Chapter 6

The Wedding Day

Bella was curled up on the bed, fast asleep while Arielle sat in front of the mirror while letting the makeup artists work their magic. Her thoughts drifted to Zachary. Once again. He hadn’t lied as he brought Bella back early this morning. She didn’t know if he had spent the entire night searching for her dog in the pouring rain, but Gabriel had mentioned that the doctor of the family had fallen sick. Guilt tugged at her heart for letting him search for her dog so tirelessly. Yet, the thought of Zachary walking all alone in the storm all night felt like a soothing balm to her wounded soul.

What was wrong with her? She was getting married to Gabriel yet her thoughts often find solace in the warmth of Zachary. 

"You look beautiful," her father, Emir, said softly, his eyes glistening with tears. He pulled her into a hug and couldn’t stop his tears from falling.

"Papa, you wanted to see me get married so badly. Why are you crying now?" Arielle asked, her voice trembling as tears welled up in her eyes. She glanced around the room and saw her friends and family overwhelmed with the same emotion. Unable to hold back any longer, she hugged them while letting her own tears flow freely.

Emir wiped his face and tried to lighten the mood. "If you cry, you will ruin your makeup. We can’t have Gabriel waiting for a crying brides can we?"

He extended his arm and said lovingly. "Come, child. I will walk you to the altar."

Arielle smiled through her tears, slipping her arm into his.

Emir held his daughter’s hand and walked out of the room toward the altar. The bride's cousins and friends followed behind. The music began playing as they entered the venue hall. Gabriel stood at the altar, waiting for his bride.

Zachary stood once again in a corner, away from the hustle and bustle of the wedding. When the bride appeared, dressed in a beautiful mermaid wedding gown, he smiled. He had always known that one day she would make a beautiful bride. He watched as Gabriel took her hand and led her to the altar.

She stood beside her groom, but her eyes wandered across the room. When those green eyes landed on Zachary, she let out a quiet sigh. In that moment, it felt as if they could neither hear nor see anyone else. Her hand was held by Gabriel, but her gaze was fixed on Zachary. She could see the reel of their shared past playing in his eyes and knew it was time to say goodbye. Today, she finally found closure.

When Arielle turned her head back to Gabriel, he tightened his hold on her hand. Just then, one of his friends rushed into the venue holding a phone. 

“Gab! Gab! Take the call,” Gabriel’s friend said, gasping for breath.

Gabriel furrowed his brows and took the call, his eyes fixed on Arielle’s face. A tear slid down his cheek as the call disconnected.

Arielle stared at Gabriel with a blank expression.

Gabriel whispered, “Ria. She is dying. Cancer.”

Those were the only four words Gabriel said before standing up and running out the door like a madman. She didn’t stop him. She didn’t know how or why she should stop him. They had shared their pasts with each other. The reason they agreed to marry without love was because both had been burned by love before.

If her assumption was correct, Ria hadn’t cheated on Gabriel. She had lied to break up with him because she knew she was dying. As cliché as it sounded, people like that existed in the world. She was a writer; she knew them, and she wrote about them.

Arielle wanted to laugh, but only tears fell down her face as she realized that, like the characters in her books, she had become a cliché too.

She had been left by a man at the altar.