4

~ HAZEL ~

Indy was still standing in front of the full body mirror, gazing at herself in my beautiful wedding dress while her other crazy-rich friends left the room, leaving Kade, Lila, Indy and me in the room.

“I can’t believe my daughter is finally getting married.” Lila smiled as they stopped beside us. 

“It feels like a dream to me.” Kade added, grinning from ear to ear. 

“Me too. I remember when she was still so small, running around the house with those tiny legs of hers.” She dabbed her eyes with her fingers. “Gosh, I’ll miss my baby.”

“You definitely remember I’m 25, right?” She said and they all chuckled. 

“I wish Mom was still with us, she’d have been the happiest.” Lila sighed. 

“We can’t control the fact that she was getting old and sick, her life wasn’t in our control but she’s watching.” Kade said, giving her a side hug. 

“I’ll miss you both too.” She pulled them into a joint hug for a while. 

Their cute family hug ended after a knock on the door.

“It must be the makeup artist and hairstylist.” Indy smiled, also dabbing her eyes with a cloth. “You should leave now. Remember, I don’t want anyone except Hazel here till it’s time to lead me to the aisle, Dad.” She frowned at Kade. “You shouldn’t know how beautiful I’d look.”

“Okay.” They replied in unison.

“It’s so sad that you’ll be unable to attend this wedding.” Lila said to me. 

“I know, I feel so bad, but it’s very urgent.” It felt so weird to be lying to these lovely people. No matter how hard I tried not to, I couldn’t help but feel bad. 

They took their leave then the makeup artist-hairstylist walked in. 

“Remember, you know what to do.” She said to the young woman who simply nodded. 

Indy quickly rushed to lock the door, running back to me and took off the wedding dress in fast motion. “Hurry up.” She said, glancing at the door at short intervals. 

As quickly as I could, I got rid of my clothes then wore the burgundy charmeuse mermaid wedding dress which had diamonds around its waistline, illusion neckline, and hemline while she got into my clothes. 

“I’m so scared.” I admitted. 

“Don’t worry, I’ve taken care of everything.” She assured me with a smile. 

“What if someone finds out?” My hands were starting to shake. 

“Jeez, no one will.” She took the wine satin gloves that covered almost my entire arm. “It shouldn’t be dramatic.” She said to the woman who simply nodded again with a smile. 

The woman started my makeup while Indy called Ian to proceed with their plan. 

My fear was increasing at every second. I didn’t want this to end terribly. Tristan accepted this but everyone else? God, should I back out?

“You’re eloping with Ian, will you return? Your parents will be so worried, you’re all they have.” I said when the woman finished my makeup and started styling my hair.

“Of course, I will, but at the right time.” She replied, shoving her phone into her pant pocket. 

After she was done with styling my hair, Indy helped me wear the floor-sweeping, dark red wedding veil that fully covered my face and hair, hiding my face from view though I could see beyond the veil, with a matching pair of silver heels.  

“What if your father recognizes me?” I asked her in worry. 

“He won’t. At all costs, act like you’re mad at my Dad so he doesn’t hold you properly to lead you down the aisle. Anyone can hardly recognize you in this outfit,” she assured, paying the woman so she could leave.

“Act like I’m mad at him? Why?”

“He’ll understand, just do it.” 

***

The beautiful sound of the wedding songs, the wonderful decorations in the church, the well-arranged order of seating of guests, the pastor by the altar as well as Tristan, the bridesmaids,  Indy’s crazy friends, the media houses, and everything about this was scary. I was internally praying to God for Kade or anyone else to not notice I wasn’t Indy. Thanks to our similar body shape, the silky gloves I had and the dramatic veil, the chance of not being caught was still kind of high. 

As Indy had instructed, I was pretending to be mad at Kade so he wasn’t holding me properly.

“I’m sorry, sweetheart, I’m very sorry.” Kade apologized, but why?

I tried to huff without sounding suspicious. My heart was throbbing crazily in its cage. This was the scariest moment of my life; the fear of getting caught. 

