This is it! This is the day when two individuals will say their vows. Marriage isn’t a joke at all. And in fact, this is the most special day for the both of them.

Inside a luxurious room was a beautiful woman in her silky white dress, preparing for the occasion. She had a two make-up artists, one to fix her hair, another for her nails, and one as her personal assistant. She’s a lucky lady, indeed. This was all because of her soon-to-be husband, Chun, who wanted everything to be perfect. He picked all the finest people in their field to transform Ella into the most appealing woman on planet Earth.

“I don’t need a lot of people for this. It’s only for a day, you know?” But then, the make-up artist contradicted, “Yes, it may be a day. But this day will surely change your lifestyle. You are marrying a very successful man, Ella. I’m sure it was not that easy to get Mr. Wu, am I right?” Ella just laughed at her and didn’t answer a single word. At the back of her mind, she thought, “Yes, it isn’t that easy to be Chun’s girlfriend. I was used to having girls around me, but minutes from now, I will say “I do” to a real man.”

Then her cell phone rang, and Chun’s name appeared on the screen. She picked it up and answered the call. “How’s my honey?” Ella blushed, which made the people inside the room scream for joy.

“I’m fine. I’m getting ready. How about you, Chun?”

“I’m out with some girl friends,” he said, emphasizing on the word ‘girl’. He didn’t hear a response from the other line. He quickly said, “Kidding. I’m just two rooms away from you. I’m about to go to the Church. Stay safe, Mrs. Wu!”

His words never fail to put a curve on Ella’s lips. They ended the conversation and Ella went back to what she was doing earlier, reading the magazine. The artist kept on asking Ella questions about her past life. She whole-heartedly answered them even though there’s a part of her that doesn’t want to remember those things. While she was having her make-over, another one also started applying colors to her nails. She chose the peach platinum one which suited her gown the most. An hour has passed and everything was already settled. She had a beautiful make-up which was not too dark, nor too light. It showed her true beauty, should I say. She stood up and went straight to her personal assistant to help her dress up. “Be careful, your hair might get ruined,” someone warned.

Ella confidently went out of the room. A man in his mid-20s extended his hand to her. “Good morning, Ms. Ella. I’m here to bring you to the Church. Are you ready?” he asked. At first, Ella thought that he was one of those people who still want to break their relationship. She gave him a smile and followed him. There was a white BMW in front of her with scattered roses around it. “Is this Chun’s plan?” and the guy nodded. “Wow, he really wants everything to be perfect, huh?” she thought.

While everyone was preparing for the event, another girl was also getting ready for her comeback, we still don’t know if it is for good or the other way around. She grabbed a turquoise-colored backless dress from her closet and got a pair of shiny 4-inched silver heels.

“Hey, I thought that they have this simple wedding? Then why are you wearing that kind of dress?” her buddy, Genie, said.

“This is just a simple dress, you know?” she retorted. She excused herself and went to her table where she will start applying make-up. But Genie followed her.

“Oh, its Chun’s wedding that’s why you’re in that attire,” she teased. Angela fiercely looked at her. “I’m sorry. I was just telling the truth.”

There was silence. Angela started to lose control. Genie just stared at her and didn’t know what else to say. While she was applying some cosmetics, Genie suddenly asked, “What happened to you and Chun, anyway?”

Memories of them together started entering her mind. “It was about three years ago when my mom and his mom knew each other. They we’re like the best of friends. And then, my mom, asked him to marry me. Yes, marry. Not become his girlfriend. Hello, I totally know that Chun will not amend to that. But then, mom insisted on that stupid dating thing. You know my mom, right? She will do anything just to get what she wants. So yeah, she prepared everything for the wedding. But Chun already warned me that he would not come on the wedding day itself. I told mom about it, but she didn’t listen. Mrs. Wu took away the company from him just to force him to get married.”

“I didn’t know she was that desperate,” Genie cut in.

“Yeah, they both didn’t want others to take advantage of their riches. So they thought about this whole marriage thing. Since then, Chun started avoiding me. I went to his place a couple of times, but he kept on rejecting me. Then a friend of mine told me that Chun started dating another woman. I believe she was one of his staff back then. I never told my mom about this, I didn’t want her to get mad at him. I just wa—“

“But why? You should have told your mom about this so she didn’t have to bother herself for the whole preparation!” Genie hollered.

