Chapter Thirteen

As I stood in front of the mirror, the soft fabric of my wedding dress swirling around me,a flowy ball gown with a fitted bodice that had a pretty flower pattern off-shoulder dress that fell to the ground sweeping it as I walked. My bridal look was complete with shimmery shoes, silver jewelries, and sparkly diamonds, The revenge wedding was finally here …..

I felt a mix of excitement and anxiety. The dress was beautiful, so delicate and angelic that hugged my figure perfectly. But beneath the surface, I was battling the memories of my past, Belle was on my mind. I started feeling cold feet Just then, the door creaked open, and my stepmother entered, her presence instantly darkening the room.

"Look at you, Ann," she sneered, her eyes scanning me with disdain. "You think you're worthy of this? You were a pathetic girl when we met at the orphanage. It was your sister who begged me to take you with us, now see how you repay her kindness by running off with the man she wanted!!. Your mother was a lowlife to abandon you." a surge of anger ignited within me.

"You don't know anything about me!" I shot back, my voice trembling with fury. How dare she belittle my worth on what was supposed to be the happiest day of my life?

She chuckled, a cold, mocking sound that sent chills down my spine. "Oh, but I do. You'll never be anything more than what she made you, she saw your worthlessness and decided to dump you, God loved us enough to keep you around long enough for us to come scrub you off from the gutters” Her venomous words pierced my heart and choked me, with her last words she give my a stern smile “happy married life” sarcastically, turning toward the exit door.

At that moment, I felt a rush of adrenaline. I grabbed a flower vase by the dressing table, my hands shaking with rage just as I prepared to hurl it at her, a strong hand grasped my wrist, stopping me in my track. It was Williams, his eyes filled with concern.

"Ann, don't," he pleaded, his grip firm but gentle. "This isn't worth it."

I looked into his eyes, the anger dissipating as I realized how close I was to losing control. "She just... she doesn't understand what she did or is doing to me, it's as if I'm not human” I whispered, my voice cracking .

“Trust me if we follow the proper plan for this revenge you will be more satisfied without tainting your conscience” he said in a pleading manner.

At that moment a new sense of determination engulfed me and I dropped the vase, his words had refilled me and I was glad he was around. “Thank you” I said to him with full gratitude.

“Now I will go stand by the altar and waiter for you” dropping a soft moist kiss on the back of my hands he gently walked out, looking back he said “you look very beautiful” he said taking a final look at me with sheer joy.

I stood by the entrance to the wedding hall, where family, friends and even foes sat waiting to witness the sudden conjoining between the most eligible, most reputable man in town and an adopted child of the Forbes.

The church bells chimed, their melody weaving through the air as I began my walk down the aisle, not scared or worried I was making the wrong decision but instead I felt relief maybe of finally achieving one of my most wanted revenge or maybe it was him. My heart hammered against my ribs out of excitement of the pair of eyes that anticipated me at the altar, a frantic drumbeat accompanying each step.

As I moved forward, my gaze swept across the rows of faces, a sea of familiar and unfamiliar eyes. Then, I saw her, my stepmother, a vision of icy composure, seated alone. Her stare was cold and her face stern, Father was nowhere to be seen.

A pang of sadness struck me though it was his usual way of being absent in anything that concerned me but, his approval of my marriage to Williams had me believe he would show up to see it happen, a fleeting moment of vulnerability, but I quickly steeled myself. This day was not about dwelling on the past,it was about forging my future and rewriting the hands of time .

Reaching the altar, My gaze locked Williams's, his eyes with a glow that both thrilled and terrified me. The ceremony commenced, the officiant's words washing over me as I and Williams exchanged vows, our voices intertwining. Finally, the pronouncement came, sealing our union, only we knew the base of our marriage, only we knew the truth and it felt peaceful, I felt a wave of assurance that came with his soft grip on my both hands. “You may kiss the bride” the officiant's voice broke my daisy thoughts.

This part felt hard we hadn’t shared such thoughts about intimacy, one or two times I had felt butterflies in my belly but always quick to shrug it off, but to keep up the show for everyone present we had to go ahead ‘I had already added a pronoun to our union, A union I know had no future, knowing when your time was finally going to be over gave me sense of clarity and rationality he made the first move at me, closing my eyes anticipating the soft lips I stared at everyday even till this very moment, Finally with a shared kiss, the deed was done.

Later, I, now a newlywed, excited at the our small reception, my mind already racing toward her next endeavor, people came by our tables with gifts and compliments

Taking none of it cause I knew the conversations were silently behind my back and I wasn’t going to entertain anyone’s hypocrisy anymore.

Finally at home Williams, exhausted from the occasion and greeting of families and friends we had barely remembered to have food, I thought of going out to a convenient store but on a second thought the kitchen fully stock with all ingredients and equipment to make a proper five star meal, tempted me to test the skills I imagined to have, cut long story short it didn’t turn pleasant at all, Good thing I had made an appointment to a high-class cooking class, which I was to start the coming new week and doing this was the least I could do to help around the house during my stay period,a pursuit I hoped would bring me both joy and independence.

The day for my first cooking class finally came and it had given me something to look forward to and I was excited to learn something new.

Lost in thought, I rounded a corner and collided with an elderly woman, a cascade of hot coffee spilling across my dress. The woman, flustered and apologetic “oh my goodness my dear, I’m so so sorry” she apologized repeatedly while trying ato clean off whatever she could off of me , begging me also to allow her to pay for a replacement. “Let me take you to a store to change up , or get you cleaned please I’m sorry I wasn’t looking at……..”. Though initially annoyed, I found myself relenting, a strange sense of empathy washing over me for the lady.

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“It’s okay ma’am, I throw a jacket over the stain and clean up later” I finally broke my silence as she’s being doing the talking all these while “ I should have been careful to get a your way” her face softened up,her smile revealed her dimples, almost same as mine and there was also this spark in her eyes that I saw in mine in my many nights of self affirmations in the mirror.

I suddenly felt relaxed, like someone I knew from a distance, someone close but unknown “thanks , I’ll have to run along now I’m almost late for my class I need to run back for my jacket too” I said reaching for my keys in my hermes handbag.

“Oh dear! Me too… once again I’m sorry dear” she said one more time… her empathy felt familiar and then suddenly a sense of sadness overcame me, But wavering off my mind I couldn’t afford to feel like that at this moment.