My heart grew louder, beating a bit

My heart grew louder, beating a bit faster, as the limo pulled up to the curb of the beautiful Gothic church that stood proud and tall against the New York skyline.
As soon as I’d seen it, I’d known this was where Jude and I would be married. After a defeated day of looking at church after church, only to find nothing that had truly spoken to us, I’d almost given up on my dream of getting married in a historic church.
Jude’s parents had said their vows in the beautiful Trinity Church, and sure, I wouldn’t have minded that either. But that place was gigantic, and to keep Jude’s mother from going completely insane and inviting the entire Eastern seaboard, we had tried to stay clear of large venues.
Tired, achy, and sore from walking around half the city, we’d climbed into a taxi. As I’d slumped into the backseat, listening to Jude’s easy voice assuring me that everything would work out, I had looked up, and there it was. I’d immediately asked the cab driver to pull over. Grabbing Jude’s hand, like a crazy person, I’d dragged him out of the back of the car, and I’d run toward the entrance, not stopping until we’d reached the inside.
We’d put our deposit down that day.
In that moment, it had felt like today would never come.
And now, here I was, in my wedding gown, ready to meet my groom and pledge the rest of my life to him.
It seemed like fairy tales really did come true—even for the little girl who had grown up within the walls of a hospital and never expected anything truly special to ever happen there.
“Are you ready?” my mother asked, taking my hand in hers.
I squeezed it as our eyes met briefly before I looked up toward the top of the limestone steeple.
“Yes,” I croaked out, trying to stifle the tears threatening to break through.
The limo door slowly opened, and there was Marcus, standing proud and tall, waiting to help us into the church.
“There are my girls,” he said. “How about we get you inside?”
I nodded as he took my hand in his and carefully helped me out of the limo, mindful of all the layers of fabric around me. I stood outside, hardly noticing the freezing temperatures of the early evening setting in, and then I saw Marcus’s face.
Moisture rimmed his aged eyes.
“You . . . my God, Lailah. You’re stunning.”
I fell into his embrace, soaking up love and warmth from the only father I’d ever known. He’d been my doctor my entire life. He might be just a stepfather by society’s standards, but to me, he was so much more.
“Thank you,” I said, pulling back to look at him.
“For what?”
“Everything. There’s too many to list, Marcus. You’ve been there for me and Mom every step of the way, and I would have died in that hospital a long time ago if it wasn’t for you.”
He tried to protest, but I knew it was true. Every minute of every day, he’d fought for me.
“My mother might have chosen the wrong Hale brother that night, but she’s been choosing you ever since.”
He gave a wisp of a smile. “I know.” His eyes shifted beyond me to where my mother now stood, his eyes blazing as they found hers.
Her fingers curled around my bare shoulders. “We need to get you inside,” she said as her hands began running up and down my arms in an attempt to warm me. She might have relaxed in her ways, but her driving need to protect me still ran strong and true inside her.
I nodded. “Where is he?” I asked, turning to Marcus.
“In the back, far away from any windows. Don’t worry. He doesn’t want to ruin this moment either.”
A few horns honked as we made our way to the entrance, and I couldn’t help but turn and wave as people honked, rolled down their windows and yelled congratulations. Luckily, no one told me to turn and run or hollered that marriage sucked. That definitely would have put a damper on the celebrity moment I was having.
Marcus pulled open the heavy door to the church, and my mom helped me enter quickly. After we made sure all of my dress was safely inside, I gave the okay to close the door behind us. Grace had already arrived separately, wanting to make sure everything was perfect. I also believed she secretly wanted my mom and me to have a moment alone together. It wasn’t necessary, but I appreciated the gesture. It had been nice to spend the last couple of minutes with my mom while driving down the streets of New York. I didn’t know if I would get another chance to just be with her like this before Jude and I left for our honeymoon. I was guessing Grace had known that. She always seemed to know exactly what to do.
“Oh, Lailah, it’s beautiful,” my mother said, her voice full of awe.
I finished smoothing out my skirt and looked up to see that the church had completely been transformed. It was daytime when Jude and I had visited, and although it had been absolutely dreamy then, we had known we wanted an evening wedding. Having returned sometime later during an evening service had only given a glimpse of what it might look like since the bright lights above washed everything out.
Now, only the glow of what seemed like a million candles lit the room. It was romantic and everything I’d imagined it would be. The glow from the natural lighting flickered and danced against the stone walls and high Gothic cathedral ceilings.
“It’s perfect,” was all I could manage to say before I was whisked away to the bridal suite.
Guests were starting to arrive outside, which meant I would be walking down that candlelit aisle in less than an hour.

