I approached Grace, my maid of honor, and quickly hugged her.
She adds in an embrace, "Congrats Girl, I'm delighted for you. I give her a nod before approaching Fay and Hailey, my other two bridesmaids. Before they all get to work, I give them each short embraces.
Bella grabs one of her own chairs and sits down next to me as I take a seat in the bridal chair.
Bri should definitely wear her bridal undergarments and robe so it won't be uncomfortable after she does her hair and makeup, the hair stylist advises. She takes my hands and brings me to a private room in the suite as I nod my head at her.
I give her a smile and add, "Thanks Bella, also your food is in the car. I didn't forget it." She hugs me while jumping up and down, then quickly grabs my keys and heads out to the car.
Before going back and collecting the underwear, I roll my eyes in enjoyment. I raise them and take a quick glance at it. They are pearl-encrusted and brilliantly decorated in silver and white. It appeared stunning.
I put them on gradually before taking the robe off the hanger and donning it. I exited the room after placing the clothing I had brought with me in a plastic bag. When I returned to the bridal suite's main room, Bella was there, followed by a stunning woman carrying a bag of McDonald's.
She gives me a wave, turns to face the other women, and utters a low phrase before turning to head my way.
She introduces herself, saying, "Bri, this is Lara your hairstylist, and Lara, this is the Bride, Bella."
Lara extends her hand and says, "It's so nice to meet you and Congratulations. I'm so happy to do your hair on such a special day." I accept it and give her a small smile in return.
"You too, and thank you"
Bella leads the way to the miniature sofa and says, "Okay, let's get you back to your chair so we could start." Lara stands behind me as soon as I sit down and takes my hair out of a high bun.
She asked, releasing her hold on my hair, "Okay Bella, what are you picturing?" while removing all the tools from her bag.
She hums in response when I say, "I was thinking to go with an extremely traditional Wedding look, the high bun."
She says cheerfully, "Alright, I could do that. Let's get started then." Bella sits in front of me with her food and starts eating as she starts combing my hair.
She takes a moment and asks, "Have you decided on the jewelry you were going to wear?"
I respond with a broad smile as I see the jewelry, "No, to be honest, but I did look at the stuff Ms. Lawson put inside the bag yesterday and may I say it was magnificent."
She nods in agreement, saying, "You are not mistaken. I took a peek at it while we were driving back, and I must say some of the items are amazing."
While Lara continues to do my hair, the two of us resume our conversation. She finally completes her work after about an hour and turns around to face me.
She hands me a mirror and says, "Beautiful. Why don't you take a look?" I reluctantly take the mirror from her hand and glance in it to see who I am.
I smiled and said, "It looks amazing. She returned my smile.
She gathers her supplies and puts them in a bag as she adds, "Okay, my job here is finished. Congratulations once more. Now I must head out to my next appointment." She gave me a short hug and turned to leave when someone's voice stopped her.
Grace responded almost braggadociously, "Hey where are you going, and you're supposed to do our hair too," which made Bella and I turn and gaze at her.
I caught a glimpse of Fay and Hailey giving her a frustrated expression, almost as if they wanted to end their lives there and then due to her embarrassment.
I'm sorry ma'am, but I only do brides' hair. I don't do anyone else's, Lara said politely. I refrained from interjecting because I was curious to hear Grace's perspective.
She murmured, "Useless. Totally useless," but everyone could hear her. I stared at her with a feeling I couldn't even name as my mouth dropped to the floor.
I spoke the word "Grace" in a foreboding tone, and when she noticed I was there, she turned her head aside. I shifted my focus to Lara.
I handed Bella some cash and motioned for her to give Lara the money, saying, "I apologize on her behalf; I don't know what is wrong with her today. Please take this as an extra."
She took the money and quietly grinned at me, "Your an Angel," before walking away.
I sneered, "Grace, what was that?" She didn't respond and simply carried on using her phone.
I reprimanded her sternly and turned around, not wanting to deal with any more of her drama. "Look, I never knew you were like this, but if you can't be a decent person then next time don't even try to think that you will get a spot this close to me."
The Grace I knew is not like this.
-----
We spent the next few hours getting ready while Bella managed everything. Basically, she was carrying out all of Grace's responsibilities.
All of my bridesmaids and maid of honor were now dressed to the nines in their wedding gowns, just like I was. The ceremony was scheduled to start at 4 p.m., but it wasn't until little past 3 p.m.
We were anticipating the arrival of the Grooms' family. Bella was outside when I noticed a notification on my phone as I was looking down.
