On the day that was meant to be the happiest of my life, I was ready to walk down the aisle when I froze at the sight of a boy near the church doors. He was the carbon copy of my husband-to-be, and in that moment, I realized the perfect life I thought I was stepping into was hiding a shocking truth. That night, I knew I wasn’t going to sleep.
My chest felt tight with excitement and nerves twisted together, making rest impossible. The next day was supposed to be the happiest day of my life, the day I would finally marry Daniel, the man I already shared a home and a future with. Beside me, Daniel slept soundly, as if nothing in the world could disturb him.
He lay sprawled across the bed, breathing evenly, letting out soft snores that only made me more restless. I nudged his shoulder lightly, hoping he might wake up, but he only shifted and kept on sleeping. Frustrated, I shook him again, this time harder.
He was startled awake, sitting up quickly. “What’s wrong?”
“I just… I can’t fall asleep,” I whispered. Daniel exhaled and lay back down, pulling me against him.
“What’s keeping you up?”
“I keep worrying,” I admitted. “I want everything to go perfectly.”
“It will,” he said. “Because we have each other.
That’s all that matters.”
“You really mean that?” I asked. “Of course,” Daniel replied. “I’ve never lied to you, and I never will.”
I nodded, finally letting his words soothe me.
He wrapped his arm around me, and little by little, my body gave in to his warmth. I finally drifted off to sleep. The following morning arrived in a blur of rushing footsteps, excited voices, and the sweet scent of flowers drifting in from outside.
I sat in the bridal room next to the church, my hair perfectly styled, my makeup done to perfection. The white dress felt heavier than I had imagined, and I kept fidgeting with the necklace at my throat, twisting it between my fingers whenever my nerves surged back. Margaret, my soon-to-be mother-in-law, paced restlessly around the room, her energy only making me more anxious.
“I can’t tell you how happy I am that you and Daniel are finally getting married,” she gushed. “I’ve waited so long for this moment.”
“I’m happy too,” I said. “But honestly, not much is going to change for us.
We already live together, we share a mortgage, we’re already a family.”
“Not much will change? Are you joking? Everything changes once you’re married.
And you know how I feel about the fact that you two lived together before the wedding. It was a sin.”
I rolled my eyes but kept quiet. Margaret’s disapproval had been a shadow over our relationship since the very beginning.
When Daniel told her we were moving in together, she stopped speaking to him for three months. She swore he was headed straight to hell and refused to be dragged down with him. Eventually, she calmed down, but her judgment never disappeared.
Even on the morning of our wedding, she couldn’t resist reminding me of her beliefs. And on top of it all, she had insisted that Daniel and I not see each other before the ceremony, calling it bad luck. The thought of being trapped in this small room with her for another hour made me want to scream.
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