Hayden closed his eyes and sighed as he wondered for the countless time if this was the right thing to do. He didn’t know but he was about to find out very soon.
"Please be in your position, the bride will arrive soon as scheduled..." a staff member instructed.
Hayden turned and nodded his head slightly in acknowledgement. By that time all the guests, which consisted mostly of gang managers and senior members, had already taken their seat in an orderly fashion. The boss was seated right in front, and he had the biggest smile on his face as he roared with laughter at one of the member’s jokes.
Hayden turned towards the podium where an elderly priest stood stiffly. It was clear that the old man was scared out of his dear mind and couldn’t wait to get this ordeal over and done with. Hayden chuckled as he thought that he felt the same way. The decoration in the church turned out much better than he had expected.
The real thing matched the simulation photos almost exactly and he was sure that Malissa would like it.
"The bride should be arriving in a few minutes..." the team member whispered from the side.
The host began entertaining the guests through the microphone before announcing that the bride will now make her entrance. Everyone in the church stood up from their seat and turned in anticipation towards the church’s doors where the bride was supposed to walk in. Hayden’s eyes also rested there as he waited anxiously for his bride to walk in through the door.
Slowly, the door opened, and silence took over the church as everyone held their breath in anticipation of the bride’s arrival. The band started playing the classical wedding march and people started clapping and cheering in excitement. Unlike the other people in the church, Hayden started to have a strange feeling about what was going on.
Loud cheers of joy quickly transformed into shocked murmurs and whispers when the door opened to reveal a man dressed in black instead of the bride dressed in her white wedding dress.
Hayden’s eyes narrowed dangerously when he finally understood the unexplainable knot he felt in the pit of his stomach.
"Find her! All men, find Malissa now!" Hayden yelled loudly.
He didn’t need the man to tell him what was going on. He should have seen this coming...
"I think I’ll add a bit of blush here to your cheeks so that it shows more when you get your photos taken. With all the flash and stuff, the color could appear a little faded in the photos," the artist suggested professionally.
I just nodded in agreement because I didn’t know any better, so I had to trust the professionals. After they were done, the artists left, and Lucy and her other two team members were in the room.
"Next is putting on the dress. Don’t worry, we’ll help you put everything on. Please relax for now, this is your last chance to really relax before you have to carry the weight of your wedding dress on you," Lucy said with a bright smile.
That made sense...
I tried to take in deep breaths to calm myself. It’s finally happening. I still couldn’t quite believe it, but it was really happening...
"Are you nervous?" Lucy asked knowingly.
"A little...I guess..." I admitted shyly.
"It’s completely normal. Here, have some water first. You don’t want to your voice to sound hoarse when you say ’I do’, right?" Lucy teased while she offered me a glass of water.
"Thank you very much," I said politely as I took the glass from her.
Maybe it was the excitement and nervousness that I was feeling but I felt extremely thirsty. The moment that the water reached my lips, I couldn’t stop drinking and ended up drinking the entire glass while Lucy helped me relax by sharing some small talk of random topics to ease my mind. I listened to her while I drank the water.
She really was a pro at her job, and I knew that everything that she was doing was for my benefit.
--To be continued...