A Lily at Dawn

Zuriel felt Matt’s steps slow to a stop. She looked up at him and could hardly breathe. He was so handsome in the light of the park lamppost. His dark bangs brushed against his eyebrows as he intently studied her. She faintly saw her own reflection in his brown eyes and wasn’t sure what to do. He was the only person who seemed to have truly loved her. Could she reject him? It seemed impossible that anyone else could show such genuine care. He was her last hope.

“You’re so beautiful,” Matt said. “You know how much I love you.”

She leaned into his arms, his words spinning in her head. They had been together for six months of heaven. She almost broke up with him several times because she knew what he wanted. He desired a wife, but Zuriel wasn’t sure if she could trust matrimony. She wasn’t sure if she could trust him. Every date had been so perfect and beautiful that she wondered why she even had doubts. Hadn’t he been faithful? He had loved her like no one else had ever loved her before.

He knew what it was like to be alone. Matt once told her how he grew up as the only child of a single mother. His mother had died of cancer a few years ago, so he understood what it was like to only have one parent, and he also knew what it felt like to lose everything. His story had comforted her, and she knew she wasn’t going to get empathy like that from anyone else.

Zuriel knew she didn’t deserve him. She was the one who had done so much wrong, the one who had sin to hide. She had to choose redemption! How could she not accept the one thing she wanted more than anything else?

Matt slipped a ring on her finger. Her heart pounded more rapidly, and she sighed. Was it a sigh of joy or of pain? She didn’t know what she was feeling. The adrenaline rush she felt put every amusement-park ride to shame. She was so close to giving herself away.

Every clue had hinted that tonight would be the night of the proposal. It just wasn’t normal for them to walk through the woods after midnight on a Monday. She had heard Matt talk before about marrying her like it was a solid plan. He’d insisted on getting her ring size. She wasn’t blind to his intentions, although she wished she were.

The crickets chirped around them, and the wall of trees on each side of the path were enclosing. She wanted to prolong the stroll and avoid the prospective inquisition. Zuriel noticed a bench nearby and feared what awaited there. She felt his tug toward the bench, but she resisted. Pretending not to sense his directing, she kissed his hand and took a step backward. He followed her lead and wrapped his arms around her.

He held her, clearly waiting for some sort of response. She tried to say something. She was going to tilt her head and let him see her smile, knowing it would make him happy, but she couldn’t move. In fact, she could hardly stand. She loved him so much. She wanted him so profusely. Why did she still fear getting closer? “Zuriel,” Matt whispered, breaking the silence. She felt his breath against her ear as she felt her heart melting. Mesmerized, her thoughts swirled into a mass of confusion. The only feeling that seemed to distinguish itself was pleasure.

“Marry me,” Matt implored, “and make me the happiest man alive.”

His words made her tremble. She felt like she had been standing on the edge of a cliff and Matt was urging her jump off. Her thoughts were interrupted as his lips pressed against hers, and she knew there was no going back. She felt secure for moment, resting in his arms of love. She had to choose to trust him and fight the urge to shy away. This was the man she would marry. She would be Mrs. Lowell, even if it cost her all the pieces of heart she had left.

“Yes,” Zuriel managed to say, looking up at her husband-to-be. “I wouldn’t have it any other way.” Tilting her head, she received each of his kisses with growing reassurance. Perhaps this was meant to be after all.