The memory alone made him want to hide away, overwhelmed by the intensity of it all.
He absently touched the choker around his neck, the delicate velvet pressing against his skin, and was immediately transported back to their wedding day. It happened every time he held the necklace, a flood of memories that he cherished, though it always came with a bittersweet pang.
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**Two weeks ago...**
The little room inside the temple felt suffocating. Noelle shifted uncomfortably in the elaborate wedding attire, the layers heavy and foreign against his skin. His hair had been styled into an intricate updo, far more complex than anything he was used to. He barely recognized himself. The nervousness twisted his stomach into knots. *Why am I nervous? We're already married,* he thought. But the thought didn't calm his nerves as much as he hoped it would.
A soft knock echoed against the door, and Noelle instinctively sat straighter on the edge of the bed. "Come in," he said, his voice barely above a whisper.
Expecting to see a priestess, Noelle was stunned when Aunt Nancy entered the room instead. "Aunt Nancy?" Noelle's voice cracked, tears threatening to spill from his eyes.
"No, no, no, my sweet Noelle. Don't cry," Aunt Nancy rushed over, pulling a handkerchief from her sleeve to gently dab at Noelle's face. "You'll mess up your pretty face and all that fancy makeup they've done," she scolded lightly, her touch tender.
"How did you—how are you here?" Noelle asked, his voice thick with emotion.
"Your husband sent us money," Aunt Nancy said as she sat beside Noelle on the bed. "Enough money that almost the entire village could have come, but we decided it was best if I came on behalf of everyone. Thorne wrote in his letter that we were your family, and he wished we could be here for you on this day." Aunt Nancy's eyes sparkled with warmth. "So here I am."
Noelle's throat tightened with emotion, the love he had for his village and its people washing over him. "But... you shouldn't have used the money—"