My person.
I’d spent my whole life dissecting books and movies to concoct the perfect man in my head, the one that would uphold my dream of a perfect romance, just like the one my parents have.
I’d been convinced that Marlon Salvador is far from it. He still is. With his devilish dimpled smile, tousled hair and eyes that spell trouble, he’s far from any perfection I’d imagined.
He isn’t made to be written, to equate to fiction.
He’s made to be real. And that’s my favourite part about him.
He’s real and better yet, he’s mine.
Epilogue
One Year Later
“Mum, seriously, stop fiddling with it.”
That earns a slap on my arm.
“Ay nako,Marlon, you don’t appreciate everything I do for you.”
I groan as Mum continues to pull at my tie, until she’s finally satisfied with whatever she’s done to the fabric. I glance at the mirror. It looks the exact same as before, but whatever makes her happy I guess.
“So you’re not picking Jaslene up?”
Oh my gosh, if I had a dollar for everytime Mum has asked me this over the past week.
“Mum, I already told you, she’s going with her family. I’m meeting her at the wedding,” I told her. “Why would she go with me when it’s her Tita getting married?”
I expect Mum to snap back at me, to remind me not to talk to her in that tone, but instead, she shoots me a sly smirk.
“Imagine when it’s your wedding, eh,” she teases, pinching my cheeks.
I lurch backward, swatting away her fingers, “Seriously, stop.”
“When you’re ready, I’ll lend you my engagement ring, yeah?” she continues, poking at my sides.
“Mum, we’re only 19,” I whine.
“So? Your Dad and I were 20 when we got married.”
“That’s because it was the olden days.”
That earns me a slap against my shoulder, but Mum bursts into laughter. I can’t deny the grin that slithers its way onto my lips.
Jaslene and I had only been dating for a year, but the wedding remarks started way beforehand. I’m pretty sure it started before I was born really, when Mum and Tita Saralyn realised they were both pregnant in the same year, meaning that their children would both be born just a few months from each other. The wedding jokes have gotten worse recently, with Jaslene’s Tita Bea getting married today and everything.
Though, if I’m being honest, I don’t mind it. Not one bit.
It’s like, common knowledge at this point, really. I’m going to marry that girl.
My family arrives at the Church only five minutes late, which is a record for us, because we are always late. We take our seats directly behind the Garcias.
I spot Ria first, clad in a dark blue, her hair up in a bun. I still remember her words when Jaslene and I became official, official. It was right after the dinner I’d had with them, after Jaslene and I had our little rain moment.
She’d pulled me aside when her parents were cleaning the kitchen, and I kid you not, she growled at me. Bared her teeth and all. For a second, I genuinely feared for my life.
“Don’t you dare fucking mess with my sister, you hear me?” she’d hissed.
