Georgia and Adam turn to the cheering congregation as the minister announce proudly I know pronounce to you Mr and Mrs Adam Keane.

There was something about today that opened Wendy's eyes to a numbing truth she had denied for years. All those times when she had fought with her mother and rebelled she was just preventing herself from facing the harsh truth that she was making the wrong choice.

She was being the whimsical young woman who thought she was on the verge of making her life her own and love was there ready to make it all fall in place.

Silly she had not placed her ego aside and trusted in her mother's insight and wisdom then she would not have suffered such pain and saw then that Brandon and her never had love.

She stared at her cousin as she walked down the aisle tucked against Adam's side his arm secured around her waist, his face beaming with love, pride and contentment.

Brandon and her never came close to having loved like what she was witnessing here right now.

She was truly happy for them, because of their love she was allowed to know what it truly meant to love a man with all your being. Her eyes travelled to Deacon who she had kept watching throughout various parts of the ceremony.

When Adam and Georgia had exchanged their personally written vows...

Her mind had flooded with the things she would have written to share with Deacon as a testament of her unyielding love. The common place vows she had share with the Brandon then would never do.

The placement of the rings...

In her minds eye she had seen herself slipping Deacon's band on his finger showing to the world how real it all was, he had afterwards place hers on her finger making it known to whom she belonged. Brandon's simple gold band held little sentiment to that of the makeshift right that graced her finger.

When her cousin and Adam kissed as man and wife for the first time...

Her eyes found Deacon's lips and hers had tingled with longing. Her heart raced with a desire to have them share such a kiss. The kiss that lay claim to who they now where. Her hand had tightened on her bouquet as the need to touch her trembling lips overcame her as images flood her mind. Brandon's kiss was a distant memory.

Now here she stood watching Georgia and Adam walk away into a life that she found herself truly wanting with Deacon, no farce, no lies, no compromise.

Her heart beat with the brokenness of a lost soul that had her tense with pain as she felt her throat burn with unshed tears.

Why was this happening to her?

She had never felt like this with Brandon the first man she thought she had ever loved. As she stood there directly looking into eyes of grey that seemed to pull from the very depths of her all the love she never gave to Brandon, and that love was now here fighting to be loose so that it can be unleashed.

The realizations that she was back then unwilling  to face in the years pass were had her feet going weak under the weight of staggering truths that swirled within her mind.

She could no longer shut them away or run away from them, being here at her cousin's wedding watching the genuine representation of a love undefiled by lies, pretencious affections and  brutal selfishness allowed her to cone to terms  with the truths she had been keen on denying.

It took this splendid occasion for her to come to terms with the fact that she was very much in love with Deacon and the grudge she held against Brandon had been what had held her back from accepting it.

Now that it had break from the darkness she had purposely hidden them in and  come to light she wanted nothing more than to express and share it without inhibiting them.

She saw him look at her with an expression she wanted to claim as love written on his face. She wanted to read the look in his eyes as a desire to share with her the love that was hastily consuming her and burning away the old Wendy.

No more did she want to hide behind the cloak of a broken heart. She wanted to create a new beginning where she was made to love him without lies.

How she so wanted desperately to claim the warm sweet smile on his lips as a beacon of his love for her.

She wanted to run into his arms and declare that she loved him heart, body and soul. She wanted to feel his embrace and lose herself in its security. She wanted to reveal to him that for the first time she knew what love for a man felt like. It would be the best feeling to have those words slip from her tongue and write a ballad of love real and true.

Yet, she knew she had to keep it locked away inside her. She had to gather all these realizations and the bitter truths, lock them far away in that dark corner where she kept all the things she vowed never to let hurt her again and let them stay there forever.

Deacon's compromise constituted two things, sex and the need to save a dear friend. It was never to find love and happily ever after. It seemed this was her punishment her self centered choices of the past.

Years ago she had defied her mother causing unnecessary pain now fate being determined to charter its course would not allow her to pay pennance for her selfish desires.

With a deep steadying breath, she put on her best guise; a determined raise of her chin and a wide smile. She would joined her family and friends in gayly celebrating the union of Georgia and Adam. They did not deserve her fall from grace to diminish their happy occasion.

When she followed behind the happy couple leading the wedding procession she looked over at her mother and found that she was staring intently at her she felt her guise threaten to slip away.

For a moment she was made to feel her shame at how she had spent so many years lying to both herself and the one woman who knew deep down had only been doing her best to prevent her from going doing the destructive path she was heading.

Her mother had known that she was setting herself up for the biggest fall in her life. Cynthia had known from the very beginning that her rebellious intentions then were selfish, spiteful and yes cowardly.

For a brief moment she wondered if her mother had seen through her actions now had she had so clearly done back then.

She had a tingling feeling that her mother knew that her intentions---though not constituted out of spite---were heading her down the very road she had left Duncan Cove all these years to never travel again.

Life was indeed a cycle, it lead you around in a circle taking you back to the very beginning. It made you pay for your deeds no matter how far you ran. It was time for it to collect its debt from her and she was now ready to pay because maybe then she would be given a chance at love. Not just any love this time, but real love.

She knew what she had to do and it started with telling the truth and righting her wrongs. However, it might not give her a chance at love but it would give her the freedom she sought when she fled Duncan Cove.

She would see to it that Deacon compromise remain contact as long as it was possible because she was not ready to lose him. She knew sex did not lead to love but she hoped he would come to realize she shares all intimacy with him because she could not share her love.

She had only to play her part and ensure she saw to it that Georgia had the best day ever then she would do what is right by Cynthia and ans rhe person's she hurt along the way.

She joined the bridesmaid and Georgia as they were ushered for pictures. After a series of funny and playful photos, the giggling Georgia rushed to Deacon and pushed her gently into his arms before instructing the photographer to take their picture.

She nestled closer to the man whom she will forever love as she stared into the photographer's lens. She wanted whatever memories she could tuck away of the best few days of her life.

With his strong arm around her waist and his body nestled into hers Wendy caged this moment with the others she could hold them her heart as the photographer snapped away. 

She took his hand held onto his finger and wished as she interlace their fingers that she could hold unto him forever.

She would from time to time visit these memories when life places a full stop on their farce and put an end to a time when she did not expect happiness but found it nonetheless.

𖧷𖧷𖧷𖧷𖧷𖧷𖧷𖧷𖧷𖧷𖧷𖧷𖧷𖧷𖧷𖧷𖧷𖧷𖧷𖧷
Hiiiii (●’◡’●)ﾉ

They say it's best to hurt someone with truths than lies, but will the truth lessen the hurt that is about to come and set Wendy into having her heart desire?

I am so grateful for knowing you guys are with White Lies and Sweet Compromise from the get-go. I appreciate it so much 🥰😏

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