you've always dreaded getting married. growing up, all of your friends couldn't wait to tie the knot and settle down, but not you. maybe you were biased, after all, you'd grown up in a dysfunctional family, and all you ever wished for was that your parents get a divorce. everyone would have been so much better off. but no, they decided to make eachother's (and everyone else's surrounding them) lives a living hell.
you'd seen your friends get married, the very ones that had always wanted to. you'd seen them go down the aisle, go on their honeymoons, be happy and then... progressively unhappy, until they either got divorced or got into therapy. or both.
so, no, marriage had never been something you'd wanted for yourself. you would always tell your friends that it could never be you.
who'd had known that you'd one day find that one person to tilt your world off its axis and make you second-guess everything you thought you knew about yourself
meeting him was like unlocking a whole new version of yourself, a better version. someone you never knew you could be. like a flower being tended to properly, lovingly, you bloomed. you loved who you were because of him, and that was something you could never properly explain to anyone.
it was also why you couldn't explain to anyone how come you'd changed your mind. everyone thought you were mad to change your ways for a man, and yes, sometimes you let the outside voices get the best of you, but it never lasted long. as soon as you were back in his presence, in his arms, you knew were you belonged. it felt so right, deep in your bones, that nothing could convince you otherwise.
that isn't to say you hadn't been scared shitless after you married him. you were expecting for the shoe to drop at any given moment. to find out something- anything to prove your friends and your former self right. nothing's too good to be true. no miracle lasts forever. something was surely bound to happen. you'd seen it play out so many times before.
but nothing changed. years down the line and you were both as happily in love as the first year together. your relationship felt just as new, just as exciting, he looked at you just as adoringly and hearing him tell you how much he loved you never got old. having him show it to you was just as passionate. and you still felt giddy seeing him, especially in a crowd, your heart swell knowing he was your man. you were the lucky one he'd be taking home, and you still couldn't believe it most days.
"Ready to go home?" he'd make his way to you with a knowing look, as if reading your thoughts, his voice low and playful.
And yes, you were ready. You'd not always been ready, but for him you'd forever be. He was your home.
