“ Smile because your world brightens up when you do. ” 
***
    —- Miranda —-
“ Mom… ” It felt like my heart got caught in my throat at the sight of my daughter in white.
I couldn't form a word as emotions rushed through me, I could see flashes of our moments together. 
The first time I'd held her, the first time she'd said Mom. Her first day at school, the day she'd finally opened up to me about her crush. 
I would never forget how long the conversation was that day  on a small picnic by the lake. 
  The blush on her cheeks and the glow in her eyes made me realize just how smitten my daughter was. 
“ I love him, Mom. ” I would never forget so soon how beautiful the words sounded when they echoed in the blue sky. 
And now? The same girl I had held as a baby and vowed to love and protect was now getting married to the love of her life. 
“ Babe. ” I couldn't control the tears that fell out of my eyes, as I stared at my daughter in the most beautiful dress I've seen. 
I've always admired super models in wedding dresses in magazines growing up. 
Never would I have thought that I would be seeing one more beautiful than a supermodel today, who's not just anyone but my own daughter, the same one I had carried in my womb along with her twin for nine solid months. 
“ I'm getting married. ” I couldn't stop myself from wrapping my arms tightly around her. 
“ Babe, it's your day. ” The words felt foreign, probably because it reminds me of my own wedding day and how emotional I was. 
 Though mine was different, as I didn't have my parents with me but Nuella is different and I'm super happy for her. 
“ Yeah… you'll be getting married to the love of your life, Honey. ” 
“ Hm… ”
“ I'm happy for you. ”
“ Thank you Mom, for everything. I love you.  ”
“ You are welcome. I love you more. ”
***
 — Joseph —
I've always believed Miranda usually overexaggerates father's reaction on their daughter's wedding day in her novels, but seeing my daughter in a white dress made some emotions well up within me.
I can very well recall the first time I'd set my eyes on her. Something had tugged at my heart strings as I stared at my little one, my own flesh and blood. Right at that moment, I'd vowed to love, care and protect her till the end of time. 
And now? That same girl will be leaving my house today, my house which had been her home for twenty two years. 
Staring at the girl in front of me I was automatically reminded of her super inquisitive three years old self.
  “ Hey, Dad. Can you teach me how to dance? ”
“ Yes, Hon. Hold my hand. ” I remember saying as I finally taught her how to dance. 
“ Dad, what is love? ” 
“ Where did you hear that from? ” 
“ Nuel. ”
“ What did he say? ”
“ He said he loves me. ” 
“ Um… I say I love you a lot of times too. ” 
“ I know, but it's different because you are my Daddy and you are meant to love me! ” He recalled how childish she sounded then.
“ Ok, Honey. ” He could only nod at her cuteness.  “ Love is beautiful. ”
“ Like butterflies? ” She’d grinned as her eyes shone like stars. 
“ More than that. ”
“ Oh wow, what could be more beautiful than a butterfly? ” He couldn’t help pinching her cheeks at her cuteness. 
“ Love, Honey. You know why? ”
“ Why? Because love never ends. ”
“ Oh… ”
“ The bible says, Prophecy and speaking in tongues will fail, but love never fails. ”
“ Realle? ”
“ Yup. ”
“ Love is beautiful, Dad. ”
“ Very. ” He replied, pulling his little princess into his arms. 
“ Dad… ” He stared at his little princess, who despite being 22 will always be a child in his eyes and sighed. 
“ Josephine. ” He closed the distance between them and embraced her.  “ I will miss you, Dad. ” How could he tell her that he’ll probably miss her even more?
“ I will miss the way you smile at me when I read the devotionals every morning, I will miss watching you in the kitchen making breakfast for us on weekends. I will miss how you talk to me about your life and experiences on the swing in the garden. I will miss you, Dad. ” Her tears came out in huge droplets and I couldn't help sighing, realizing just how she was ruining her makeup. But it can’t be helped, can it? 
“ I will miss you more, Honey… ” I smiled, blinking the tears away.  “ You were the best daughter I could ever dream of having and I know without any ounce of doubt that you are definitely going to be the best wife ever. ”
“ Thank you, Dad. Thank you for setting the example and raising the bar. I love you. ”
“ It is my pleasure. I love you more. ” 
***
“ Ella? ” Nuella turned at the sound of her twin's voice. He looked ever handsome and dashing in a white tuxedo. 
“ Nue. ” She ran into his open arms and embraced him tightly. 
“ I will miss you, Twinne. ” She cried, realizing how inseparable they’ve been over the years. Not only had they gone to the same highschool, they’d also gone to the same college and went camping for two weeks right after that. 
Through every challenge and storm, they were together. 
He was always there for her with the best advice and comfort. 
“ I promise to always be there for you, Ella. You’ve been a part of me since we were slowly being formed in the womb and you will forever be. I love you, Ella. ” He said at their college graduation. It had been a priceless moment indeed. 
