“You look so beautiful,” Fiona gushed over her daughter as she entered the room.
“I do?” Frances asked, and her mother nodded.
“Like the star of the show that you are,” she murmured, and Frances smiled.
She had been so busy stressing and preparing for the wedding that she feared she might not look good in any of the images because of how stressed she was. She felt good to receive a compliment from her mother considering how shallow she was; she would be into complimenting something or else she found it appealing to the eyes.
“I hope you remember all I have been telling you.” Fiona said, and Frances nodded.
Her mother had basically turned it into an anthem that was engraved in her mind. She had told her to make sure to get pregnant between the first few weeks of pregnancy so she could have an edge over Ophelia, who was still yet to show any signs of having a baby. She also told her to make sure she sucked up to Charles, even though they all knew how almost impossible that might be.
“Do not be involved in the company; act like a doll and sit still, and maybe Charles would consider you the better daughter-in-law material,” Fiona advised.
“The same advice that worked for you?” Frances asked. She did not want to spite her mother, but this was the same thing her mother did, and yet her father cheated, and her grandfather never acknowledged her mother and her children. To him, it was like they never existed and Fiona spent the rest of her life trying to make sure her children were high enough so no one could trample on them like they did to her.
“It may sound stupid, but it is very good advice.”
“I will take care of myself, and you should take care of yourself and stop fussing over me and Estelle. We would be fine.”
Frances had only done this much to be associated with the Vale family because she really needed her father’s family to finally respect her mother, and this was the end. “But…”
“Mom, take care of yourself now,” Fiona sniffled and blinked back the tears as they brimmed her eyelids.
“You are making me so emotional now, and for what reason?” She said, clearing her throat as she looked away so she would not cry. “Take care of yourself as well, you brat.”
“Calling her a brat on her wedding day? You are still as crude as ever,” Ben said, coming into the bridal waiting room.
“Must you talk to me in such a degrotary tone?” Fiona asked, sniffing again, and the tears she had welling up in her eyes disappeared as well. “You are always so rude,” she added, munching on her words as if she did not want him to hear what she was saying.
“Dad, can you please spare Mom for today?” Frances asked before her father spoke. He knew that they only stayed together because Fiona refused to let go, their relationship was already irreparable and damaged, and they could barely hold a conversation without trying to kill each other.
“Listen to your daughter,” Fiona chimed in.
“I am your father, but it rarely feels that way with you,” Ben said. Frances wanted to tell her father that he was such a terrible father that she never felt a sense of being indebted to him in any way. He was never around, and like her grandfather, he always found a way to belittle her and her sister, so how could she support him? The only reason he was there was because he knew this would be the only opportunity he had to make a connection with the Vale family.
“Dad, today is not about you and Mom; it is about me and my husband, so can you please not make it about you?” She asked, seeing that he was ready to start an argument with him.
A woman dressed in formal clothes came into the room and informed them that she would need to be moving in a few minutes. “I guess Estelle would not be making it here today,” she murmured, staring at the door as she hoped her sister would come. She had told her sister on short notice, and since she was not in the country, she was not sure if she would be able to make it, even though she wanted her to be there on a day like today.
“If she could, she would have made it,” Fiona said, holding her and pulling her up. “For now all you have to do is walk down the aisle and marry him,” she said, smiling at her daughter.
“Now that I have to do it, I’m suddenly nervous about it.”
“But you would be doing it,” Ben said, giving no room for negotiation. He moved and stood beside his daughter, perching out his hand so she could hold onto it. They walked out of the room that way and to the entrance of the hall they were using.
Frances could barely remember a single event from the wedding; all she could see was that it ended so quickly with everyone yelling congratulations to them. She had waited for that exact moment for a while, and now that it was finally there, she did not know the right way to react to it.
“You did it,” Cael said as they sat on the stage. He had fought tooth and nail against the wedding happening so soon, but everything he said was treated as if it were nonsense, and they forged ahead till they had their way.
“You would thank me for this soon,” she murmured back, the smile never leaving her face.
“I hope for your sake that that is how this ends, or else you might be the one regretting this in the end.”
“I heard you, so at least smile and stop acting like I’m holding you hostage. You are always acting like a child; marriages these days are made for exchange of wealth and building connections; you should think about love and focus on building a suitable world for the children you would have, or else they might be forced to serve another rich man,” she said.
Cael turned to her and wondered how she was able to keep the smile on her face while saying something like that. “I do not care how right you think you are; I still wanted to do this my way.”
“You can do it your way from today; I will support you all the way.”