CH 2

The wedding venue was enchanting. Candlelights on the floor illuminated the aisle, which was a clear path made with wooden boards on the dark grass. The tree branches, entangled with fairy lights, formed a twinkling canopy above. Ahead stood the canopy that had been adorned with bright red and yellow flowers, where the vows would be exchanged.

"How did we do, Miss Ivelle?" John asked, while Lizzy and Rain waited with expectant looks on their faces.

I nodded at them, and they smiled proudly, leaving to organize the rest of the workers. They had done a fantastic job.

The procession started at 9:30 p.m. sharp. The bride's parents walked down the aisle, arm in arm as I directed. You could see the pride in the bride's mother's smile, which, by the way, I'm sure if widened any more than it already was, would have caused a crack in the layers of makeup loaded on her face.

'Father, forgive this erring daughter,'

The groom's parents followed, looking quite sophisticated in their custom-made outfits, casting shadows on the dark grass. Then I prepped the groom to go up next.

He held my hand nervously before speaking, "Ivelle, do you think it'll go well?"

"Of course, now go up there and wait for the woman you love." He smiled widely before heading out. It was funny seeing someone I saw as a big brother look nervous. Love makes people stupid.

'Like it made you stupid?' came a voice in my head that I ignored.

Next, it was the bridesmaids and groomsmen. Even though I was the wedding planner, Nami made me promise to go up as a bridesmaid for her because, apparently, it had always been her dream for the three of us, including Celine and Briana, to walk down the aisle for her on her wedding day.

How could I say no to that?

Anyway, I was ready and had taken my place behind Celine, whose dress had a V-cut at the front.

‘Trust Celine to always be extra.’

I stood waiting for the groomsman, who happened to be one of Liam's friends, to take his place beside me so we could all head out.

While typing away instructions on my phone to John, I heard footsteps accompanied by voices.

"Thank you for coming at such short notice. I have to go now."

‘Is that Nami? Isn't she supposed to be preparing to go next?’

Whoever she was talking to laughed and continued walking. I was going to turn around, but that laugh felt all too familiar. I didn't even have to look up to know who it was. My heart dropped, and I involuntarily took a couple of steps backwards.

"What in the wo—" Celine turned back with a pleading look on her face, and I just stopped speaking. I had no choice but to do it for Nami. I was angry—beyond angry, in fact. I was fuming. Why didn't anyone inform me about the change of plans? Did they forget I was the planner here?

But there was no time to think. I had to link my arm in his as we walked down the aisle together. I could hear the guests whispering and chattering. I felt like they were talking about me. I felt small, and my vision blurred, and not even the soft brush of the silk of my dress against my skin was helping.

I staggered, and he steadied me by swiftly moving his hand behind me before anyone noticed. I gave the crowd my best fake smile and quickly unlinked my arm from his to sit with the other bridesmaids on the left while he joined the groomsmen on the right.

I couldn’t breathe. My chest tightened, and for a second, I thought I might pass out right there. Briana reached over and held my hand. I squeezed back before letting her hand go. I needed to focus on something else, anything else. So, I locked my eyes on Nami as she and her father walked down the aisle. She looked stunning in the Valentino wedding dress Liam picked specially for her. I tried to feel happy for her, but all I could feel were his eyes on me.

The couple proceeded to exchange garlands before taking their vows.

"I now pronounce you, Mr. and Mrs. Smith. You may kiss the bride," the priest said. I let out a breath I hadn’t realized I was holding, but my relief was short-lived as I remembered what was yet to come—the dance.

I wanted to switch partners with Celine, but her partner was already smitten, practically dragging her onto the dance floor, which happened to be a makeshift wooden stage under the open sky.

Under different circumstances, I would be marvelling at how beautiful the sky was, but I was too concerned about maintaining my composure before the man I had been paired with.

We took our positions, and the music started.

"Hi," he said. I ignored him and continued the dance. He seemed very calm, too calm for my liking, as if this situation did nothing to bother him.

"Ivelle, we need to talk," he continued, with his arm around my waist.

'How did he even know the dance steps? He wasn’t even with us at the rehearsals.'

There was a stupid smile on his face that I wanted to slap off. I noticed Celine giving me a look, so I nodded and smiled back at her, but it was too late. In my distraction, I forgot the steps, and we turned at the same time. I kicked his shin, he stepped on me, and somehow, I ended up on the floor. And what did he do? He laughed. Everyone else followed suit, except Liam. He narrowed his eyes at Arden, and then they both extended their hands towards me at the same time.

