Post by Cyrus Daniels on Apr 19, 2024 15:02:53 GMT
In every way that mattered to Cyrus Daniels, Vivienne Rodgers was already his. In two months, in every way that mattered to her, she would vow to remain his forever. June 20th 2024, the summer solstice. The longest, brightest day of the year. The date had been saved, and notice given directly to Roberto Verona.
Vivienne Rodgers would finally have her special day, the day she’d dreamt about daily since she was fourteen - her blessed wedding day. This wasn’t going to end in tears like Ulf Hednir or Xavier Cross because Cyrus Daniels actually loved her, and not just the idea of her. He loved her enough to agree to a very definite date by which he would be her husband, rather than dragging his feet or leading her on, as other men had.
Unlike past relationships, Cyrus’ ownership of her was not only entirely consensual, but also crucially had nothing to do with the allure of her body or the legacy behind her last name, and that made all the difference in the world. Though Vivienne was well traveled by virtue of her family business, she had never had the luxury of being free to travel for recreation, until now.
Cyrus carried Liam and Vivienne carried Noah, as they took a private stroll through the romantic tulip fields of Keukenhof Gardens. Vivienne squeezed his hand firmly, grounding him in the natural beauty of a moment that was more foreign to him than it was to her.
Of course Vivienne belonged here, Cyrus thought, she fit in so perfectly with the other flowers that part of him feared he may lose her. By contrast, he felt like a cactus, standing out and feeling prickly, but he smiled through it for her, because sometimes that’s all love really required. And Cyrus was in love, there was absolutely no doubt about that. Vivienne was special because the more time he spent around her, the more she seemed to soothe his itchy palms and quicken his heart with a brand new love. For years, he had convinced himself that nobody would ever love him again like Virginia Spencer had, and he was right. Vivienne didn’t love him anything like Virginia, she loved him even more.
It was a love he wasn’t sure he deserved or could ever fully reciprocate, but he tried through the little things, like hiring Vivienne a wedding planner to help ease her stress or actually taking an active interest in organising their rapidly approaching special day.
An alert on her phone interrupted them, Vivienne quickly adjusted as she grabbed her phone out of her purse. The smile which suddenly lit up her face as she checked her messages brightened Cyrus’ day as much as her own face.
“Good news, Kitten?”
“The best,” Vivienne said, “Shea has agreed to be my maid of honour! Says we’re still besties even if she doesn’t agree with the company I keep at work. She’s willing to look past work problems for my special day.”
“Happy for you, Kitten. Told you she would if she was really your bestie. My best mates would all take a bullet for me if I asked.”
“Yeah, speaking of which, who is going to be your best man?”
“Probably Joey, we go way back. You’re unlikely ta meet him until closer ta the wedding, he’s never been one for international travel.”
“That’s fine. I’m just glad you have someone in mind, one less thing for me to worry about,” Vivienne said. “Speaking of which, Leila was asking about music choices for the wedding, do you have any thoughts?”
“We don’t really have a special song, do we Kitten? Never really thought about it before,” Cyrus admitted, “But if we can find one, it’d be a start to build a wedding playlist around.”
“Yeah, it would,” Vivienne nodded. “Guess we should keep our ears open for the next few weeks. I don’t want the generic love song choices, I want every selection to feel special and significant to us.”
“I know you do, Kitten. We’re only gettin’ hitched once,” Cyrus said. “Everythin’ should be perfect.”
“Absolutely,” Vivienne smiled.
Warren Harper and Shea O’Hara had both agreed to their key roles in Cyrus and Vivienne’s ceremony. Warren would be a groomsman and Shea a bridesmaid, so when they stepped up and both volunteered to pick up the twins from the Gardens after the guided tour and look after them back at the hotel along with Damien whilst Vivienne and Cyrus rounded off their evening together on a private romantic evening cruise along Amsterdam’s magical canals, neither said no.
Vivienne sat cuddled up in Cyrus’ arms, neither paying too much attention to their guide whilst Cyrus enjoyed sampling another craft beer from the open bar on board, paying a little extra for privacy was definitely worth it. They leisurely drifted along, taking in the unique ambiance of the evening together.
“Thank you for this, Darling,” Vivienne whispered, “Today has been perfect, and I don’t know how to even begin to thank you for the most romantic day of my life. Nobody I’ve ever been with has ever treated me so thoughtfully before.”
“That’s why I’m marrying you and they aren’t,” Cyrus said. “No more relationship limbo with me, Kitten. I’m here for the long haul.”
“I know,” Vivienne said. “Shea was worried that you were just with me for our kids, but there really is more to us than just the boys, isn’t there? You really do love me for me, don’t you?”
“I do,” Cyrus said. He felt Vivienne shiver in response to those two words and smiled.
“Why?”
“Why not?”
