Finally, the day had come. I had been counting the hours until my marriage to him. Now was the time. The time for a turn around in my life. Only a few minutes left. This felt so unreal. Everytime I thought about it, fear jerked in my chest. I just wanted it to happen already. I wanted to be convinced that I had accepted my fate.
Sitting on the chair in front of this huge mirror in James’ dressing room, I stared at my reflection via it. I looked so beautiful, as beautiful as an angel. But, the smile was missing. The great makeup on my face couldn’t hide my weariness. I felt quite depressed. Yes, I deserved to feel this way.
“Hey, friend.” Sherri walked to me. She stood behind me, put her hands on my shoulders, smiling at me via the mirror. “Hm… see who looks cute? It’s good that Ryan wouldn’t be coming around. If he was, he would definitely stare at you all through the wedding. That’d make James jealous.”
I blinked slowly, feeling very tired. “Are you sure he wouldn’t come around? James and Ryan are pretty close, you know? What if he finds out that his friend is getting married?”
“My dear…” She grabbed the gold earrings from the table in front of the mirror, helping me to put it on. “You see, when I wanna do something, I don’t make it incomplete. I’ve ensured that he wouldn’t come around. I wasn’t able to install a camera in his house, but last night, I visited him, and I saw that he was so heartbroken. He’s almost destroyed everything at his place.”
I swallowed my tears. “And, you think you can fix him?”
“Sure.”
The door behind us sounded. Twirling my neck around to see who had come in, my head felt heavy when I saw Praise, Tracie and Vicki. Oh, they had come around? I had thought they wouldn’t.
“Hi, guys,” I greeted, in a very low tone.
“Guess I’ll excuse you guys for a moment,” Sherri said, then left the room.
They all walked to me, and I stood up. “Oh. Can’t believe you guys will be part of this.”
“Do we have a choice?” Tracie rolled her eyes.
Though I was a bit glad that they were around, I still wasn’t happy in a way. They were wearing no fancy clothes. Praise was in casual denim jeans pants, and a waist length, sleeveless, turtle neck top. Tracie just wore a dress. How could they act like this? They were supposed to support me, right?
“Guys…” I sighed. “Are you sure you’re gonna be attending the wedding? I mean, you aren’t even dressed like you would.”
“What now?” Tracie fired hard scowls at me, her hands dropping on her waist. “Oh, good. Since she’s marrying the billionaire, we middle class seem gross to her, huh?”
“That’s not it.” I scoffed. “I mean, what if they accuse you guys of being thieves? No one dresses like this to a wedding. It doesn’t make much sense to me.”
“And, what’s the meaning of this? You’re ashamed of us?” Praise contributed.
“Guys, guys.” I held my hands up, trying to stop them from babbling. “This is crazy. I really don’t get what’s wrong with you all. Why don’t you understand this? You aren’t in my shoes. How can I let my parents die? Is that too hard to understand?”
“We told you we’d help you out. Why—”
“What if it’s too late? Huh? In a few hours, I’ll send the money to the hospital, and the doctors will begin the treatment. This is a better option,” I explained.
Tracie ran her hands into her hair, hunched a sigh, then stood in front of me. “Girl, if you’d told Ryan, he could’ve—”
“That’s enough,” I cut her off, wearing a stern look. “If you’re not here to support me, please, just leave. Don’t create a ruckus. In a few minutes, I’ll be James’ wife. There’s nothing that can change it.”
Tracie scorned. “Oh. Good. You’re right. We’ll leave.” And stepped backwards. Without saying anything, she walked to the door, stepped out, and slammed it.
Praise just sighed, digging her hands into her pocket. “My dear, you know I’ll speak to you as if you were my younger sis. Cause, right now, you seem so immature.” She cleared her throat. “See, I know you feel bad that we aren’t supporting you. The thing is, friendship isn’t just about being supportive all the time. A true friend would only support you when you’re doing the right thing.”
I looked down. I was speechless.
She continued, “When dealing with things, try not to be selfish. People’s choices and ideas about you isn’t the priority, but the thing is, if you wanna satisfy yourself, how would it affect those who depend on you, who love you, and who care for you? I see that you aren’t happy. Is it just because of the marriage to a person like James, or is it because of Ryan?”
“As for Ryan. I’m a married woman. Whenever Daniel and I have a great argument, it would feel like we’re never gonna speak with each other. But then, I always remember the vow we made at the church. The vow to stick to each other no matter what. And, you know what I tell him? I say, “Daniel, remember that it’s you and me against the argument, and not you and me against each other”.”
Tears welled in my eyes. I was so upset.
She giggled for some reason. “What I’m trying to explain is, If you had known you wouldn’t fulfill this promise, you shouldn’t have ventured into it. Now, he’s heartbroken. I feel terrible for him, cause I can’t imagine Daniel feeling that way.”