My face burned with embarrassment. I ignored Arden and took Liam's hand. I stood up, forced a smile, and excused myself, not bothering to look at the bridesmaids and groomsmen clearing out from the stage for the couple to dance. I didn’t even know how I got into the washroom stall. I held onto the cold tiles on the wall, trying to steady my breath when I heard my phone ring. After a moment of contemplation, I decided to answer it.

"Hey, how are you?"

"I'm okay," I replied plainly.

"And the wedding? How is it going? I hope Nami didn’t stress you too much?"

"No, everything is okay. Can I call you back?"

"Are you sure you're fine?"

"I-I..."

"It's okay, just calm down and talk to me," he said with concern.

"Idiot, why aren’t you here?" I asked through sniffles as I struggled to take deep breaths.

"I'm sorry, I'll make it up to you when I get back, okay? Now tell me, what's wrong?"

"He came," I said through gritted teeth while trying to calm my shaky fingers by gripping the phone tighter.

"He? Girl, you need to be specific. Tell me—is it the red laptop or the white liar?"

"How do you even still remember their nicknames?" I replied with a laugh.

"I remember everything about you, my love."

"Please, save that for Sarah."

"Seriously though, what's wrong? Who came to the wedding? Or did anyone say something that hurt you?"

"I just... no one told me Arden would be there. I was so unprepared. I can't believe they would do this to me."

"Arden came?"

"He didn’t just come. He was my partner for the... everything."

"Now that’s just diabolical!"

"I suppose the person I was paired with couldn't make it, and maybe Nami was desperate to find me a replacement."

"But still, they all know what happened. Even if something came up, they should have given you a heads-up."

"That's not the worst part. I fell during the stupid dance, and he laughed, making everyone join him." I could feel the rage flowing through my blood as I thought about it.

"Oh my God! Don't tell me you're crying? It must have been really bad."

"Really? I just can't with you. I just feel like I ruined Nami’s big day, but at the same time, I’m so mad at her and Liam for not telling me." I said, stepping out of the cubicle to wash my hands after straightening my dress and cleaning my nose, which I later realized was a terrible decision after looking at the foundation on my handkerchief.

"Maybe they were scared you wouldn't agree. Maybe it was a last-minute decision for them, too. But still, it's a horrible thing to spring on your wedding planner, especially one that's your close friend."

I frowned at my nose in the mirror. "Now my makeup is ruined. How delightful."

"I'm sure it's not that bad," Kyren said with a laugh.

"Yes, it’s not bad. It’s horrible. If anyone sees me like this, I'll end up on tomorrow’s tabloids. I look like a raccoon did my makeup." I lacked the strength to patch it up or do it over, so I simply proceeded to wipe my face bare.

"At least it'll be good publicity for the business. Are you sure you'll be okay? You know if you need me, I can just book a flight back..."

"There's no need for that. It’s not like you can arrive here in the next ten minutes anyway. So just enjoy your week off. How's your mum doing?" I asked, still struggling to remove the thick black mascara tear stains from her face.

'This is exactly why I hate makeup. It takes forever to put on and even longer to take off,'

He paused for a moment before responding, "This time, it's pretty serious. The doctors have put her under observation. They think she might need surgery," he said, letting out a heavy sigh.

"Oh no, I'm really sorry to hear that. You know I’m always here if you need anything, right?" I replied, guilt settling in for thinking Mrs. Walter had been exaggerating to get him back home.

"So... I’m not sure how long I’ll be away."

"Why did you suggest flying back then?" I asked, feeling wronged.

He laughed before speaking again. "I knew you would refuse. You never ask for help. You should do it more often."

"I'll miss you, Kyren."

"I’ll miss me too,"

I rolled my eyes at his attempt to lighten the mood. "Can you ever be serious?"

"Just remember this—you’re a boss, a total ten out of ten, and an incredibly successful businesswoman. You’ve got this."

"Obviously," I laughed, feeling a bit better.

"I have to go now, I need to speak with the doctor. Talk to you later. Bye," he said, hanging up almost immediately.

With a deep breath, I closed my eyes and composed myself. I squeezed my right arm to ground myself before stepping back out into the bustling garden. The night wasn’t over yet, and neither was my job. Nami wanted a perfect wedding, and I would give her just that.