And the truth is, he had been keeping that promise till date. 
“ I will miss you more, Ella. ” He broke her embrace and stared into her eyes, before fishing out a kleenex and slowly wiped out her tears.  “ It’s your day, Ella. You should smile more. ” Watching how he forced a smile made her heart ache. She knew very well how hard this was for him. 
“ Do you know my biggest fear, Ella? ” He’d said to her once when they’d laid together on a picnic mat by the beach. 
“ That I will get so attached to you and then will have to give you up someday. ” She understood his pain as she felt the same too. She often wondered if life would totally be the same without her twin in her life. 
“ That’s still a long time, isn’t it? ” Recalling that, she realized how fast time flies and now? It was her big day and she’ll be leaving both her family and everyone she knows to a different city in Washington where she would be starting a new life. 
“ Thank you, Nue. ” She smiled, embracing him once again. Oftentimes she wondered just how blessed she was to have three super amazing men in her life who love and adore her so much that she wondered if their love had any limits or boundaries. 
***
 Miranda couldn’t stop the tears that fell out of the corner of her eyes as she watched her husband and son walk their daughter down the aisle.  
  She’d written about this moment in a lot of her books, but what she didn’t expect was how super emotional it is in real life. 
  At that moment, she could very much understand how Nanny had felt when she’d gotten married decades ago. 
  “ It's normal, Hon. You’ll be fine. ” She smiled at the older woman, who had kept her promise of always being there for her. 
How blessed was she actually?
“ Thank you, Na. ” 
“ The feeling is normal, Bestie. Your daughter loves you and will never forget you. ” She turned to face Evelyn who looked so youthful and stunning at 48, for some reason, she felt the latter wasn’t aging at all. Cos how can one be so beautiful when fifty is fast approaching? How? 
“ Thank you, Evelyn. ”
“ What are friends for? ” She said to which they grinned.
***
“ Miss Nuella Winfrey, do you accept Mr Noel Damien, to be your lawfully wedded husband, to love and to cherish till death do you part? ”
“ I do. ”
“ Mr Noel Damien, do you accept Miss Nuella Winfrey to be your lawfully wedded wife, to love and to cherish till death do you part? ”
“ I do. ”
“ Does anyone have a reason why these two should not be joined, speak up now or remain silent forever. ” The moment they've all been waiting for came and for some reason they all turned to Noel, who was standing beside his bestfriends with no expression on his face. 
Seeing his nonchalant attitude, they figured they’ve judged him wrongly actually, cos if one thing, why would he attempt to ruin his twin’s big day? He couldn’t bear to make her sad, not to talk of hurting her with words. 
And now? Even though it killed him, he definitely wouldn’t say a word to refute it. 
“ God be praised. I pronounce you both, man and wife. What God has put together, let no man put asunder. ”
“ You may now kiss the bride. ” 
Under everyone’s watchful gaze, Noel lifted the veil on his wife’s face as he closed the distance between them and kissed her softly. 
“ He is quite brave. ” They heard Nuel’s silent mutter and couldn’t help breaking out in the pitfalls of laughter.
  
***
“ Our daughter is married. ” Miranda said quietly. 
“ Yeah… ” Joseph closed the distance between them and embraced her tightly. He knew without a doubt that it was going to be a long night for them, one without their beautiful daughter who was now someone else’s bride. 
“ I wonder if she will be like me. ” Her words caused him to smile.
“ I doubt she would. She is a strong girl, Hon. We’d raised her properly. ” 
“ Yeah… ” Just then there was a knock at the door, they turned towards it to see Nuel who was looking disheveled.
“ I couldn’t sleep. ” The duo weren’t surprised to hear that, knowing the depth of love he had for his twin and how lonely he must be feeling without her. 
Oftentimes, they wondered if the love he had towards her surpassed theirs, though the answer wasn’t so far fetched.
“ Let’s have a movie night, shall we? ” 
“ Yeah.  ”  In the end, they chose a movie that best suited the occasion and ended up praying for Nuella right after.
…
Meanwhile, Nuella had just become one with her husband in their hotel suite. 
Unlike her mom, she wasn't afraid of intimacy, but at the moment of vulnerability. 
She felt something she'd almost never felt before, oneness.
“ We are one, Jose. No longer two. ” She smiled at him as she recalled the words her Dad had once spoken to her mom.
“ Yeah… ”
“ And we are going to build a family together and make lots of babies. ” She chuckled, thinking of how Noel would have probably punched him if he'd heard that from him. But wait, he can't do that anymore now that she is married. Besides, she wasn't meant to be thinking of him right now.
“ It's alright, you'll get over it. ” She felt her heart soar at how understanding he was.
Indeed, no one would totally understand a twin unless they’ve been around one or once had one.
The latter was Noel's case and though his sister was no longer in existence, she will always be in his heart. 
….
A/N : How beautiful! What do you think, guys?