“It’s not my fault.” I sniffled.
She took a step closer, and tapped my shoulder. Surprisingly, she gave me a warm smile. “It’s not too late to end it. Besides, if you wanna get married, get married to your best friend, not junk. Hun, marriage isn’t a joke. I’ve been there.”
“I know.” That came out in a whisper.
She shrugged, and stepped backwards. “Bye. Hopefully, I’ll try my best as your best bud. Have a nice time, honey.”
With that, she walked out. Vicki glanced at me, shook her head as if I was insane, and walked out as well. So, all of them wouldn’t attend my wedding? That was so sad.
“Oh, good.” Sherri stepped in, walking really fast as she made her way towards me. “The bitches are gone. Come on, let’s leave for the church. Heard there’s a traffic jam at Dilla’s road. We don’t want that to affect us, do we?”
I nodded.
She grabbed a couple of things, and immediately, we headed out of the mansion, heading to the car.
***
After what felt like forever, we finally reached the church. We were supposed to spend about thirty minutes on the road, but we ended up spending forty five minutes. Well, we had gotten to our destination.
As soon as I stepped out of the car, Sherri and the rest of the bridesmaids hurried into the church first. I stood outside, waiting for James’ father to arrive. Since my dad wasn’t available, his father would be the one to walk me down the aisle.
The more I was thinking about this marriage, the more I felt scared.
Seeing James’ father walking out of the church, I hurried over to him. “Good morning, sir.”
He smiled at me. “Hi, dear. Oh, wow, you look very beautiful! Glad my boy’s the one who’s gonna get married to this gem.”
I feigned a smile. “Thanks, sir.”
“Actually, you can call me Sebastian,” he said.
I nodded. “Thanks, Sebastian.”
He held my arms, and we walked into the church. As soon as we did so, the slow music started, everyone welcoming us. I would have been glad if I was doing this with Ryan.
Soon, we reached the altar. Sebastian released my arms, and walked away with a smile. Terrified, I turned to my future husband; the devil I would be spending the rest of my life with.
“You look beautiful,” he whispered, those eyes beaming so much.
I nodded. “Thanks.”
The Priest started. As he read the sermon, I kept looking at James. He was looking at me as well. Goodness knew what was going on in his filthy mind. In case he wanted to know what was going on in my mind, he had to know that I was thinking of how I would survive with him.
“Now, James Robert, do you agree to get married to Serene Alan, and promise to stay together in hard times, good times, until death do you apart?” The priest asked James.
James smiled at me. “Yes, I do.”
“Serene Alan…” Only hearing my name, my heart began racing really fast. I couldn’t believe this. I just couldn’t. “… do you agree to get married to James Robert, and promise to stay together in hard times, good times, until death do you apart?”
I gulped. My hands rolled up in a fist, clinged to my wedding gown, and quivered. Tears built in my eyes. Since the veil covered my face, I didn’t think anyone would notice that a tear rolled down my cheek.
The hall was silent. I couldn’t decipher what was going on in my mind.
I closed my eyes. This wasn’t the time to meditate, but I was actually doing that. Ryan’s face appeared in my mind. No, in my heart. I saw his smile. I was remembering him as Mr. Arthur. I remembered how worried he looked the night he had said he didn’t think he was capable of being my man. How he had smiled last night when I made love to him.
I had never fallen in love this much. This hurts.
Noticing that a couple of people were starting to blab, I exhaled, and opened my eyes. “I…” Another tear left my eye. “I…” Something sounded from the door, but I ignored the sound. Someone was probably trying to tell me to speak up.
“Say. Yes.” James ordered amidst clenched teeth.
I sighed again. “Yes, I… I do,” I finally stated. Abruptly, that heaviness struck my heart. This was it.
The priest cleared his throat. “With the power vested in me, I now—”
“Shut up!” The loud roar from someone in the hall caught my attention. I flinched, and snapped my neck in the direction of the cry.
Seeing him, this man, my man, my heart flattered. I gulped.
He trudged towards the altar. Like the maniac he presently looked like, he grabbed the priest, and pulled the old man towards him.
Amidst hard breaths, he sputtered, “No one has the right to join them. Only God can. She belongs to me.”
“Ryan,” I whispered.
He threw the priest off him, so hard that the oldie fell to the floor. And then, he faced James. He grabbed him by his shirt’s collar, and before I could fathom what was going on, he hit James across the face. When James fell to the floor, he grabbed him again, began beating him as if James was a punching bag.
Good Lord, I was a goner. He had seen me betray him. Literally, I had lost in two ways. James wouldn’t give me the money, and Ryan wouldn’t forgive me.
Wait, did this mean my parents would die, and I would lose Ryan as well?
I pulled my hands over my mouth, and wept.
I was doomed.
How did he even get here? Had Sherri done this on purpose?
***