Hasil (Bahasa Indonesia) 1:

Hati saya semakin keras, mengalahkan sedikit lebih cepat, sebagai limo ditarik ke pinggir jalan dari Gothic indah gereja yang berdiri bangga dan tinggi terhadap cakrawala New York.Segera setelah aku pernah melihatnya, aku tahu ini adalah mana Yudas dan aku akan menikah. Setelah seharian dikalahkan memandang gereja setelah gereja, hanya untuk menemukan apa-apa yang telah benar-benar berbicara kepada kita, saya sudah hampir menyerah pada impian saya menikah di gereja bersejarah.Yudas orangtua mengatakan sumpah mereka di Gereja Trinity yang indah, dan tentu saja, saya tidak keberatan yang baik. Tapi tempat itu adalah raksasa, dan untuk menjaga Yudas ibu dari akan benar-benar gila dan mengundang seluruh pesisir timur, kami telah mencoba untuk tetap jelas tempat-tempat yang besar.Lelah, pegal dan sakit dari berjalan sekitar setengah kota, kami telah mendaki naik taksi. Seperti yang saya telah merosot ke kursi belakang, mendengarkan suara mudah Yudas meyakinkan saya bahwa segala sesuatu akan bekerja keluar, aku telah melihat ke atas, dan ada itu. Saya segera meminta sopir taksi untuk menarik. Meraih tangan Yudas, seperti orang gila, aku punya menyeretnya keluar dari belakang mobil, dan aku akan berjalan menuju pintu masuk, tidak berhenti sampai kami telah mencapai dalam.Kami akan menempatkan kami deposit turun hari itu.Pada saat itu, ia merasa seperti hari ini akan tidak pernah datang.Dan sekarang, di sini saya, gaun pernikahan saya siap untuk bertemu laki-laki saya dan berjanji sisa hidup saya kepadanya.Tampak seperti dongeng benar-benar datang benar — bahkan untuk gadis kecil yang tumbuh dalam dinding-dinding rumah sakit dan tidak pernah berharap apa-apa yang benar-benar khusus untuk terjadi di sana.“Are you ready?” my mother asked, taking my hand in hers.I squeezed it as our eyes met briefly before I looked up toward the top of the limestone steeple.“Yes,” I croaked out, trying to stifle the tears threatening to break through.The limo door slowly opened, and there was Marcus, standing proud and tall, waiting to help us into the church.“There are my girls,” he said. “How about we get you inside?”I nodded as he took my hand in his and carefully helped me out of the limo, mindful of all the layers of fabric around me. I stood outside, hardly noticing the freezing temperatures of the early evening setting in, and then I saw Marcus’s face.Moisture rimmed his aged eyes.“You . . . my God, Lailah. You’re stunning.”I fell into his embrace, soaking up love and warmth from the only father I’d ever known. He’d been my doctor my entire life. He might be just a stepfather by society’s standards, but to me, he was so much more.“Thank you,” I said, pulling back to look at him.“For what?”“Everything. There’s too many to list, Marcus. You’ve been there for me and Mom every step of the way, and I would have died in that hospital a long time ago if it wasn’t for you.”He tried to protest, but I knew it was true. Every minute of every day, he’d fought for me.“My mother might have chosen the wrong Hale brother that night, but she’s been choosing you ever since.”He gave a wisp of a smile. “I know.” His eyes shifted beyond me to where my mother now stood, his eyes blazing as they found hers.Her fingers curled around my bare shoulders. “We need to get you inside,” she said as her hands began running up and down my arms in an attempt to warm me. She might have relaxed in her ways, but her driving need to protect me still ran strong and true inside her.I nodded. “Where is he?” I asked, turning to Marcus.“In the back, far away from any windows. Don’t worry. He doesn’t want to ruin this moment either.”A few horns honked as we made our way to the entrance, and I couldn’t help but turn and wave as people honked, rolled down their windows and yelled congratulations. Luckily, no one told me to turn and run or hollered that marriage sucked. That definitely would have put a damper on the celebrity moment I was having.Marcus pulled open the heavy door to the church, and my mom helped me enter quickly. After we made sure all of my dress was safely inside, I gave the okay to close the door behind us. Grace had already arrived separately, wanting to make sure everything was perfect. I also believed she secretly wanted my mom and me to have a moment alone together. It wasn’t necessary, but I appreciated the gesture. It had been nice to spend the last couple of minutes with my mom while driving down the streets of New York. I didn’t know if I would get another chance to just be with her like this before Jude and I left for our honeymoon. I was guessing Grace had known that. She always seemed to know exactly what to do.“Oh, Lailah, it’s beautiful,” my mother said, her voice full of awe.I finished smoothing out my skirt and looked up to see that the church had completely been transformed. It was daytime when Jude and I had visited, and although it had been absolutely dreamy then, we had known we wanted an evening wedding. Having returned sometime later during an evening service had only given a glimpse of what it might look like since the bright lights above washed everything out.Now, only the glow of what seemed like a million candles lit the room. It was romantic and everything I’d imagined it would be. The glow from the natural lighting flickered and danced against the stone walls and high Gothic cathedral ceilings.“It’s perfect,” was all I could manage to say before I was whisked away to the bridal suite.Guests were starting to arrive outside, which meant I would be walking down that candlelit aisle in less than an hour.