“Because I’m cursed. Because I ruin everything I touch. Not only my own relationships, but my parents’ marriage changed after I was born. I also feel responsible for the breakdown of Dawn and Caitlin and Dean and Warren. I brought them together just to rip them apart, and I don’t think I can handle going through that again.”
“Look at me, Kitten,” Cyrus said, lifting her chin until their eyes met. “You aren’t responsible for anybody else’s decisions but your own. Sometimes people are just bad matches and it takes time for them ta accept that, hell, some people never do. Our parents never did, did they? I don’t know much about Dawn, but what I know about Warren, he isn’t sure what he wants out of life. Never has been. Not like me, I know exactly what I want and what I need.”
“What’s that?”
“You, Kitten,” Cyrus whispered, “It’s been you since the day we first met in Nic’s office and I saw you in that little red dress you wore.”
“You remember what I was wearing when we met?” Vivienne blushed, her cheeks rapidly becoming the shade of the dress that had been seared into Cyrus’ memory.
“I’ve never forgotten. I’ve never forgotten anythin’ about the night we shared. I just fooled myself into thinkin’ I could live without you afterwards. Then you met an’ fell in love with the Viking and all I could do to try get over lettin’ my perfect Sub slip through my fingers was throw myself into fist fights, not all of them professional or necessary.”
“I’m sorry,” Vivienne said. “Yeah, I thought I loved Ulf, just like I thought I loved Xavier, but being with you here and now, I’m not sure I ever really knew what real love was until now. With you, I’ve learned to value, respect and appreciate myself more than I ever did before, because you listen to me. You see me and actually care about what I think rather than just seeing me as a hot disposable piece of ass. It’s taken a lot of time and a lot of expensive therapy to get where I am today. I’m still not exactly where I need to be, but I’m a hell of a lot closer. Thank you for taking this journey with me.”
Seduced by the atmosphere as much as themselves, their lips met in a soft and passionate kiss. Several sweet seconds later, their lips parted, but their eye contact remained unbroken as they breathed softly.
“You’re welcome, Kitten.”
“Oh, I almost forgot. I know we promised not to bring up work, but Warren told me to tell you to not hold back and to please teach Nate Harris a painful lesson about fishing in another man’s pond.”
“I thought you said Dean and Warren were having problems?”
“It’s complicated, apparently. But like you said, Warren doesn’t know what he wants, and they are still married, I guess. It’s kinda romantic, nothing like this though, but still kinda sweet, I think. I hope you’d care enough to fight for us if someone tried to come between us like that.”
“Oh, I’d kill them, Kitten,” Cyrus declared as Vivienne shivered again. It was the most romantic threat she’d ever heard.
“And Dawn thought you didn’t know how to be romantic,” Vivienne giggled.
Vivienne Rodgers would finally have her special day, the day she’d dreamt about daily since she was fourteen - her blessed wedding day. This wasn’t going to end in tears like Ulf Hednir or Xavier Cross because Cyrus Daniels actually loved her, and not just the idea of her. He loved her enough to agree to a very definite date by which he would be her husband, rather than dragging his feet or leading her on, as other men had.
Unlike past relationships, Cyrus’ ownership of her was not only entirely consensual, but also crucially had nothing to do with the allure of her body or the legacy behind her last name, and that made all the difference in the world. Though Vivienne was well traveled by virtue of her family business, she had never had the luxury of being free to travel for recreation, until now.
Cyrus carried Liam and Vivienne carried Noah, as they took a private stroll through the romantic tulip fields of Keukenhof Gardens. Vivienne squeezed his hand firmly, grounding him in the natural beauty of a moment that was more foreign to him than it was to her.
Of course Vivienne belonged here, Cyrus thought, she fit in so perfectly with the other flowers that part of him feared he may lose her. By contrast, he felt like a cactus, standing out and feeling prickly, but he smiled through it for her, because sometimes that’s all love really required. And Cyrus was in love, there was absolutely no doubt about that. Vivienne was special because the more time he spent around her, the more she seemed to soothe his itchy palms and quicken his heart with a brand new love. For years, he had convinced himself that nobody would ever love him again like Virginia Spencer had, and he was right. Vivienne didn’t love him anything like Virginia, she loved him even more.
It was a love he wasn’t sure he deserved or could ever fully reciprocate, but he tried through the little things, like hiring Vivienne a wedding planner to help ease her stress or actually taking an active interest in organising their rapidly approaching special day.
An alert on her phone interrupted them, Vivienne quickly adjusted as she grabbed her phone out of her purse. The smile which suddenly lit up her face as she checked her messages brightened Cyrus’ day as much as her own face.
“Good news, Kitten?”
“The best,” Vivienne said, “Shea has agreed to be my maid of honour! Says we’re still besties even if she doesn’t agree with the company I keep at work. She’s willing to look past work problems for my special day.”
“Happy for you, Kitten. Told you she would if she was really your bestie. My best mates would all take a bullet for me if I asked.”
“Yeah, speaking of which, who is going to be your best man?”