“Because I wanted to protect him!” Angela replied. “I already had feelings for him. I said to myself, “Why not give it a chance?” So I just kept it as a secret. Not until, my mom saw him with another girl. Mom told the girl that she would kill her. But Chun stopped her and told her the truth—that he never had feelings for me. It gave me heartache. But I don’t have a right, isn’t it? Well, from the start, he never liked me. We were complete strangers to each other. Mrs. Wu then allowed her son to date other woman. She told my mom to stop the whole thing and allow Chun to love other girls. So a month after, their company was already his business… alone. His dad just supports him in times of trouble.”

“So now, you’re taking him away from his girl?”

“We’ll see, Genie. We’ll see.” She looked at mirror and smiled to herself. “I shall go now.”

“Wait! Angela,” Genie looked at the clock. “Isn’t it too early? Come on, don’t be so excited! Hey wait, how does Chun’s fiancé look like?”

“You still don’t know her? Ella Chen? The famous photographer!”

“Excuse me, I just came back from America. Do you expect me to know that Ella Chen you are talking about?” and Genie laughed. Angela accepted defeat and started describing Ella.

“Ella Chen is one of Taiwan’s most respected photographers. She is so amazing! I swear, she can turn simple sceneries into very awesome ones. But… But… But she was a le—“ Angela didn’t want to continue her sentence. She let out a sigh and tears started shedding from her beautiful eyes.

“What? She was a? A drug addict? A police officer? What?” Genie tried to sound funny. But it didn’t work, not at all. Angela then had the energy to tell her the truth.

“Ella was a lesbian before. She had an affair with the vice president of WTC. Selina Ren, her ex-girlfriend.”

“What? She was a lesbian? Why did Chun fall into her trap???” Genie was so shocked to hear the news. Who would not be, anyway? It was very rare for a man to fall in love with a woman who also liked woman before. It’s rare to hear a man marrying a woman who kind of looks likes a man. But Angela defended Ella. “Hey, don’t say that! In all fairness, she is pretty. She’s just petite. And I tell you, she is super down-to-Earth.”

“Oh, so that’s why Chun fell for her,” Genie whispered.

“I need to leave now. I shall come back after the wedding. Bye!” and she waved her goodbye to her buddy.

Ella reached the Church already. It was a newly built one and Chun purposely asked the workers to toil hard just to reach their wedding date. And thank goodness, it had a good output. It was painted white and had gold outline on the sides of the gigantic door.

The two doors opened widely and exposed a beautiful interior of the Church. There were big chandeliers with candles on the sides. Roses were scattered on the floor. And a red carpet was placed to give emphasis to the end of the Church—the altar. Ella started walking gracefully. She didn’t mind about the noise created by the clapping of the guest. She didn’t care about the camera flashes that were almost an inch or two away from her face. She didn’t care how high her heels were and how short her dress was. All she was anticipating was to reach the end of the aisle and meet her husband. So the moment has arrived, the ceremony has started. The priest who initiated the whole ceremony was Chun’s uncle. During the ritual, the two kept on stealing glances from each other. They both cannot believe that this, the wedding, is already happening.

An hour after, the priest already said the famous line: “You may now kiss the bride.” The two shared a passionate kiss. A very passionate one, indeed. The crowd started clapping, some adolescents started howling, and the others, they simply smiled at the newlywed couple. Chun led their way out.
At the reception, a lot of people gave their blessings and their gifts too. A familiar face caught Chun’s attention. “There’s Angela. I want you to meet her,” he told Ella.

“Angela, this is Ella, my wife,” and Chun hugged Ella tightly.

“Oh, you are the famous wi—designer. No, artist! No, policewoman!” and she laughed. Yes, Angela was drunk. She had a bottle of vodka already.

“Photographer,” Ella said. She called for two boys to Angela to the room so she can rest for a while. But Angela insisted on staying. She pulled a chair and asked Ella to sit down. Ella looked at Chun and asked him if it was okay for them to stay for a while.

“You know… I,” and she sipped her drink. After that, Ella pushed the bottle away and looked at Angela directly. “You know, I think you’re really lucky to have him. He is a handsome man, a smart guy, and a gentleman too! Take care of him, okay? I wish you good luck to your married life,” she reached for Ella and gave her a warm hug.

