A twist in plans
Lorraine
Finally! My big day.
I couldn’t explain the kind of joy that steadily seeped through me while I stared at my gorgeous reflection in the mirror.
A smile crept to my face, as my fingers trailed along the diamond necklace that Dexter gifted me last night. The crystals glittering as the sun rays touched it reminded me of how blown away I was when I read the note that followed the gift box.Exclusive © material by Nô(/v)elDrama.Org.
It matched the color progression of my dress and my grey eyes.
Right now, everything was perfect.
I basked in the heightened elegance it brought me and made a mental note to find something really beautiful to give him in return.
My eyes swept through the dress once again and then I decided that I’d made the right choice. Dexter would be over the moon when he saw me walk down the aisle, and so would everyone else present at the ceremony.
I tried hard to blink away the tears that were beginning to form in my eyes at the realisation that my real father who should have walked me down the aisle wasn’t here. Sometimes, I wondered if I resembled him, but since I didn’t have a picture I couldn’t tell.
Victoria flung the door open, catwalking in the light blue dress she chose to wear with Stella and Emilia for the bridal train. I could remember her asking me what color I’d want them to wear, then I asked her to make a choice and do what she wanted.
Seeing the awestruck look on her face, I didn’t need to ask why. Presently, I could be likened to Aphrodite.
“Oh, honey, you look so fabulous. I can’t even describe how beautiful you look right now.” She took in my dress, giving me a happy and satisfied once over.
“Thanks, Toria. I’m glad that you’re here to support me.” I replied, walking away from the full length mirror. “A few months ago, I wouldn’t have imagined that we’d be doing this together.” My eyes were beginning to water again and I wasn’t sure I’d be able to hold back if I let them out.
She reached for my hand and tangled her fingers with mine. “The first time I met you, I honestly thought you would leach off my brother and make him forget me, then I remembered that I was the actual leach who brought nothing but trouble to him. You’re the sister I never had and Dexter made the best choice the day he chose to be with you.”
I sniffed, dabbing my made up brows lightly with a handkerchief to stop the tears from cascading down my smooth cheeks. When I was sure that my emotions were under control, and I wouldn’t ruin my makeup, I stopped.
“Thank you for your kind words, Tori. You are the best.”
We embraced each other as she buried her head on my neck. A sisterly bond had been formed, one that cut through the ties of blood and grew through loyalty and love.
Stella barged in, wearing the same type of off shoulder tea length dress with a matching topaz necklace and earrings. She was absolutely stunning.
“You both look like you’re about to dive into a pool of emotions, but this isn’t the right time because we have to leave now. The wedding is about to start.” She announced after planting kisses on my cheeks.
“Alright, I’m ready.”
The hotel wasn’t far from the venue and in a few minutes, I’d be standing in the place that would change my life forever.
Victoria, who was my bridesmaid, pulled the veil over my head and handed me my bouquet which consisted of white jasmines and pink carnations, matching the decorations at the beach. We approached the door when I remembered something…
“Where’s Emilia? She’s supposed to be here.” I asked calmly, knowing that she could be a nutcase at times.
Victoria and Stella exchanged questioning glances. Then Victoria decided to speak up. “She said she was coming here to see you. That’s what she told me after we finished dressing up and I’m even surprised that she isn’t here.”
I cocked my head to the side in confusion with weird thoughts popping into my head. Today was my wedding and I didn’t want to make any assumptions so I shoved the thoughts aside.
“It’s weird because she didn’t come here. Maybe something came up, but how will she locate the venue if we don’t go together?” Stella asked and I shrugged.
I picked up my phone and gave it to Victoria. “If she’s not here then we should text her the venue. She might be caught up on something. You know how she is.” I put up an excuse for her.
An eerie feeling began to creep in while wondering where Emilia might have gone. When she came to me that afternoon to make her one of the bridesmaids, I thought she was joking until she tried to kneel in front of me until I accepted.
I honestly didn’t know why she was pushing hard to be close to me when it was glaring on my face that I wasn’t interested.
But I didn’t want to give her a cold shoulder, and for someone who was trying hard to be my friend, she was very persuasive. I finally agreed after giving it much thought and told the others about it.
They accepted it with no qualms, then we held a bridal shower in my room which was fun.
Presently, her sudden disappearance baffled me since we were about to leave. She couldn’t just vanish into thin air when we needed her, I thought.
My phone chimed with a notification that got my cheeks flushing. I read the text and almost burst into laughter.
-Where are you already? Are you sure you don’t want me to come over and drive you here?
I could sense his frustration, but I wanted to teach him how to be patient. Apparently, he wasn’t taking the lessons very nicely.
A Porsche cayenne S rolled to the facade of the hotel with ribbons tied from the booth to the bonnet. It had the same theme with the venue-pink and white with a tinge of grey.
Dante stepped out in a black suit that lapped well on his muscular frame. Looking so formal, no one would tell that he was a bodyguard. He could pass for a handsome Ceo.
“Good morning, ma’am.” He said quietly and opened the right car door for me to get in.
I sighed in disappointment. Why did I expect that he would try to say anything else than a mere greeting? Drake was supposed to be my driver, not him.
“Where’s Drake?” I asked after we all settled in.
“He’ll be driving Mr Hemmingway to the venue.”
Great! I muttered under my breath. “Let’s move then. We’re already late.”
The car glided slowly along the road, increasing my anticipation with each passing minute. I was almost tempted to ask him to drive faster.
“Why is this car so slow?”
Victoria, who was sitting beside me, laughed. “It’s because you’re so eager to be with your hubby. Just relax, alright? Soon you’ll have your prince charming all to yourself.”
“You can’t blame her. I feel the same way.” Stella chipped in and I gasped before I could catch myself.
“Drake’s finally knocked you up, huh?” I wriggled my brows as she rolled her eyes and turned away her face, returning her gaze to the road since she was sitting with Dante at the front.
Not only was I happy about my wedding, but I was ecstatic, knowing that a relationship was budding between the both of them. Maybe we’d have another wedding sooner than we expected.
My eyes returned to my phone screen then I realised that the journey to the beach was taking longer than I expected. I glanced at the roadside and realised that he had steered off the path to the venue.
My pulse quickened, my brain became on high alert as I straightened on the seat. Putting up a serious face, I trained my gaze on him. “This isn’t the normal route, Dante. I thought I told you that we were running late.” I scolded him then he stopped the car abruptly and pulled out a mask from the cup holder.
My heart stopped beating and flew to my throat, but before I could realise what was going on, his fingers had closed around a bottle spray and then he pressed the nuzzle.
Victoria was horrified. Stella turned to me, her eyes unable to hide her fear.
I pushed against the car door but it didn’t bulge. Then I heard a deep chuckle, followed by a few mortifying words by the man who was supposed to keep us safe. “I’m sorry, but you can’t escape.”
“Oh no.” I quickly reached for my phone but my hands had become as heavy as lead.
My eyes came blurry, everything in front of me appearing in twos and maybe threes. I couldn’t tell. I opened my mouth to talk but it only produced a wheezing sound. Slowly, I felt my energy slowly leaving my body with my eyelids meeting each other.
And when my head collided with the head rest, the world turned black. No noise at all.