---
Bella😅😴
The family's lone Angel and Witch No. 1 have arrived.
Take them inside. Additionally, as much as you and I despise my mother-in-law, please refrain from arguing and fighting with her. Not at this time.
I can't make any guarantees. She hasn't even said hello when her kid overhears her criticizing you.
Okay, but make an effort.
Sure😉
---
As I watched the girls converse with one another, I put my phone away. A few seconds later, I hear Bella's distinctive rhythm of two knocks on the bridal suite's door before the door swings open.
Bella enters the room with my mother-in-law and sister-in-law following behind her.
When my sister-in-law noticed me, her eyes brightened up, and she sprinted over to hug me.
I say, "Hey Angel," and laugh. She goes by the name Angel, but I've never called her anything else since this girl is too good for the rest of the world.
She starts babbling, and I can't help but chuckle in adoration at her. "Hi! Oh my goodness you look so pretty! Look at the dress, it looks like a princess. Mama Look!" As soon as I see my mother-in-law approaching, my face stops grinning.
I salute "Mrs. Johnson" with a strong nod. She gives me a long, hard look before scoffing to herself while still taking my hand.
She tries to force out a remark, "Bella, you look nice." I give her a raised eyebrow, but I don't say anything.
I mumble "Thanks, so do you" and then take a seat. Mrs. Johnson swings around to face my bridesmaids once more.
She remarks, "You ladies look lovely," and they all nod in agreement. Even though none of the three of them like her, they still put up with her for me. She looks in Grace's direction before approaching her and grinning broadly.
She congratulates Grace, "Oh my child, you look so beautiful." as she gives her a hug.
Grace hugs Emma back and says, "Thank you Emma. You look wonderful too. The others appeared as astonished as Bella, who was staring in bewilderment. I smiled to hide the fact that I was astonished.
She says, "Oh you should have married Liam. You are perfect for him." Grace just smiles at her as she accepts the compliment. I turn to face Fay and Hailey, who are staring at Grace with the worst hatred, and Bella, who is about to lose it.
She glances at me but says nothing as I gently tug her dress in a warning gesture. She relaxes herself by taking a deep breath.
The two just turn to face the opposite direction as I watch them converse as if they had known each other for a very long time.
----
After some time, the entire groom's side departed the room, leaving the two of us alone. Liam hasn't shown up yet and it's almost four. I heard that he told Bella he was getting ready elsewhere after she had contacted him earlier.
As I anxiously jumped my foot up and down in anticipation of his arrival, the time was running out.
For the umpteenth time, I ask Bella, "Bella, could you call him again to see if there is any news?" While calling him, she nods, but everything goes straight to voicemail.
Grace looked at me and said, "I'll be back in a second. Her comments seemed unusual, but despite my gut instinct, I nodded in agreement. She rose and walked out of the room.
After a few more seconds, everyone starts to lose patience.
Call him again, I say, this time with an irritated rather than a nervous tone in my voice. When she tries again, the call still goes to voicemail. At that very moment, the door was knocked. The person closest to it, Fay, stood up and responded.
"Yes," she said, her eyes fixed on the man who appeared to be a bodyguard.
He handed her the letter and then stated, "This was a letter sent to the bride please hand it to her." Fay moved over to me while holding the letter in her hand and closing the door.
The girls crowded around me as she said, "Here, Bri. For you." They were all very curious. I frowned as I flipped up the letter and recognized the handwriting right away.
----
Hello Bella
I want to start by saying that I'm sorry for everything and for how things turned out. Although this is not how I had envisioned the day to unfold, it is what it is.
Even though I wanted to spend the rest of my life with someone, I soon discovered that even though I had proposed, I didn't really believe we would be together forever. Not you, I repeat. I had been dating someone else when I fell in love with them. You've probably heard of her. Grace.
She and I are the only ones left with something to say to you. We are moving far away and neither of us will be reachable. Like I did with you, I wish you could forget about me and move on.
Happy New Year,
David Anderson
-----
I was so shocked that I dropped the letter as tears welled up in my eyes. The turmoil surrounding me and Bella's shouts and curses were audible to me. However, I was unable to feel anything.
Bella comforted me, "Hey Bri, you'll be fine. Come on cry it out," but all I could hear from my other bridesmaids were more yells and instructions.
I shout out as I feel the consoling hand on my back, "I-i WHY! HOW COULD THEY DO THIS TO ME. I LOVED HIM. I LOVED HIM SO MUCH AND THIS IS WHAT I GET." I start to breathe heavily but don't hear anything.
I last heard "Bella? BELLA! NO" just before I felt everything go dark.