I glanced at the congregation, Aunt Mandy was definitely doing something stupid while Luke was smiling (for probably the first time ever). My heart started bouncing around faster; this old man's face could kill me, how much more could his actions do after he found out. 

I gulped.

Kade and I stopped by the altar then he hugged Tristan before taking his leave then I stood in front of Tristan.

The pastor adjusted his glasses before beginning the officiant's remark; explaining the importance of the wedding vows, the do's and don’t of the marriage…

Noticing the smiling faces of everyone (of course except Tristan who looked so uninterested in everything), I was internally panicking already. 

After the pastor had made his remarks, it was finally time for the vows, increasing my fear. 

Remembering that Tristan had agreed to this made me feel slightly relieved and I smiled at him though he couldn’t see my face. 

“...Do you, Tristan Shane Hendrix, take the woman you’re holding,” uh? Wasn’t it supposed to be Indy’s name? She probably took care of that, “as your wife, to love her, to cherish her, nurture her, and support her, in times of joy and in times of difficulty? Do you promise to remain by her side regardless of what trouble befalls you, and in the presence of temptation to forsake this love, do you promise to remain steadfast and true? Do you promise with all your heart and soul to honor this vow till death do you part? If so, answer now, ‘I do'.” The pastor said. 

Tristan answered, "I do.”

He turned to me with a smile. “Do you take Tristan Shane Hendrix as your husband, to love him, to cherish him, nurture him, and support him, in times of joy and in times of difficulty? Do you promise to remain by his side regardless of what trouble befalls you, and in the presence of temptation to forsake this love, do you promise to remain steadfast and true? Do you promise with all your heart and soul to honor this vow till death do you part? If so, answer now, 'I do'.”

“I—I do.” I answered quietly and breathlessly.

The ring-bearer walked to stand beside us, smiling at me. 

The pastor continued, “And so we come to the presentation of rings by which you symbolize and bind your love.

Let the seamless circle of these rings become the symbol of your endless love and unending faithfulness. Your wedding rings are most special because they say that even in your uniqueness, you have chosen to be bonded, to allow the presence of another human being to enhance who you are. As you wear them through time, they will reflect not only who you are but also the glorious union that you are now creating.

“Groom, place the ring on bride's finger,” 

Tristan took the ring from the pillow, took off my glove and handed it over to a random woman then slid the ring into my finger.

“Now repeat after me,” the pastor said then Tristan repeated after him, “With this ring, I pledge my love and faithfulness to you for better, for worse, for richer, for poorer, in sickness and in health as long as we both shall live.”

“Bride, place the ring on Groom’s finger,” oh my God, I was loving the fact that he wasn’t mentioning Indy’s name. I also took the ring from the pillow and wore it on his ring finger. Gosh, the feeling of relaxation that swam in my body after touching him directly… I couldn’t explain it.

 “And also repeat after me: With this ring, I pledge my love and faithfulness to you, for better, for worse, for richer, for poorer, in sickness and in health as long as we both shall live.” 

I repeated after him in a very low voice, stuttering a bit as I tried to sound like Indy. 

“With joy in my heart as a representative of binding this union, In the name of the Father, the Son, and the Holy Spirit, I now pronounce you Husband and Wife! You may kiss your Bride!” He exclaimed with a bright smile, resulting in applause, squealing and other cheering noises from the crowd. Multiple flashes from photos filled the room. 

Tristan held the tip of my veil, still looking so bored. 

I rumpled a portion of my gown in my hands, feeling my chest rising and falling, enough to rip my gown. 

The moment he threw my veil backwards and my face was in full view, gasps erupted from the crowd. 

Glancing at everyone, I could predict that I was going to pass out from fear, from the widened eyes, frowning faces. 

My gaze returned to Tristan— he also had his brows furrowed and lips quirked in confusion. “Hazel?” He asked, sounding extremely surprised. 

How on Earth could he be surprised? Wasn’t he aware? Holy shit, that meant only one thing… Indy lied to me!