“Probably Joey, we go way back. You’re unlikely ta meet him until closer ta the wedding, he’s never been one for international travel.”
“That’s fine. I’m just glad you have someone in mind, one less thing for me to worry about,” Vivienne said. “Speaking of which, Leila was asking about music choices for the wedding, do you have any thoughts?”
“We don’t really have a special song, do we Kitten? Never really thought about it before,” Cyrus admitted, “But if we can find one, it’d be a start to build a wedding playlist around.”
“Yeah, it would,” Vivienne nodded. “Guess we should keep our ears open for the next few weeks. I don’t want the generic love song choices, I want every selection to feel special and significant to us.”
“I know you do, Kitten. We’re only gettin’ hitched once,” Cyrus said. “Everythin’ should be perfect.”
“Absolutely,” Vivienne smiled.
***
Warren Harper and Shea O’Hara had both agreed to their key roles in Cyrus and Vivienne’s ceremony. Warren would be a groomsman and Shea a bridesmaid, so when they stepped up and both volunteered to pick up the twins from the Gardens after the guided tour and look after them back at the hotel along with Damien whilst Vivienne and Cyrus rounded off their evening together on a private romantic evening cruise along Amsterdam’s magical canals, neither said no.
Vivienne sat cuddled up in Cyrus’ arms, neither paying too much attention to their guide whilst Cyrus enjoyed sampling another craft beer from the open bar on board, paying a little extra for privacy was definitely worth it. They leisurely drifted along, taking in the unique ambiance of the evening together.
“Thank you for this, Darling,” Vivienne whispered, “Today has been perfect, and I don’t know how to even begin to thank you for the most romantic day of my life. Nobody I’ve ever been with has ever treated me so thoughtfully before.”
“That’s why I’m marrying you and they aren’t,” Cyrus said. “No more relationship limbo with me, Kitten. I’m here for the long haul.”
“I know,” Vivienne said. “Shea was worried that you were just with me for our kids, but there really is more to us than just the boys, isn’t there? You really do love me for me, don’t you?”
“I do,” Cyrus said. He felt Vivienne shiver in response to those two words and smiled.
“Why?”
“Why not?”
“Because I’m cursed. Because I ruin everything I touch. Not only my own relationships, but my parents’ marriage changed after I was born. I also feel responsible for the breakdown of Dawn and Caitlin and Dean and Warren. I brought them together just to rip them apart, and I don’t think I can handle going through that again.”
“Look at me, Kitten,” Cyrus said, lifting her chin until their eyes met. “You aren’t responsible for anybody else’s decisions but your own. Sometimes people are just bad matches and it takes time for them ta accept that, hell, some people never do. Our parents never did, did they? I don’t know much about Dawn, but what I know about Warren, he isn’t sure what he wants out of life. Never has been. Not like me, I know exactly what I want and what I need.”
“What’s that?”
“You, Kitten,” Cyrus whispered, “It’s been you since the day we first met in Nic’s office and I saw you in that little red dress you wore.”
“You remember what I was wearing when we met?” Vivienne blushed, her cheeks rapidly becoming the shade of the dress that had been seared into Cyrus’ memory.
“I’ve never forgotten. I’ve never forgotten anythin’ about the night we shared. I just fooled myself into thinkin’ I could live without you afterwards. Then you met an’ fell in love with the Viking and all I could do to try get over lettin’ my perfect Sub slip through my fingers was throw myself into fist fights, not all of them professional or necessary.”
“I’m sorry,” Vivienne said. “Yeah, I thought I loved Ulf, just like I thought I loved Xavier, but being with you here and now, I’m not sure I ever really knew what real love was until now. With you, I’ve learned to value, respect and appreciate myself more than I ever did before, because you listen to me. You see me and actually care about what I think rather than just seeing me as a hot disposable piece of ass. It’s taken a lot of time and a lot of expensive therapy to get where I am today. I’m still not exactly where I need to be, but I’m a hell of a lot closer. Thank you for taking this journey with me.”
Seduced by the atmosphere as much as themselves, their lips met in a soft and passionate kiss. Several sweet seconds later, their lips parted, but their eye contact remained unbroken as they breathed softly.
“You’re welcome, Kitten.”
“Oh, I almost forgot. I know we promised not to bring up work, but Warren told me to tell you to not hold back and to please teach Nate Harris a painful lesson about fishing in another man’s pond.”
“I thought you said Dean and Warren were having problems?”
“It’s complicated, apparently. But like you said, Warren doesn’t know what he wants, and they are still married, I guess. It’s kinda romantic, nothing like this though, but still kinda sweet, I think. I hope you’d care enough to fight for us if someone tried to come between us like that.”
“Oh, I’d kill them, Kitten,” Cyrus declared as Vivienne shivered again. It was the most romantic threat she’d ever heard.
“And Dawn thought you didn’t know how to be romantic,” Vivienne giggled.
Well howdy there pardner.