“Thank you, Angela! I hope you will be happy too!” she said as she rubbed her back lightly. “Now, do you want to rest upstairs? We have reserved a couple of rooms for our guests. You might as well occupy one.”

Ella and Chun roamed around the place. They entertained their guests and took pictures with them as well. The last table was for Selina, Hebe, Arron, and some other special friends. Selina welcomed Ella with a big hug and so as Hebe. The three other men extended their hands to Chun as they congratulated him.

“May we excuse your wife first, Chun?” Hebe asked. Chun nodded and the three ladies rushed to the dark corner.

“Ella, stay safe, okay? If there are times that you feel so down and rejected, don’t forget to approach us. We are always ready to help you. If ever Chun does something wrong to you—“ Selina said.

“I’ll tell Arron about it and I’ll ask him to beat Chun for you!” Hebe added and they all laughed.

“Selina, Hebe, thank you for everything. Thank you for the company. Thank you for always making me smile. Thank you for loving me,” and she hugged them.
While the ladies are giving advices to Ella, the men did the same to Chun. Jiro started off with, “Don’t hurt Ella. I’m begging you, please. She’s a nice girl. And she doesn’t deserve evil words from you.”

“Yes, he’s right. She may be quite talkative at times, but don’t scold her or get mad at her because of that. I’m sure you will both learn to adjust fully after a month,” Arron said.

And lastly, Calvin’s advice. Before he could speak, the three ladies came back. “It’s better this way. Ella’s here. Okay, Chun and Ella, I wish you happiness in your married life. Support each other when it comes to work.”

“Thank you! I will take care of her, promise. I will not hurt her,” Chun hugged Ella.

“Well, you better not hurt her! Or else, I will be the one to hurt you back!” Selina threatened.

The party ended at midnight and all the guests have left already. Chun and Ella, together with their parents were the only ones left there. Soon, they headed back to their own places. This time, Ella stayed at Chun’s place since they haven’t found a nice house to stay in.

Years have passed and the two still had a strong relationship. They had two beautiful kids namely Katrina, which means pure, and Karla, which means vibrant. Katrina was just two years older than Karla. But she never, not even once, bullied her younger sister. And that’s why Chun and Ella are so proud of them.
Since Chun and Ella went back to work a month after their wedding, they have recovered all the money and the clients they have lost. Ella, who was still on top of the highest paid photographers of Taiwan, had more projects. Chun, being the CEO of Taiwan’s most successful companies, had gained more patrons and he was able to buy another company. And because of a strong friendship, Chun gave Selina the authority to be the CEO of his new company. Selina was able to rule over the company with great honor and pride. Jiro, Arron, and Calvin helped her in administrating the company. Hebe, still one of Ella’s models, became an artist at the largest entertainment company in Taiwan. They all had a peaceful life. But even though they we’re all busy, they still had time to chat and bond with each other. They never fail to meet every Monday, right after work. They would often talk about the company, Chun and Ella’s kids, and the upcoming wedding of Arron and Hebe.

Angela went to America with Genie to open up a new business. It was a coffee shop at Genie’s own resort. She too became successful and would often come back to Taiwan to visit her friends. Being a good friend, she would often bring home some toys for the kids.

A lot of people really love Katrina and Karla. Their grandparents thought of enrolling them at an international school at Washington, but Ella rejected the offer because she wanted to take care of her children every day. She cannot stand a day without the kids and if she’s going to accept the offer, she will be forced to end her career. “I’ll just enroll them at a prestigious school here at Taiwan. I’m pretty much sure that can also give high quality of education,” she said. Their parents agreed to it and just wished her kids good luck for school. So they both entered a prominent school and received a lot of awards every year.

Moral of the story: Labels are for filing. Labels are for clothing. Labels are not for people.

Love takes no gender. Everyone is free to love, whether it’s love for a friend, for family, or for someone really special. In itself, homouality is as limiting as heterouality. The ideal should be to be capable of loving a woman or a man; either, a human being, without feeling fear, restraint, or obligation.

It is not easy to find happiness in ourselves, and it is not possible to find it elsewhere. So if we find it with the person of the same gender, let it be. It’s better to love someone who truly loves you than someone who still forces him or herself to love you.